The Great Gatsby Book Vs Movie

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Movie portrayals of classic American Literature are either a hit or miss, given how well the actors embody the characters. In 1974, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, was transformed into a major motion picture. Since this novel was loved by many and the characters were so distinct with their mannerisms, it was to much surprise that this movie seemingly fit the timeframe and the characters. Daisy Buchanan’s mannerisms rarely strayed far from how they were written into the original story, but Jay Gatsby’s idiosyncrasies appeared to be less present in the movie; perhaps, in this case, the film did the novel partial justice. Robert Redford was the movie portrayal of Jay Gatsby; the man of mystery only known as his true self by a handful…show more content…
Moreover, when Gatsby made an attempt to reach out to his neighbor, Nick Carraway, this a pivotal event in the story due to the peculiarity of the invitation and Gatsby’s reclusiveness. Although, Nick at one point started talking to a stranger who turned out to be Gatsby, and Nick apologized for not knowing who he was. He noted Gatsby as smiling much more than “understandingly” in response, and that it was one of those rare smiles that held a quality of “eternal reassurance” in it (Fitzgerald 48). This held Gatsby at the utmost importance, and the portrayal reenacted in the film did not necessarily depict the same thing. In fact, the entire buildup for this scene was shattered due to the unveiling of Gatsby becoming a seemingly minute detail. Rather than leaving the element of surprise to work by allowing Nick to figure out who Gatsby was himself, this movie called for Gatsby asking Nick to come up to his room to meet instead. “I just thought perhaps we should meet” were his exact words from the film,Doing so stripped away the integral moment shared between Nick and Gatsby; especially the beaming smile Gatsby was supposed to give Nick. However, there was an instance in which Redford did indeed execute Gatsby’s emotions and mannerisms with more accuracy.…show more content…
From the start of the novel through the very end, Daisy was an exquisitely ditzy and complex character that was at times a bit hard to follow. For instance, early on in the book when Daisy had invited her cousin, Nick Carraway, over to her house, it was as if she had nearly been sedated and was attempting to control her actions. She claimed to be “p-paralyzed” with happiness upon seeing Nick, and without reason began to uncontrollably chuckle (Fitzgerald 9). With that first depiction of Daisy, of her laughing and thinking she said something “witty,” it was to some surprise that the real life impersonation was closely aligned (Fitzgerald 9). Mia Farrow’s ebullient persona allowed anyone watching the film in comparison to the book to wholly delve into the character that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote Daisy to be. In this film, Mia Farrow’s loosely strung and chipper mannerisms clearly mirrored what were thought of as being Daisy’s when she encountered Nick. She again stated that she was “paralyzed” with happiness, and also began to giggle with such a lighthearted tone that it could make anyone reminiscent of their happiest moments. Another occasion in which the movie portrayal sufficiently illustrated the novel was when Daisy was revealing to Nick what she first said when her daughter was born, which was an immensely emotional juncture for her. In
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