The Great Gatsby Film Versions

The Great Gatsby is a 1974 American romantic drama film. It was directed by Jack Clayton and produced by David Merrick, from a screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola based on the novel of the same title by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This film is the 3rd filmed version of the novel.



The previous two, also made by Paramount, were: The Great Gatsby (1926), The Great Gatsby (1949), directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Alan Ladd as Gatsby, Betty Field as Daisy, Shelley Winters, Macdonald Carey, Barry Sullivan, and Howard Da Silva.



The 1926 Film version of the Great Gatsby was made as a silent film. This was the first filmed version of the novel. It was made by the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation and Paramount Pictures. The film was a famous example of a lost film. This film was directed by Herbert Brenon. Warner Baxter played Gatsby, Lois Wilson as Daisy Buchanan, and Neil Hamilton as Nick.

Dan Cody was Gatsby’s best friend. Dan Cody played a very big part in Gatsby's life. Gatsby also has a picture of him hanging in his wall. Gatsby’s new life began on the lake when he met Dan Cody. Dan Cody was a wealthy copper minor from Montana. Gatsby and Cody both sailed around the world together three times over the next five years. During this time, Gatsby served as steward, mate, skipper, and secretary for Dan. Gatsby had to jail Cody on occasion to prevent him from committing dangerous acts.



Dan Cody was a somewhat coarse man who became very wealthy during the Gold Rush. The transactions in Montana copper made Cody a great millionaire. Cody was softminded, and naive, and many young women took advantage of this. He mentored Gatsby, when he was a young man and gave him a taste of elite society. He taught him how to do business, and he taught him all he knew.



Plus, he had an insatiable thirst for alcohol and drank continuously. Before Dan Cody died, he left Gatsby a large amount of money, because Gatsby had helped and taken care of him. Also, Dan Cody did influence Gatsby in many ways; most importantly, watching Cody's excessive drinking, made Gatsby drink very little. A portrait of Cody hangs on Gatsby's wall. Gatsby used this money to start the business that he is now in. And he uses what Dan Cody taught him to run his own business. (http://www.enotes.com/great-gatsby/q-and-a/chapter-6-great-gatsby-87159)

Unrequited Love

Unrequited love really fit’s the novel "The Great Gatsby" very perfectly. In the novel, Jay Gatsby is in love with Daisy and Daisy is in love with Gatsby. They both love each other very much, even though Daisy is married to Tom, she is having an affair with Gatsby. Tom is having an affair with Myrtle Wilson and though he is having an affair with Myrtle, he still loves Daisy very much. Tom also cares for Daisy.





After Daisy met Gatsby again after so many years they fell in love. Daisy doesn’t really love Tom anymore, even though Tom "claims" that he is in love with Daisy and cares for her, Daisy knows that he doesn't really mean it. Since Tom loves Daisy but Daisy doesn't love Tom, this is considered unrequited love.



Another example of unrequited love is Wilson and Myrtle. Wilson and Myrtle are married to each other, but Myrtle doesn't have any feelings toward Wilson. Even though Myrtle doesn't love Wilson, Wilson loves and cares about her and would do anything for her. He would do just about anything that would make her happy. Myrtle is Tom’s mistress and is having an affair with Tom. She is very jealous of Daisy and wants Tom to divorce Daisy. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unrequited_love)

The Green Light

The novel is presenting the truth behind the twenties and creating an atmosphere which has earned a permanent place in American literature. His novel works on many different levels, giving us unforgettable characters and events on one, as well as referring to the problems of American wealth and spirituality on another. And most importantly, what on earth is that mysterious green light? The first symbol in this book was the mysterious green light. When Gatsby first mentions the light, we see him reaching out for it, almost worshipping it. We find out later that this green light is at the end of Daisy's dock, is a symbol for Gatsby's dreams, and the hope for the future. Green is the color of promise, hope, and renewal, so it is fitting that Gatsby's dream of a future with Daisy be shown physically in the novel by this green light. However, Gatsby's dream is tarnished by his material possessions. This will soon corrupt him. He dream will soon die because of Daisy and Tom's carelessness and superficiality. At first we are given the green light as a symbol for the hope and promise of the future, but later it is considered the "foul wasteland" of the present. This can be interpreted as the foul, material-driven world that the main characters live in and which helps to destroy Gatsby's dream. Soon Daisy tells Gatsby that he reminds her of an advertisement. This statement shows that Daisy does not like Gatsby for himself but for the superficial illusion he represents. He also advertises eternal youth, wealth, and beauty constantly, which goes along with Gatsby's youthful dream of Daisy.(http://www.novelguide.com/thegreatgatsby/metaphoranalysis.html)

Old Money VS. New Money

New money in "The Great Gatsby" was money that people were making illegally. In the novel, Gatsby was making new money, he was selling illegal alcohol and making a tremendous amount of money because of it. Gatsby was getting money fast and it was making him rich. Because he was getting his money fast, he was able to throw extravagant parties, have a nice house, nice cars, and get anything he wanted. Money was not a problem for Gatsby, whenever he needed money; he got it.

Old money in "The Great Gatsby" was money that people were making the old fashion way. Tom was getting money the old fashioned way, he was making old money. He was a good citizen and he obeyed the law. He got his money from his job and he didn't get his money by doing anything illegal. All of his money was earned legally through hard work. Tom didn't know what Gatsby's job was, but he guessed since Gatsby got rich fast, and had everything that he wanted so he guessed that he was doing something illegal. Tom suspected that Gatsby was a bootlegger and that he was selling illegal alcohol.

So the better way to earn money would be through old money. You could learn life lessons and feel like a success and that all your hard work paid off. As opposed to pretty much just getting money handed to you. You would get cocky and think everything else is easy to do; there’d be no discipline or respect. It is easy to say yes and take the easy way out than it is to say no and take the harder way out. There should be some self-control. Then you’d feel more better about yourself because you’ve earned your money the legal and right way. (http://www.fa-mag.com/component/content/article/687.html?issue=32&magazineID=1&Itemid=73)

East Egg VS. West Egg

East Egg is the side of town were the people there have always had money is the more upper class. Tom and Daisy represent the old establishment, living in the wealthy upper class for most of their lives. Daisy is very snobby and only cares about how much money she has, she’s an example of how people in East Egg are. These people are shallow and lack values. They are careless and completely full of themselves. The social class of East Egg are inhuman; they are spoiled to such a extent that their reality has been twisted. Although these are clearly "bad" people they are envied and copied constantly by the West eggers.



West Egg is the side of town were the people have not always have money. They weren’t always rich, so they had to work for it. It’s still a rich and nice area, but not everyone is rich in that area. Their wealth is based on material possessions. Gatsby, like the West Eggers, dosent have the traditions of the East Eggers. He is considered 'new money', meaning that his wealth came to him more recently through his business that is believed to be corrupt. Despite the fact Gatsby made his fortune in a corrupt fashion he is still someone to admire because of his hopes. Although West Egg is the more moral, it is still a place of enormous spending and gaudy living. Both of the eggs are people who love money, the difference is how they obtained that money and the way they live their lives.



West Egg is a better place to be for various reasons. West Egg has more discipline than East Egg. They are more positive people and don’t have a tendency to cause problems to others. They have earned their money as opposed to the people in East Egg where they were born as spoiled rich kids. They actually care about people’s feelings and are not lazy and do things themselves. They are also very independent people and smart.

Selfish People

Selfish people are people that you do not want to be around. They usually don't like to share their things with other people and are really cheap. People who are selfish don't really have a lot of friends and if they do their friends are as selfish as they are or they probably don't care about them. Selfish people only care about themselves and no one else. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/selfish)

Tom is a good example of a selfish person. He is very selfish and he doesn't really care about his wife Daisy nor his mistress Myrtle. He also uses Myrtle only for his selfish needs. He only cares and looks out for himself. He acts very selfish towards Nick when he talks to him, he tries to always put him down. He thinks that he is better than everyone else. He is not liked by many people because of how selfish he is and the kind of person he is. Tom is very arrogant and stubborn too. Some people are afraid of him.

Jordan Baker is another character in The Great Gatsby that is selfish. She lies about pretty much everything and cheats a lot when she plays golf. She lies to get what she wants and only cares about herself and constantly leads Nick on. She is very self-centered and always bends the truth. She likes to gossip and is a people pleaser; and it's very selfish of her to gossip about other people just so people can like her and make her more popular and build up her reputation.