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2 , 18/3/2010
(: The Great Gatsby, 1974)
Narrative Viewpoint the novel

The Great Gatsby is narrated by Nick Carraway, a limited and in a

sense reliable narrator not because he is dishonest, but rather
because he is an innocent like King Lear, he hath ever but slenderly
known himself

Nick introduces us to Long Island society, in particular to Gatsby

and Daisy, without making any moral judgments, leaving the reader
to make his or her own discoveries.

Since the book is narrated in retrospect, Nick is fully aware of the

eventual tragedy, but to tell the story he recaptures naivety and
gradual understanding, so that we can share the discovery.

The novel opens in a leisurely, discursive style; Nick introduces

himself as a listener, a confidant, slow to judge others, but ready to
make up his mind about the world.

It is extremely subtle self-portrait which will resonate through the

book, and as events unfold, many readers will turn back to these
opening pages, to see what light they throw on the narrator who is
part of the story, and yet at the same time somehow detached from
it

The Film
After a credit sequence montage of Gatsbys palatial, but vacant
house (including the fatal swimming pool), Jack Claytons 1974
adaptation, with a screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola gives us
some edited snippets of Nicks introduction to take us briskly into
the film.
Despite the transfer of 1st person narration to 1st person voice-over
(a common enough feature of narrative films, especially those

adapted from first-person novels), our view of Nick is visually in the

third person we are observing him at the same time as listening to
him. What is interesting here, though, is the choices that have been
made to introduce us visually to Nick.
We first see Nick losing his hat, losing control of his boat and almost
colliding with a much larger craft; then as he pulls into shore and
alights from the boat; we look down on him briefly from Toms
(superior) point of view.
These effects may seem a little crude taken in isolation, but it is the
kind of visual information that works almost unconsciously on an
audience, who, unless they rewind a videotape, are generally
unable to turn back the pages to check on their initial impressions
of a character.

Characters
GATSBY: While Redford wan an obvious box-office choice to play Gatsby,
having just come off huge successes in The Sting and The Way We Were,
he doesnt get Gatsby, choosing to play Gatsbys mysteriousness as
woodenness and aloofness. He looks fantastic in his Oscar-winning suits,
but its hard to care much about what comes out of his lock-jawed mouth.
DAISY: Mia Farrow is equally disappointing. In the book, Daisy has a
natural flirtatiousness that has been driving men wild for a decade.
In the film, Farrow comes across as nothing more than fragile and jittery.
She simply doesnt seem worth all the trouble men go to in pursuit of her
affections.
TOM: Bruce Dem is wiry and whiny. He has none of the looming physical
presence that supposedly makes Tom such a menacing figure.
CARRAWAY: Sam Waterston fares better. Nick is the narrator of both the
book and the movie, so he gets all the good speeches. Waterstons sad
eyes get sadder and sadder as Gatsbys tragic flaws propel him toward his
ugly fate.

Narrative Level
The film ran pretty close to the actual book. The dialogues for the most
part were exactly the same and the scenes in the movies seemed to fit
those of the book very well. Many of the differences were very minor
and insignificant.

Differences

 No owl man. In the book Nick runs into the owl man in Gatsbys
library going through his books amazed that they are real books, all
of the highest quality. Although that seems very unimportant, that
scene in the books shows how hard Gatsby tries to have the
appearance of being a rich, successful person in the society.
In the movie of Gatsbys first party there is two scenes showing a
scrappy scuffled looking dog. In one scene the dog sneaks onto the
table and grabs a piece of turkey.
In another scene he sneaks in the crowd into Gatsbys bathroom
once it begins to rain. In the movie, after the hotel scene Tom is just
driving with Jordan and Nick all of a sudden.
The dog may be a symbol of Gatsbys true self.
The meeting in the movie makes Gatsby seem to possess an allpowerful dominating executive type persona. That scene shows how
Tom knows he has won against Gatsby in their contest for Daisys
love and devotion. The movie made it seem as if Nick did not care
so much. It showed Toms arrogance once again and that he
believes he has a firm grasp on the entire situation. Doing this
foreshadows the quote Nick says at the end of the book about how
Daisy and Tom smash things up and let other people pick up the
pieces.
In the movie a servant finds Nick and orders him to Gatsbys study
where he introduces himself. Authority.
In the novel, Nick is talking to Gatsby for some time before he finds
who he really is. Simplicity.

Factual Errors
Right after George Wilson kills himself with the revolver, the gun is seen
falling into the fish pond in Gatsbys living room. Since Wilson shot himself
in the head by placing the gun to the roof of his mouth, there is no
possible way the gun could have flown so far away from his body,
especially without getting bloody.
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