Hello friends,
Today's I'm going to discuss the novel "The Great Gatsby" by f. Scott Fitzgerald.
The Great Gatsby, third novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1925 by Charles Scribner's Sons. Set in Jazz Age New York, the novel tells the tragic story of Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire, and his pursuit of Daisy Buchanan, a wealthy young woman whom he loved in his youth.
We had a film screening on the 14th Jun 2021. With reference to the screening of the film, we were supposed to write the answers to the following questions.
1)How did the film capture the Jazz Age - the Roaring Twenties of America in the 1920s ?
In the movie we can see the term "Jazz Age" to describe the decade of decadence and prosperity that America enjoyed in the 1920s, which was also known as the Roaring Twenties. After World War I ended in 1918, the United States and much of the rest of the world experienced an enormous economic expansion. The surging economy turned the 1920s into a time of easy money, hard drinking, and lavish parties. We can understand better it with this image -
Though the 1920s were a time of great optimism, filmmaker portrays the much bleeker side of the revelry by focusing on its indulgence, hypocrisy, shallow recklessness, and its perilous, even fatal consequences.
2)How did the film help in understanding the characters of the novel ?
The film helps us to understand characters in an easy way. Filmmakers are using different angles to capture any situation. It makes the scene very interesting. In this movie we can see that the characters of Gatsby, Tom, Nick and Daisy are presented in a very interesting way.
This is how the character of Daisy was presented ! Daisy's first look in the movie is also fascinating. Jay Gatsby is described as a mysterious character. His entry is also very interesting. In short film helps us to understand the characters of the novel.
3)How did the film help in understanding the symbolic significance of 'The Valley of Ashes', 'The Eyes of Dr. T J Eckleberg' and 'The Green Light' ?
The Valley of Ashes
The scene of The Valley of Ashes is described in a very interesting way. The valley of ashes is located between West Egg and New York City consists of a long stretch of desolate land created by the dumping of industrial ashes. In the film we can see the image and setting of ' The valley of Ashes '. It helps us to understand the situation of that time. With the film screening we can understand that a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.
The Eyes of Dr. T J Eckleberg
The eye of Eckleburg The eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg are a pair of fading, bespectacled eyes painted on an old advertising billboard over the valley of ashes. They may represent God staring down upon and judging American society as a moral wasteland, though the novel never makes this point explicitly. And this eyes gave punishment to those who are bad person or those who are not doing their job sincerely.
The Green Light
The Green Light indicates the dream and hope of Gatsby. The film helps us to understand the importance of green light for Gatsby. He is always watching that light. That indicates him as a hopeful man. Situated at the end of Daisy’s East Egg dock and barely visible from Gatsby’s West Egg lawn, the green light represents Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future. Jay Gatsby is believe in hope and he also believe that he can change the past also. So in the movie we can see that Green Light' is also located at East Egg, where Daisy is lives. So there is hope of Gatsby to getting Daisy in his life.
4)How did the film capture the theme of racism and sexism ?
The theme of racism and sexism is very important in "The Great Gatsby". In the movie we come to know sexism and racism in the movies described by the gorgeousness of life. In clothing and expression both racism and sexism are described very well. In the above image we can get an idea about sexism.
In this image we get an idea about the racism in that time. That is how black people are treated. People like Tom believe that the black people and low class people are born to be slaves only ! That idea we can understand in a better way through the movie.
5)Watch the video on Nick Carraway and discuss him as a narrator.
Here is the link of The video,
As the narrator of the novel Nick Carraway is a very significant character. The novel is written from the first person point of view. He tells a story through a series of flashbacks but not always told in chronological order. As we see in the novel the character of Nick Carraway is very kind. He always remembers his father and his moral advice. The way he represents the story is awesome and in chronological order. In the novel we can observe that he has sympathy for Gatsby.
Nick also arranges the meeting of Gatsby and Daisy when he comes to know that once upon a Time they were in love. So he can invite Daisy for tea. For their comfort he went out of the house. This behavior makes him very gentle.
At the end of the novel we can see that nobody came for Gatsby's funeral except him and Gatsby's father. This we can see he has an attachment with Gatsby. He is the only one character who knows the truth about Gatsby. And in the end he leaves Long Island.
Thank you…
