POST #3
Due FRI Jan 23 or sooner. Don't forget to give SPECIFIC detail and to respond to each other. There will be 5 posts in all.
Read chapters 1-6, also after viewing some of the film (from these later chapters) in class
Compare your impressions of the characters in the film with what you envisioned in the novel. What would you have changed? What symbols do you see done well in the film that Fitzgerald would have appreciated?
38 comments:
The characters in the movie almost exactly fit what I had imagined in my mind. The only difference I saw was that I imagined Gatsby to be a little bit older, but I definetly wasn't dissappointed because in the movie he is really hot.
I can't really say if I think F. Scott Fitzgerald would approve of the characters in the movie, because I obviously don't know how he thinks, but in my opinion I thought they all fit very well.
The biggest difference from what I see in the movie and what I envisioned from what I read is Nick. In the movie Nick seems to be a friendly, nice likeable guy. However while reading I see him as someone who just goes along with the crowed or someone who’s always looking to please or impress other people. I like the Nick from the movie better than I like the Nick from the reading. I feel Nick is done wrong in the movie. I would have made him to be more of a loser, or a tag-a-long. I definitely wouldn’t have made him so likeable. I also pictured Gatsby to look different. For some reason while reading I saw him as someone who brown hair and in the movie he is blonde, which truly doesn’t matter because in my opinion the characters act very similar. They are both adults, who I feel are respectful and nice. I think the author of the book would like who the film portrays Gatsby. I also think the author would like the way Daisy is portrayed. In both the book and the movie she gives me the same impression, a ditzy blonde. A great symbol in the movie is shown with hair color. Daisy is blonde, she had a bright personality and seems to be happy and smiley, much like a bright color or a stereotypical blonde. Jordan on the other hand is more dark and mysterious. She’s the person who would go behind someone’s back if it pleased what she needed. So her personality is dark like her hair. (Now please don’t take this the wrong way and think I am saying that people with dark hair have dark personalities, I’m simply saying that this is a good example of a symbol.
I agree with Aeneva09--I think Nick is a bit more of a cling-on in the book and he is super nice in the film--almost like he is entirely innocent. I don't think he is innocent in the book.
I like how Gatsby is super hesitant about setting up tea with Daisy and then throws together a big spread to impress her. I liked how the film showed Gatz going to Nick in the rain (maybe to show him switching and operating in a bit of a cover from night time to rain to--showing his true feelings and identity in the daylight to come?)
I loved the gas scene today. I just cracked me up. Jordan Baker is just perfect. She is sultry and I can see where Nick would be swept away. The Eckleberg sign is creepy, but yet the characters don't seem to notice it "judging" them with its unseeing eyes.
I am watching the film with the class. Sorry I can't show end to end with our videos and the presentations--this trimester is sure pushy!
Compared to the film the characters I envision are different from those in the film. I feel that in the film they make Daisy seem very, very, very ditzy and I don't see her being that stupid. When she speaks such as when she is seeing Gatsby's house and says, "that huge place there?" I don't see her batting her eyelashes, and talking in a stupid voice, like they make it seem in the film. Also, in the film they make Jordan seem very mischevious and maybe in later chapters she does something bad, but so far she hasn't done anything untrustworthy I feel. She does as Gatsby asked and spoke to Nick about Gatsby knew Daisy and for Nick to arrange for Daisy to come to his house for tea. I also feel that in the film Nick is more emotionally attatched to what he says and does where in the book he is kind of lifeless most of the time.
In my opinion I think the characters are the same in the movie as they are in the novel. The only difference is that I imagined them being a bit older, but they all look pretty young in the movie. I really thought of Gatsby as being like in his mid 40’s, but he’s really young looking in the movie, especially for being rich and having everything he has.
No actual symbols jump out at me. I mean I guess money could be one. It makes Gatsby look very high class how he can just hire people to cut the grass, and bring in plants to Nick’s house, because he was meeting with Daisy, and it wasn’t good enough for her in his mind. Money can be a big part with Gatsby. He can have anything he wants, and uses money to get it. Like with his parties, and just the whole hiring people to do things. So what I’m getting at is the emphasis of money was used well in the movie and Fitzgerald would have appreciated it, because it’s portrayed in the book.
Some of the characters in the movie fit very well with what I pictured. Daisy, Tom, and Gatsby was close, but Jordan is more mysterious in the movie. Also in the movie, Nick seems even more emotionless than he does in the book, he doesn't say hardly anything in the movie it seems, but in the book Nick talks quite a bit.
I agree with aeneva09 when he/she says that Nick just goes along with the crowd to please everyone.
Gatsby, in the movie, was very similar to how I pictured him while reading the book. Like AP Teacher Nayback says how he is very hesitant while asking Nick to invite Daisy over so he can see her.
I really agree with james13- Nick, Daisy, and Jordan all fit what i expected to see, except i pictured Gatsby to be older. I actually have an actor in my head that I think looks like a perfect Gatsby, but I cannot bring his name to my mind! I think Fitzgerald would have liked the characters in the movie because I really expected the movie to be way off, but it is very similar. In the movie, however, Nick seems a little less arrogant- probably because the book is written from Nick's point of view, and the movie is omniscent.
I do agree with aeneva09 about Nick. His personality seems much different in the movie than in the book. I think the biggest thing is in the book, you're reading everything from Nick's perspective, so you get a more in depth look at what he thinks and feels. But in the movie, it's all for you to decide based on the characters and what they say out loud.
my impressions of the characters are pretty similar to the ones in the movie. daisy's house was exactly like i envisioned it, and they pulled off the symbolism of white for "innocence" very well. although clearly, no one was innocent. but i envisioned tom as younger and more buff, not some ugly goat faced guy. gatsby wasnt a dissapointment in the looks department. all in all, i think fitzgerald would have been happy. even most of the dialogue was the same.
The actress who played Jordan fit well with how I imagined her. Her dark hair and sultry voice fit very well with the sneaky, seductive Jordan that I imagined. In my mind, I imagined Daisy to look a bit younger. She is semi-attractive in the film, but I imagined her to be better looking and not quite as old. I didn't imagine Gatsby to be as attractive as he was. Like James13, I saw Gatsby a bit older in my mind. While I read the book, I also imagined Nick to be a little bit more plain looking. In the film, I found him to be much more attractive.
One of my first changes to the film would to changed the actress who played Daisy. In the book, her voice is described as "the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down, as if each speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again" (9), yet her voice in the film was incredibly annoying. I can hardly stand to listen to it.
Like AP Teacher Nayback, I think that Fitzgerald would have approved of the Eckleberg sign. He also would have liked the time period things. For example, the style of dancing, the parties, the cars, and such all fit the roaring 20s theme. The film payed a lot of attention to keeping the scene set in the 1920s, which Fitzgerald would have likely appreciated.
I feel that the characters are a bit different from what I had imagined, and actually I don't like it because I feel that the movie taints my visions of the characters in the books. I agree with aeneva09 that I like the Nick in the movie better, although to me he is the one that is closest to what I had imagined in the book. As for Gatsby, he looks tougher in the movie than I had pictured in my mind. For someone who calls Nick old sport every single time he talks to him, he looks too tough. I never thought Daisy would talk the way that she does in the movie and actually, I get really annoyed by her movie voice. It says that Daisy never drinks but the way that she talks in the movie isn't very convincing of that fact. Jordan is similar to my impression but I had expected someone who's a bit more tomboy since that's how it describes her and she plays golf and sports. Tom, I think looks a little creepy in the movie and I don't like him at all. I think that Fitzgerald would've been satisfied with the majority of the portrayals except Gatsby because that is nothing at all what I had expected. He should've been a bit more friendly and light hearted looking. I think it was good also in the movie that they included that billboard with the eyes.
For me the differences from the book and the movie were Nick and Gatsby. While reading the book, I pictured Nick to be more of a "snake" than what he is in the movie. In the movie he seems like he is more of the victim of the story. He gets invited to Gatsby's house twice and Daisy treats him like he's the most amazing man in the world.
In the book, I pictured Gatsby to be a lot older and wiser looking. In the movie, he was really young and good looking. Actually he was VERY VERY good looking.
I think the symbols would be Jordan and how she's so beautiful. She looks very mysterious and she acts mysterious too. I have a feeling that her mysteriousness is going to play a big role in Nick's life.
The most obvious character difference between the book and the movie is the character Nick. In the book, Nick seems to be more of a "Negative Nancy" so to speak. He picks everyone apart and it doesn't really seem like he particularly like anyone. I think, in the film, I would have made Nick a little bit more like the way he was in the book. He was probably made much more likeable in the movie because he takes more of the protagonist's role, and no one really likes a protagonist with a bad personality. It may have made the movie a little bit more interesting, though, if Nick were as flawed in the movie as he was in the book.
I found the Gatsby video to adhere pretty closely to Fitzgerald's book. Gatsby's obvious worry and preoccupation about meeting and impressing Daisy is well represented in the video. On page 84, Nick notes: "He was pale, and there were dark signs of sleeplessness under his eyes." The video shows Gatsby frantically decorating and preparing both his and Nick's homes for his reunion with Daisy. This same mania is displayed on page 84 when Nick says, "...a greenhouse arrived from Gatsby's..."
While Fitzgerald actually describes the emotions and meanings of behaviors in The Great Gatsby, the video is forced to demonstrate them. The scene with Daisy sitting in her lavish bathroom while her servant holds the phone is particularly symbolic for me. As Daisy pretends to be serenely happy in her extreme wealth, the actual shallowness of her wealth-induced "happiness" and teh depth of her true misery are made evident. Her choice to opt for Tom's wealth over Gatsby's love has obviously ruined her life. In the book, Daisy's first sign of genuine, unaffected joy appears when she kisses Gatsby. "Then he kissed her. At his lips' touch, she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete(111)."
There are some major differences between book and film. I think Nick is portrayed as much too affectionate to Jordan. His opinions in the book reveal that he doesn't have especially deep feelings for her. The actors look amazingly appropriate, I think, except for Daisy. In the book, I like Daisy. In the video, I do not.
I think Fitzgerald would have appreciated the eyes and the ashes near Myrtle's husband's gas station. The video makes that area appropriately squalid and depressing. The attention to white clothing and white symbolism is perfect, as well.
The movie also does a nice job of showing Gatsby's attitude when it comes to his money. It's funny how Gatsby has Nick's lawn mowed, the flowers brought in, and the movie does a good job of showing an extravagant mansion and elaborate parties. The appearance of the characters is done well to obviously distinguish the people of higher and lower wealth.
One of the scenes that we watched in class was the rain scene, and I believe it fit what Fitzgerald had in mind. The actual section says "Then I went out of the room and down the marble steps into the rain, leaving them together" (96). This is very much how the scene was filmed in the movie.
I agree with aeneva09's comment about how Daisy is a ditzy blond in both the book and the movie. The only difference for me is that I found Daisy to be more likeable in the book than in the movie.
The characters in the film are how I envisioned a lot of the characters in the novel. Meeting Gatsby in the film was different from what I pictured. He seemed to young. However, now I think he matches perfectly. I would have changed the character of Nick. Nick in the film looks like he is to nice and a little on the old side. In the book he gives off a different impression. I agree with aeneva09 on the fact that when I'm reading he seems like a tag along who noone knows.
Some symbols in the movie that Fitzgerald would like are when everything is "white". I'm not sure yet what that stands for, but it is a point that he wanted to get across. I think Jordans character fits her well. She is very "sultry" like Mrs. Nayback said. In the film when Gatsby sends over someone to cut the grass, that shows off the rich side of Gatsby. Daisy is bubbly and all of the other characters match their character in the film from the book.
I'm afraid I must disagree with aeneva09. Daisy is definitely the biggest difference from book to movie. Nick is about the same. He is perfectly friendly and nice to everyone in the book. However, there, we get to see his actual thoughts. If everyone could see your or my actual thoughts, they wouldn't like us as much, either.
The characters in the film definitely fit the roles from the book. Like Nayback said, Jordan Baker in the film matches Jordan Baker in the book perfectly. The actress captured her attitude very well. I think that F. Scott Fitzgerald would be impressed with the characters. I also think that F. Scott Fitzgerald would be impressed with the actor that played Gatsby. When he started talking to Nick about setting up a tea time with Daisy, he portrayed the image of a nervous and anxious Gatsby very well. I also like the way they made Gatsby's house. It was large, extravagant, and kind of mysterious, exactly as I had pictured it when I read the book.
I was kind of disappointed when I saw Dr. Ekleberg because I thought he would be more colorful and attention-getting. In the book, Dr. Eckleberg is so flagrantly obvious that Nick never overlooks him when he passes by. I also think they could have done the "valley of ashes" (27) better. In the book it describes the area as "desolate" and it often talks about the "spasms of bleak dust which drift endlessly over it." In the movie, all I saw was a pile or two of coal. There was no dust, no workers, no cars, and most of all, no GREY!
We haven't exactly gotten up to chapter 6 in the film, but I may as well throw my thoughts out there anyway.
I think it is absolutely disturbing that Daisy has the nerve to KISS Gatsby with Tom there! She is so insipid with her actions- she suggests that she and Gatsby take Tom's car to town, while saying that Tom, Jordan, and Nick should take Gatsby's. She is making it so obvious that she wants to be with Gatsby alone. She even suggests that the other three should see a movie while she and Gatsby cruise the town. Tom is getting furious, but when it comes to Daisy's opinion on Tom's affair, she doesn't really care.
What is with these people?!
I agree with "james13". The actors in the film exactly portrayed the characters that i imagined from the book. Even the way that the actors looked in the film, i think they accurately portrayed the characters in the book. The setting in the film also fits my imagination of the setting in the book.
Overall i think that the film did a fantastic job at portraying the characters and setting I imagined from the book, so i wouldn't change a thing in the film.
As far as symbolism goes, I think that the film followed really close along the plot of the book. The film showed accurate descriptions of the mood to. For example when they drive past the Ash Heaps, that setting and mood fits the book perfectly. I think that Fitzgerald would have liked the film because of how accurate the film is to the book, but maybe Fitzgerald has a different outlook on the film since he is the author compared to us who are readers.
I think Fitzgerald would have appreciated Dr. Eckleburg's eyes being in the movie. Also, I agree with sasquatch101 when he/she says that Fitzgerald would like that everything was white.
The film seems to follow what I imagined in the book very well. One difference, though, is that in the book I don't see Nick from the third person, rather I visualize the story from his eyes. Plus, Nick seems like a much nicer person in the movie because you can't see how he always criticizes everyone else. This is evident when Jordan and Nick are driving. In the film you just see the discussion about Jordan being a bad driver, but in the book you hear Nick talk about how she lies, and that he is one of the few honest people he knows. I also imagined Gatsby to look a little bit older, but not much. None of these differences really made the movie less enjoyable for me anyway.
As to whether or not Fitzgerald would aprove of the movie, I can't say for sure. However the movie seems very close to the descriptions in the book so I believe he wouldn't mind it at all.
Compared to my envisions of the characters in the novel and the characters in the book, Nick, Daisy, and Jordan were very similiar. I pictured Daisy and Jordan as 'blonde' women with bubbly personalities [especially Daisy], and their appearances in the film fit my envisions very well. As for Gatsby, I expected him to be a bit older [more like a middle-aged man], not a younger, more attractive-looking man. But, I'm not complaining!
As for changing anything, I think Nick should have been a more stern, emotionally detached sort of guy. In the book, he gives off this vibe that he'd rather be a spectator to everything that's happening rather than become involved. Such as when Nick and Gatsby set up lunch together, Nick invites Daisy over. This is done purposefully so that Gatsby can be with the women he has loved for a long time. After Gatsby and Daisy become comfortable with each, Nick leaves them alone.
Symbols seen in the movie that I think Fitzgerald would have appreciated very well are the billboard sign depicting Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, the piles of ash heaps found in the background [during the scene where Nick and Daisy get the car filled up], Jordan's sexual-type of attitude, and the scene where a car pulls up into Nick's driveway and men deliver yellow flowers to his house. The flowers are to spruce up the place for when Daisy comes over.
I think the makers of the movie did a good job picking actors for the parts and getting the plot and scenes from the book into the movie. The actor for Nick is o.k. but I pictured him more of a nicer looking man with a baby face and a sort of an aloof air about him. I also pictured Tom as a bigger and burlier guy but I still think they did a good job. I think Fitzgerald would have liked how they stuck with his plot and the personalities of the characters. I also think he would have liked how they made the background for the movie complement the plot and theme of the story. Overall, I believe Fitzgerald would be happy with how the movie turned out.
I disagree with "abc123". I think that Jordan is a seductive shady person in both the book and the film, but she is different in the film. I think that she is A LOT more seductive in the film, partly because of her voice and facial expressions, but in the book I don't see her as seductive. So i can say that she is not the same in both the film and book.
Response to A_Wilbur
I have to disagree that I did not think the characters to look older, except maybe Tom and Myrtle. Thanks to all of Nick's wonderful descriptions, I see the characters as younger.
Just another quick note-
It's really nice to watch a movie that ACTUALLY follows the book. I get so tired of watching movies and forget what I'm watching because it goes off on a completely different level. Fitzgerald definitely would have been happy that the movie was staying true to the book and not losing the lessons taught in the story.
In contrast to what ABC123 says, I think that Daisy's voice in the film was perfect. I think that her voice was exactly like "the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down"(9). While it may be kind of annoying, she still has the kind of voice that attempts to be happy and pleasant at all times.
To manbear--I agree. Maybe Daisy is trying to throw in Tom's face since Tom throws it in her face.
I think it's sad that Daisy and Tom have a baby and they don't even seem to care about it.
Well I think that all books are better than their movies. Movies tend to throw in extra unneeded parts or leave out parts that seem to be important. Also, characters in books have a more developed personalities compared to those of their movie counterparts. Now I haven't read the entire book or watched the entire movie of The Great Gatsby, but the movie seems to have little differences right now from the book. Agreeing with "aeneva09," I think Nick doesn't have the two-faced personality he seems to have in the book, but once again I've only seen bits of the movie. All in all, most characters in movies, compared to the characters in the book, have differences in personalities. F. Scott Fitzgerald probably would have found the movie entertaining, but more than likely wouldn't approve of it compared to his book. He grew up in a period without tv and movies, but books were the "big" thing. So being able to see his book come to life would have been a cool experience for him, but the movie wasn't his work, and he probably would have agreed with it creation.
I find that Gatsby has more of a fascination/obsession with Daisy as opposed to love, Gatsby has created this sense of a person who is wealthy and happy to impress Daisy but it is almost as if he is quite let down when he is reunited with Daisy after 5 years. Nick even mentions that it's no wonder that he doesn't know what to think of Daisy after he has built up this false persona of Daisy. I think most people would agree that when you are super excited for something to happen or an event to occur, that event/action never lives up to the hype, what you have in mind is never what the reality is. Which makes me really wonder? Does Gatsby "LOVE" Daisy, or is this a fascination of her wealth and beauty?
I agree with sasquatch101's comment about the symbolism of "white" and "dark". It is very apparent that the reader is supposed to realize a difference.
Not to pick on Daisy's voice in the film again, but on page 108, it says "Daisy began to sing with the music in a husky, rhythmic whisper, bringing out a meaning in each word that it had never had before and would never have again...her voice broke up sweetly..."(108). In the film, her voice isn't like that. I wish it was!
I agree with Mrs. Nayback and manbearpig2009. I totally agree with the fact that Tom and Daisy don't like each other, but yet they never seem to bring up the topic to each other. They just seem to skip over it and pretend everything is okay. But it is too bad that they have a kid and they don't even care, i would hate to be that kid haha. But in all seriousity I don't see why they just don't end things, and go their separate ways already. They both have found their own "lovers" i just wish they would take some action.
Whoo, that is another one that slipped by me (AP Teacher Nayback).
WHEN did they just randomly have this little girl? She seems adorable in the book, but apparently she just gets shipped off with the servants every day.
For God's sake, she's not a pet polo pony of Tom's!
I have to agree with manbearpig2009 in what he says about Daisy being blunt with what she wants to do with Gatsby. I think she should try to solve her situation not make it worse with making Tom upset. I really don't understand these characters either because if my husband was having an affair, if I liked him or not, I would have something to say about it.
The movie isn't the way I see Gatsby in the book. I pictured Gatsby to be a little younger than he is in the movie. I agree with llama_llama_Duck. I pictured Nick to be slightly more stern, and more emotionally detached.
As for symbols that I think F. Scott Fitzgerald, I think he would like the scenes with Nick and Gatsby. For instance, like the when Gatsby goes over to Nick's house and says, "I don't want to put you to any trouble, you see"... " I want o get the grass cut." Gatsby wants to have Nicks lawn cut, and brings over flowers to Jazz up Nick's house. Gatsby wants Daisy to see his house, but at the same time decorate Nick's house to Gatsby's liking.
i would have to disagree with those who say the characters should have been older. i totally imagined them to be in their late twentys early thirties. not in their thirtys. especially with gatsy and daisy; daisy especially acts very young and gatsby is like a lovesick teenager. especially when he is below her bedroom window, almost like the balcony seen from romeo and juliet
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