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The great gatsby what is the valley of ashes
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Great gatsby film vs book
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Recommended: The great gatsby what is the valley of ashes
Ezra Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby was beautifully written. It is an immensely nuanced and detailed novel that includes several symbols. Re-creating the story into a movie, The Great Gatsby, was shown to be a difficult task. Although the director of The Great Gatsby nailed the visual representation of the Valley of Ashes and also Nick's judgmental personality from the novel, he failed to represent characters such as Daisy and Jordan, which caused them to have a different effect on the viewer of the movie than the reader of the novel. The Valley of Ashes was shown to be an immensely symbolic feature of the novel and was also shown to be symbolic in the movie as well. Fitzgerald described the setting as a "fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat...". As the characters, Nick and Tom, drove by the area, …show more content…
Daisy's character in the novel was not thoroughly shown in the movie as it was in the novel. The movie missed an important scene where with Daisy and her daughter. Daisy interacted with her young toddler for only a few moments before ordering her nurse caretaker to take her away. This scene missing from the movie portrayed Daisy as a more innocent character than how she was portrayed in the novel. This changed our perspective on Daisy and made her look like she wasn’t at fault for causing the mess of drama, although in my opinion, I think she was completely at fault. Jordan was also portrayed differently in the movie. We did not learn much about the Jordan's character from the movie compared to the novel. In the novel we learned more about her golf career and also the romance between her and Nick showed us a more charismatic side of her. The movie kept Jordan as almost a blank mysterious canvas and her presence was unnecessary also. I think the director tried to keep all attention on Daisy and Gatsby by removing the details on
For example, in the film Nick is introduced as a recovering alcoholic and is in rehab writing about his story involving The Great Gatsby. In the novel, Nick is not introduced as an alcoholic and does not overuse it. He states at the first party in the movie, “I have been drunk just twice in my life, and the second time was that afternoon…” (Fitzgerald 29). However, in the movie we learn that Nick was someone who overused alcohol and is now in rehab writing his own stories. Another contrast between the novel and the film would be that in the novel, Gatsby tells Nick how Daisy was driving the night that Myrtle was struck and killed by Gatsby’s yellow car. Speaking to Nick, Gatsby says, “You see, when we left New York she (Daisy) was very nervous and she thought it would steady her to drive-- and this woman rushed out at us just as we were passing a car coming along the other way. It all happened in a minute...first Daisy turned away from the woman toward the other car, and then she lost her nerve and turned back. The second my hand hit the wheel I felt the shock..” (Fitzgerald 143-144). However, in the film the split second on the screen shows Gatsby driving the car as Myrtle was killed. These are two major differences between the novel and the
In this quote, the Valley of Ashes is portrayed as a “desolate area of land” where the glory of West Egg and New York are separated by a valley characterized as “grotesque,” dim, and “crumbling.” Fitzgerald includes this setting to describe important characters, such as Myrtle Wilson, who have an extreme influence on others because they are considered impoverished and trashy with no class. The Valley of Ashes symbolizes despair and poor lifestyles, which is why Myrtle is able to be used by Tom, who, in disdain, no longer shows feelings for his wife. The road is also personified to represent those who reside in the West Egg, who are snobby and want nothing to do with the poor.
Novels are very unique things to read. They contain so much detail and information it’s almost hard to comprehend. Sometimes these unique novels are translated into movies and while most movies disappoint the reader by not capturing the complete essence of the novel, I felt that The Great Gatsby did not disappoint. Sure, there are some differences between the two but not enough to make the movie a complete disappointment. In this essay, I will begin by comparing the two together, the two being the novel and movie, then I will gradually move in the contrast of this essay.
A small change that one can catch is the color of Daisy’s hair. In the novel it is described as brown while in the film her hair appears to be blond. Not only is her hair changed, but her personality seems to come off tepid in Luhrmann's work. Rather than carrying a “voice like money” she follows a “damsel in distress” role. In the book she is shallow and selfish and the audience feels no sypathy for her character.At one point she cries about missing out on Gatsby’s wealth and says, “It makes me sad I have never seen such beautiful shirts before”(Fitzgeralrd 92).In the film she is portrayed less materialistic and more romantic with Gatsby.Instead of crying because she missed out on Gatsby’s wealth, she cries due to their missed time.Her athlete
For example, Leonardo Dicaprio’s character of Gatsby was focused on emotions. I enjoyed that Redford was very calm and cool about everything and the way he approached the character but, Dicaprio made such an open and outgoing character which made the movie more entertaining. DiCaprio captured Gatsby’s intensity and charm and brought out the crazy mood swings and took his character and the audience to a more emotional place. Both Robert Redford and Leonardo DiCaprio had their own way of approaching the character and really selling Gatsby but Leonardo DiCaprios was better. Another reason I prefer the 2013 version of the 74’ is because of the bond and friendship Nick Carraway played by Tobey Maguire and Gatsby had MaGuire was able to bring a true and strong meaning to their friendship that made his and Gatsby’s bond feel organic and real and you were able to see that clearly unlike with Waterston where you just saw the friendship and didn’t feel any emotion. But I felt much more of a connection with his character than I did with the ’74 version. If you have read the book and seen the original film, then you understood where Nick was coming from in the scene where he was furious with Gatsby, after he believe he killed Myrtle only to find out that Gatsby wasn’t the one driving the car that killed Mrytle, MaGuire, did a fantastic job in showing his emotions and how what happened to Myrtle and the person that killed Myrtle affected him. I loved that Nick was a lot more real in this movie. He didn’t hold back and he gave the audience a reaction that anyone in life would have had if they were in his situation. Nick had the major issue of being dragged into situations because of people he knows. I thought Maguire did a great job of showing ...
He reveals how separated the American culture is as a whole. F Scott Fitzgerald uses figurative language to shape the portrayal of the setting by contrasting light vs. dark, comparing the Valley of ashes to the East Egg. For instance, Fitzgerald quotes, “where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills”, utilizing a simile to exaggerate and emphasize that the ashes are taking the form of hills, which essentially is all trash. The ashes are a symbol of the hopeless and dead, the social corrosion that is yielded from the unrestricted pursuit of wealth, as the upper class nourish themselves with regard simply to self pleasure. Fitzgerald states, “where ashes take the form of houses and chimneys”, a form of imagery that gives the audience a visual aid to emphasize how prevalent the ashes are. These claims prove that the valley of ashes is a darken city bewitched with poverty and illness. With the pile of ashes growing larger, the classes of society further disjoin, removing their opportunity to escape and acquire their American Dream. By Fitzgerald using figurative language it makes the storyline come alive in the readers mind. He symbolizes certain emotions within the reader to embody and visualize the contrast between the Valley of Ashes and the East Egg as if we were there with them. Scott Fitzgerald also uses figurative language to
Have you ever thought about when a producer makes a movie out from a well- known novel, how many scene will actually stick to the original story? It has been a trend that the movie industries tend to dismiss many details from the original book in order to gain more rating or revenue from the movie. On the other hand, many viewer will argue or dislike the fact that the movie industries disrespect the author of the book. Recently I got the chance to read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and watch the 2013 version’s movie. While the book and the film are pretty similar; there is one major different between the book itself and the movie.
Interview face towards camera: This is an interview conducted for students of English Literature class one, I will be asking Mr F. Scott Fitzgerald and William Shakespeare some questions, regarding their work on The Great Gatsby and ‘Othello’. The interview will include all of the questions that students from English literature class one have raised. As we all know Mr F. Scott Fitzgerald and William Shakespeare are from very different times, we will be looking deeper in to some of the characters and themes. We will be talking about ‘honest Iago’ and ‘the moor’ from the play ‘Othello, and we will be talking about the ‘great Gatsby’ and ‘Daisy Buchanan’.
Because the novel and the movie were wrote nearly nine decades apart, the settings were vastly different. Modernism leaks through every place in the film. Everything seems to filled with vitality. Vibrant hues and lights are displayed everywhere, especially at Gatsby’s parties. His parties resembled Cirque Du Soleil in the film.
Benjamin Disraeli once said, “the magic of first love is the ignorance that it can never end”. In similar ways, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby and the film The Notebook directed by Nick Cassavetes both share a similar love story producing the idea that first love never dies. Both the novel and the film present the idea of a lower class man falling in love with a wealthy woman. Neither of the men are able to stay with the women due to disapproval. When the men finally reconnect with the women, they realize they are already in a new relationship. Although the women are in different relationships, they know they are still in love with their first love, leaving a conflict for them in the current relationship
Although there was glamour in the party scene, it was highly impersonal. The characters in the movie seemed as if they were trying to hard to mimic the ones in the book. The characters in the movie didn't really bring their characters personalities to life. Though there is an exception to this, Leonardo DiCaprio did portray Jay Gatsby properly. The only problem with his character in the movie was that when he died no one shows respect come to the funeral, but in the book, his fathers comes and gives Nick some insight to the real James Gatz. The book was thoroughly quoted, but in times the quotes were cut and replaced with other translations of the actual line. That removed a lot of depth from certain quotes and
is Nick. In the novel Nick is a man who comes from a poor family who
In conclusion, Baz Luhrmann's version of the film adaptation to The Great Gatsby was in fact very successful and faithful to the novel. The casting was indeed almost perfect because most of the actors such as Toby Maguire (Nick Carraway), Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), Carey Mulligan (Daisy Buchanan), Joel Edgerton (Tom Buchanan) and Jason Clarke (George Willson) all portrait their character wonderfully as described in the novel. The sceneries were great because it was very descriptive compared to the scenes in the novel. The use of Computer Generated Imagery technology was perfect because it highlighted the sceneries making it very vivid, realistic and pleasurable to the eye. The costuming used in the film was very creative, wonderful and perfect because it suited each of the characters class, personality, and it also suited the time period of the 1920s.
Movies can enhance the experience of a story, but they aren’t always completely accurate to the book. The movie, The Great Gatsby, by Baz Luhrmann, is a good representation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel; however, there are quite a few differences between the two. Some differences include; the portrayal of the characters, the importance of symbolism, and events that were either added or taken out of the movie.
The story The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott and directed by Baz Lurhmann, is a story narrated in the first person by the character Nick Carraway , about a man called Jay Gatsby , and his love/obsession for a girl called Daisy Fay Buchanan , who is married to a man called Tom Buchanan . In this story, the director uses film techniques like characterization, setting, cinematography, soundtrack, and visual elements to portray particular ideas and themes in the story - but these techniques are over-the-top, inefficient, and sometimes completely unnecessary. Some of the themes of The Great Gatsby that will be discussed here are wealth, hope, and infatuation.