Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the storyline is seemingly similar to the film, which was directed by Baz Luhrmann. This is apparent, as they are both heavily reliant on Jay Gatsby’s hopeful romance with Daisy Buchanan. However, several differences can be identified through the film in relation to how various characters are represented by Luhrmann, these changes are made to simplify the plot. This in turn effects the characters’ interactions and ultimately the overall perceived message that this story relays.
Nick Carraway is the narrator throughout both the novel and the film; the manner in which Nick narrates differs between the two representations of the story. In the film, Nick is presented with a …show more content…
Tom is naturally a despised character in the novel, being the abusive husband of Daisy Buchanan and having Myrtle as his mistress sets him up from the beginning to be unlikeable. Luhrmann goes to extremes and utilises Tom’s jealousy and dominating personality to further simplify the plot. Luhrmann makes Tom’s character directly responsible for the murder of Gatsby, by inferring he is responsible for Wilson’s wife’s death. After Myrtles death Tom tells Wilson, that it was Gatsby who killed her and suggests that Gatsby was the one ‘fooling around with Myrtle’. Conversely in the novel Tom merely mentions to Wilson that a ‘fellow in a yellow car’ had run down his wife resulting in her death. By making Tom directly responsible for the death of Gatsby his character vastly differs from the novel, where he only hints that Gatsby was responsible. Additionally Tom’s character is further presented as the antagonist when Nick calls the Buchanan’s house to invite them to Gatsby’s funeral and Tom demands the phone is hung up, despite the longing look from Daisy. By overtly presenting Tom as the antagonist, Luhrmann allows the film to primarily focus on the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy; however, this changes the tone of Tom’s interactions and significantly simplifies the …show more content…
The meek representation of Daisy’s character can be recognised as an attempt to make her more forgivable. Luhrmann attempts to make Daisy’s character likeable in the film as this makes the storyline easier to comprehend as a result he omits Daisy’s selfishness. In the novel Daisy is playing with her child Pammy, when she is tired of playing she dismisses her to the nanny. This is an overt display of her disinterest in anybody outside of herself. Fitzgerald presents Daisy as a complexly self-obsessed character, and rings true to Nick’s observation, ‘They were careless people Tom and Daisy…’. The scene where Gatsby is throwing his expensive shirts onto Daisy can be seen as being presented in two different lights when comparing the novel and the film. Throughout the film Daisy appears to be genuinely upset about the lost time with Gatsby. Conversely in the novel she seems to be upset about missing out on the wealth that surrounds Gatsby’s extravagant life, this can be inferred as the subtle character traits included in the novel are analysed. Furthermore, the harsh representation of Tom Buchanan in the film makes Daisy more likeable when combined with the absence of her shallowness and her simple representation.
Overall the adaptation of the novel The Great Gatsby as a film presents a story primarily based on romance; however, some obvious differences are apparent
Nick Carraway is the narrator throughout both the novel and the film; the manner in which Nick narrates differs between the two representations of the story. In the film, Nick is presented with a …show more content…
Tom is naturally a despised character in the novel, being the abusive husband of Daisy Buchanan and having Myrtle as his mistress sets him up from the beginning to be unlikeable. Luhrmann goes to extremes and utilises Tom’s jealousy and dominating personality to further simplify the plot. Luhrmann makes Tom’s character directly responsible for the murder of Gatsby, by inferring he is responsible for Wilson’s wife’s death. After Myrtles death Tom tells Wilson, that it was Gatsby who killed her and suggests that Gatsby was the one ‘fooling around with Myrtle’. Conversely in the novel Tom merely mentions to Wilson that a ‘fellow in a yellow car’ had run down his wife resulting in her death. By making Tom directly responsible for the death of Gatsby his character vastly differs from the novel, where he only hints that Gatsby was responsible. Additionally Tom’s character is further presented as the antagonist when Nick calls the Buchanan’s house to invite them to Gatsby’s funeral and Tom demands the phone is hung up, despite the longing look from Daisy. By overtly presenting Tom as the antagonist, Luhrmann allows the film to primarily focus on the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy; however, this changes the tone of Tom’s interactions and significantly simplifies the …show more content…
The meek representation of Daisy’s character can be recognised as an attempt to make her more forgivable. Luhrmann attempts to make Daisy’s character likeable in the film as this makes the storyline easier to comprehend as a result he omits Daisy’s selfishness. In the novel Daisy is playing with her child Pammy, when she is tired of playing she dismisses her to the nanny. This is an overt display of her disinterest in anybody outside of herself. Fitzgerald presents Daisy as a complexly self-obsessed character, and rings true to Nick’s observation, ‘They were careless people Tom and Daisy…’. The scene where Gatsby is throwing his expensive shirts onto Daisy can be seen as being presented in two different lights when comparing the novel and the film. Throughout the film Daisy appears to be genuinely upset about the lost time with Gatsby. Conversely in the novel she seems to be upset about missing out on the wealth that surrounds Gatsby’s extravagant life, this can be inferred as the subtle character traits included in the novel are analysed. Furthermore, the harsh representation of Tom Buchanan in the film makes Daisy more likeable when combined with the absence of her shallowness and her simple representation.
Overall the adaptation of the novel The Great Gatsby as a film presents a story primarily based on romance; however, some obvious differences are apparent