The Great Nick Carraway

1327 Words6 Pages
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” was published in 1925 and is said to be a novel depicting the mood of the “Jazz age” in the 1920’s and 30’s. The book has been made into a major motion picture twice, once in 1974 and again in 2013. The book, as indicated by the title is about a man named Jay Gatsby; however the focal point of this novel is actually the narrator and Gatsby’s neighbor on the “East Egg” Nick Carraway who is a participant in the events of the book while concurrently remaining in the background. Nick is honest and unbiased in giving his account of the events that take place surrounding Gatsby. The inner dialog Nick lends to the story is an important key to keeping the story honest, lending important insight into Gatsby’s history and easing the process for better understanding the characters in the book, however this element was lost with the films. In the Book, “The Great Gatsby” Nick Carraway’s inner dialog strings together the feelings and actions of the people around him. This helps to add depth to the story and aids the reader in better comprehending the complex behaviors and relationships of the surrounding characters from the perspective of a neutral and truthful observer. The main insights specified in the book are given no mention in the 1974 or 2013 movies. The audience never actually acquires the sense that they are in Nick’s mind making it difficult for the viewer to understand the intricacy of Daisy and Gatsby’s connection had the book not been read by the viewer beforehand. For instance, the day that Gatsby and Daisy meet up again for the first time in 5 years; Gatsby takes Daisy and Nick to his mansion and begins to show them around as they enter Gatsby’s bedroom, Nick describes Gatsby’s shifting states in being reunited with Daisy, “He had passed visibly through two states and was entering upon a third. After his embarrassment and
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