comparing essay

Oh 4

[Title]

Jiwon Oh

Professor Bell

Jiwon Oh

[Title]

The Great Gatsby, by Fitzgerald, dragged many directors’ attention because of its classic American drama story. I would like to compare and contrast The Great Gatsby book and The Great Gatsby movie filmed in 2000 by A and E Television Networks. Overall, I was impressed on how the film was similar to the novel. Most of the dialogues used in the film were actual dialogues used in the novel. However, the ninety minute film could not contain all the details of the novel, and therefore, some scenes were deleted. In my opinion, the film cannot be exactly same as the novel because the film and the novel focused on different themes. Books are printed for the readers to buy and read. It is okay to take some time to become popular. On the other hand, films are played in the theaters for only couple of weeks. DVDs are made and sold, but the film drags people’s attention when it is first released in the theaters. Therefore, the films must contain something to drag the audience in such a short amount of time. I think that is how the film had to be filmed differently than the novel. It would have been better if the film focused on the same theme as the novel. In The Great Gatsby film, the story is exaggerated, the characters are misrepresented, and the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy is distorted.

The film The Great Gatsby is more exaggerated than the novel because it focused more on drama. As I watched the film, I thought that the scene where Tom Buchanan hit his affair, Myrtle Wilson, at a party in the New York was somewhat exaggerated. When I was reading the novel, I did not think that the scene was a major concern. In my point of view, Myrtle is not educated and suited to be Tom’s real lover. Tom is from a wealthy family, and woman like Myrtle can never be accepted. Nonetheless, Myrtle tries to act as if Tom loves her more than Daisy, Tom’s wife. In the beginning of the novel, Nick tells the readers how Tom’s personality is like. So, when I read the part where Tom hit Myrtle, I was not very surprised. However, in the movie, it is filmed as if it is a major concern. Another scene which I think is exaggerated than the novel is the car accident scene. In the novel, Fitzgerald does not focus on the car accident scene itself that much. I think what is important from the scene is the “eyes of the god” and how Tom slips information to George Wilson, Myrtle’s husband, about whose car is the car Myrtle was hit. I think the A and E Television Networks filmed the accident scene in details to create some drama for the audience since some might not have read the novel and to drag more of audience’s attention.

I think the characters are more dramatically represented in the film than the novel. In my opinion, the character which was most misrepresented was Daisy Buchanan. In the film, Daisy’s personality is not well shown in detail. Daisy Buchanan seems like a beautiful woman having trouble between her true lover and her husband. However, Daisy is not only beautiful and charming. In the novel, she is careless as Nick described, and loves luxurious life. She loves “good money”, which is the reason why she married Tom instead of waiting for Gatsby. Tom’s family has been rich for generations whereas Gatsby is from a poor family. Gatsby becomes rich, but he lives in the west egg, where the newly become rich people live. Also, she is not a loving woman either because nowhere in the novel shows about her love toward her baby. She is not innocent and nondestructive as the film shaped her. In the film, Daisy is represented as a typical American drama female character between two men without her true characteristics. In my opinion, Gatsby is also not well represented in the film. In the novel, Gatsby reunites with Daisy after five years. However, the film states that he has not seen her for eight years. This makes Gatsby a man who cannot get over with a married woman for eight years, which seems quiet crazy.

I think the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy is distorted in the film because Daisy is characterized in a wrong way. In the film, it looks like it is only Gatsby who is into this love. In the novel, Daisy and Gatsby are both passionate in their love. It is just that Gatsby has made this far from a poor man to a rich man for his love whereas Daisy easily gave him up for money and stability. In the film, it is viewed as if Gatsby is the one who is crazily obsessed with Daisy, who is pure and innocent. It is hard for the audience who has not read the book to understand their relationship. In the novel, it is Gatsby who is rather innocent since he has reached his “dream” for his love. On the other hand, even after the reunion, Daisy does not plan to get back with Gatsby because his wealth is not made of good money. Gatsby does not have stability like Tom Buchanan.

Overall, the film is impressive for the fact that the film is similar with the novel. However, the film is too short to have all the details of the novel. Also, films and novels have different purposes and focuses. Therefore, the film made some changes to the story for more drama. To make the film more dramatic, the stories are more exaggerated in the scenes that were not important in the novel. The characters such as Daisy and Gatsby are characterized into more of typical Hollywood main characters. Since the characters are characterized differently than the novel, the complex relationship between Gatsby and Daisy has become harder to understand especially for the audience that never read the book.