The 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald is considered to be an American classic and is one of the most widely-read books in modern America. There have been several film versions of the novel, most recently a 2013 version that was directed by Baz Luhrmann. Although, both the book and the film effectively portrayed the energy of the 1920s, the characters in the book and the film were not so well-aligned. In particular, the characters in the novel are complex, well-rounded people, whereas the movie tends to paint many of the key characters as simplistic archetypes. Unlike Daisy’s nuanced character in the novel, Luhrmann portrays her as the helpless victim of the film. One way in which Daisy is sold as the innocent girl is when …show more content…
One way in which the book and film capture the times, is in the handling of, sales of, and consumption of alcohol. We see in both sources that Gatsby’s fortune is largely made from bootlegging illegal liquor and that despite alcohol being prohibited, people of wealth still regularly indulged in this luxury. This reminds readers and viewers that the twenties were a time of prohibition, but also a time when people drank heavily to show off their means. Another way in which the 1920s are portrayed is through the description of and use of clothing in the book and film; respectively. In the film, one sees Gatsby dressed in flamboyant suits made of expensive fabrics. In particular, he wears a pink suit when the gang goes on an outing to New York. In the book, Nick is often consumed with thoughts of Gatsby’s attire and shortly after Myrtle’s death, Nick observes Gatsby and can “think of nothing except the luminosity of is pink suit under the moon.”(Fitzgerald, 144) In both sources, Gatsby’s extravagant clothing is used as a tool to display his success. Moreover, the clothing in the book and the film shows the hope that individuals had in during the twenties. Although Gatsby’s life was not perfect, he dressed to be who he wanted to be and not who he was. Through the treatment of alcohol and clothing both the book and film successfully portray