Thinking Activity:The Great Gatsby

 Hello Friends, 

I am going to discuss about the novel ' The Great Gatesby' and it's film adaptation.

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. Unsuccessful upon publication, the book is now considered a classic of American fiction and has often been called the Great American Novel.

1)How did the film capture the Jazz age the Roaring Twenties of the America in 1920s?

Jazz music became wildly popular in the “Roaring Twenties,” a decade that witnessed unprecedented economic growth and prosperity in the United States. Consumer culture flourished, with ever greater numbers of Americans purchasing automobiles, electrical appliances, and other widely available consumer products.The achievement of material affluence became a goal for many US citizens as well as an object of satire and ridicule for the writers and intellectuals of the Lost Generation.

Technological innovations like the telephone and radio irrevocably altered the social lives of Americans while transforming the entertainment industry. Suddenly, musicians could create phonograph recordings of their compositions. For jazz music, which was improvisational, the development of phonograph technology was transformative. Whereas previously, music-lovers would actually have to attend a nightclub or concert venue to hear jazz, now they could listen on the radio or even purchase their favourite recordings for at-home listening.

2) How did the film help in understanding the characters of the novel?

This whole film gives a clear idea that I understand every character. Movie and novel in different scenes.The Great Gatsby is a text written by Nick that is not entirely original with Luhrmann—though the filmmaker takes this much further than Fitzgerald, showing Nick writing by hand, then typing, and finally compiling his finished manuscript. He even titles it, first just Gatsby, then adding, by hand, “The Great,” in a concluding flourish. 

3) How did the film help in understanding the symbolic significance of the 'Thee Valley of Ashes , 'The Eyes of Dr. T J Eckleburg 'and 'The Green Light'?

The Valley Aahes :-

The valley of ashes is the depressing industrial area of Queens that is in between West Egg and Manhattan. It isn't actually made out of ashes, but seems that way because of how gray and smoke-choked it is.the valley of ashes between West Egg and New York City consists of a long stretch of desolate land created by the dumping of industrial ashes. 

The Eyes of Doctor T. J Eckleburg :-

The first time we come across Dr. T.J. Eckleburg and his eerie eyes, we are in the midst of a double whammy of terribleness. First, Nick has just described Queens as a depressing, crumbling "valley of ashes" that is "grotesque" and "desolate". Second, Tom is about to introduce Nick to Myrtle Wilson, his married mistress.The second time T.J. Eckleburg's eyes appear, Tom, Nick, and Jordan are stopping at Wilson's garage on their way to Manhattan to have it out with Daisy and Gatsby. In the world of The Great Gatsby, there is no moral center. Every character is shown to be selfish, delusional, or violent. Even Nick, who, as our narrator, is ostensibly meant to reflect on who is good and who is bad, turns out to be kind of a misogynist bigot. It's not surprising that none of these characters is shown to have faith of any kind. The closest any of them come to being led by an outside force, or voice of authority, is when Tom seems swayed by the super racist arguments of a book about how minorities are about to overwhelm whites.

Green Light :-

Nick first sees Gatsby stretching his arms towards a green light at the end of Daisy's dock. Here, the green light is a symbol of hope.This symbolises the destruction of Gatsby's dream. By the end of chapter seven Gatsby is watching over nothing. Nevertheless, at the end of the novel Nick's final thought is that the human race will continue to strive for the unattainable.

4)How did the film capture the theme of racism and sexism?

There are many differences to be found between F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, written in 1925, and the movie directed by Baz Luhrmann in 2013. These differences are examples of how times have really changed. In 1925, instances of racism and sexism were not uncommon. However, racism and sexism are not really tolerated or accepted in today’s time. To suit the modern audience, instances of racism and sexism were omitted in the production of the movie. Many other differences can be found between the movie and the book. As times change, so do the accepted norms of society. The changes can be found seen in the characters and themes of the story.

5) Watch the video on Nick Carraway and discuss him as a narrator. 

Nick, the narrator does not appreciate Tom Buchanan's extramarital relationship with Myrtle Wilson. He also knows Gatsby's longing for Daisy's love and her loveless conjugal life. Once time and money which crept in them. That is why he sees nothing wrong in these two love-lorn-souls spending some time together which raises him above our narrow value of judgement and from a proper evaluation of life.

Nick's narrative written nearly two years after the experience of 1922, assesses events by investing them with significance. To achieve such understanding turns out to have been the real goal of his journey of discovery. As narrator, he shows himself able to share Gatsby's imaginative act of transforming the material world into "the promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world" while at the same time retaining a belief in the value of personal morality.

6) watch the video on psychoanalytical study of Jay Gatsby and write about his character.

The psychoanalytical model focuses solely on the unconscious, microstructures of power and identity, and small-scale domestic environments. Or, in other words, this model focuses on the relationships characters have with themselves and with other characters within their own social systems. From these relationships, conclusions and inferences can be made about larger cultural phenomenon and social trends that occur or exist within a narrative. Thus, I believe a character-driven film such as The Great Gatsby, which takes place during the colorful period in history known as the Jazz Age

In some point in the middle of the novel, in chapter 6, we learn that his shame of his class. His parents were only a farm workers and they were not very successful. That part tell us that Gatsby is already had a dream when he was a child and did not accept of being poor. He thought that this kind of life is blocking his dream., later on in the story, when the first time he met Daisy, this shame was become more influencing in his life.