What Are The Similarities Between The Great Gatsby Book And Movie

Maria Selgado

Ms.Tobias

English III GT- 4th

12 January 2017

The Great Comparison

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.

There are many similarities presented to the audience between the movie and the novel. One

comparison I found that was constant throughout the entirety of the movie and novel was the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg as a sign that “God sees everything” which is said by Wilson in both the movie and the book (Fitzgerald 167). By comparison to the movie and the book, Nick and Gatsby are portrayed beautifully, in my opinion. Gatsby obviously has an extraordinary life in the book and is seen throughout the movie in the many parties. You can also tell that his behavior in the movie and the book resonate very well through the way Nick describes Gatsby on pages 69-71. Just as the characters and the settings are similar from movie to book, so is the scene where Gatsby and Tom get into the argument at the Plaza (Fitzgerald 135-142). Almost every detail was right on the dot all the way to way Gatsby began to act excitedly once Tom accused him of bootlegging in the hotel (The Great Gatsby). Gatsby is seen frantically trying to talk to Daisy just as it was described in the book.
As I’ve said before, there are differences but in my opinion, I do not think there are many.

Although most of the characters were portrayed the best that they could be, Daisy was not. In the book Daisy is said to have “The voice of money” (Fitzgerald 127). However, in the movie she talks more sweetly and not at all how I expected her to be played. In the novel, Gatsby’s father shows up to the funeral and shows Nick the journal that Gatsby had had when he was younger and talks about how proud he is of Gatsby but unlike the novel, the movie does not have this scene (Fitzgerald 180-182). However, the movie shows that no one came to Gatsby’s funeral except all the paparazzi that showed up to take pictures of him in his casket (The Great Gatsby). I feel this should have really been included because it showed a little more insight into the life of Jay Gatsby. The last and final difference I have about this comparison is about the scene where Daisy is going to visit Nick for tea. The book really did not include many details about how Nick’s house looked after Gatsby had sent everyone over to “get it ready” (Fitzgerald 89-90). When this scene occurred in the movie, I was really thrown off because of how decorated it was. Especially all the flowers that had been brought over to Nick’s house. It was filled to the brim with flowers which made the scene more awkward than it should have

been.
This novel should have been a very difficult novel to translate into movie format but this was done beautifully. Because there were little differences between the movie and the book, I thought that the movie was better done only because of the way the book was written which was a great weakness for me. It was a little hard to read at times and the movie made it more bearable and understandable. A unique and new insight that came from comparing the movie and the book was just how much drama went on in the 1920’s. I knew that it was time for partying and having fun but this also showed the darkness that happens behind the curtains. One item I would change to improve the movie would be to include the scene with Gatsby’s father. I cannot stress that one enough. It would have made for a very good scene as well due to the rawness of the father being there for the funeral. Overall, The Great Gatsby was a great read, and a great watch.

Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 1992. Print.
The Great Gatsby. Dr. Baz Lurhmann. Warner Bros. Pictures. 2013. Film