The Great Gatsby

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Since F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby was published in 1925, Jay Gatsby has been one of the most enigmatic fictional characters of all time. On one hand, there is the dangerous bootlegger who turned Prohibition into an opportunity to build up his wealth. A hopeless romantic who has waited five years to return to the love of his life rests on the other hand. While Fitzgerald expertly created an image of this two-sided complex individual through Gatsby’s words, actions, and acquaintances, the 2013 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby did a better job of illustrating the complicated story of Jay Gatsby through its use of various elements of mise-en-scène and sound, which when combined create an atmosphere that helps the viewer to piece together the puzzle that is Jay Gatsby. This will be illustrated through the analysis of three scenes: Nick’s introduction to Meyer Wolfsheim, Daisy’s arrival for tea with Nick and her subsequent reunion with Gatsby, and Tom’s confrontation with Daisy and Gatsby regarding their affair.
Within the story, Meyer Wolfsheim is a representation of Gatsby’s dark side, his partner in crime for his questionable activities. When Gatsby brings Nick to lunch, the restaurant is described as being “a well-fanned Forty-second Street cellar” (Fitzgerald 69). The film adaptation takes this description a step further. Nick and Gatsby arrive in what appears to be a typical barber shop, but when Gatsby knocks on the back wall, they are admitted to a whole new world. As sensual, dangerous-sounding music grows louder, they descend a set of stairs into what people have come to consider an average 1920s speakeasy. People are crammed into a dark and somewhat dingy basement, with very little space to move. The ...

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...en everything becomes clear to the characters (The Great Gatsby).
F. Scott Fitzgerald showed great literary mastery while writing The Great Gatsby and managed to create an iconic novel that has lasted for almost ninety years. Although the novel was expertly crafted with beautiful descriptions and language, there are times when words cannot do a story complete justice. It is at times such as these that a film adaptation is called upon to clarify and intensify the storyline. In some cases, this attempt fails miserably, but in the case of The Great Gatsby, the film not only accurately portrays Fitzgerald’s story, but it adds to it, making it a masterpiece that is truly something to be beheld.

Works Cited

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004. Print.
The Great Gatsby. Dir. Baz Luhrmann. Perf. Leonardo DiCaprio. Warner Bros., 2013. Film.

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