Great Gatsby Novel vs Film Essay Example for Free

Great Gatsby Novel vs Film Essay The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is an iconic novel of American literature. It is seen as a definitive novel that highlights aspects of life and thinking in 1920s America. Due to its cultural significance and popularity, numerous attempts have been made to translate The Great Gatsby from novel to film. The most notable presence of the film portrayed on screen, was the 1974 film, The Great Gatsby. The film starred big name celebrities such as Robert Redford as Gatsby, Mia Farrow as Daisy, and Sam Waterston as Nick. The movie also featured a script written by Francis Ford Coppola. While overall being considered a good film which stayed true to the novel, many thought it lacked heart and emotion. While Baz Luhrmanns The Great Gatsby is the fifth time, the novel has been filmed, it is only the second time a film adaptation of the novel will see a widespread general release. The Great Gatsby (2013) comes from Australian director Baz Luhrmann, and stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby and Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway. The film like the book, is told through the narration of Nick Carraway. Carraway lives next to the mysterious Gatsby who has numerous large and extravagant parties. Gatsby is rarely seen by the public, and it is unknown to people how Gatsby became wealthy. The film follows Nick’s interactions with Gatsby and most notably the relationships between Gatsby, and the girl he loves Daisy Buchanan, as well as Daisy’s husband Tom. Much of the tension in the film stems from the class differences between New Money, and Old Money. People who belong to the class of Old Money are generally old aristocratic families, specifically highlighted by Tom and Daisy Buchanan. People who belong to the class of New Money are people who have recently acquired there fortune through various entrepreneurial ventures and jobs such as stock brokers. The main characters in the film who are part of New Money are Gatsby and Nick. The film is set against the backdrop of the wealthy society during the roaring twenties in and around New York and Long Island. Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby tries to express the same themes as are found in the book. One of the main themes is the differences in the various classes in the United States. Gatsby has a very different outlook on life compared to that of Tom Buchanan. Gatsby is considered new money meaning his fortune is recent and self-made, while Tom is from old money, where legacy and familiarity with the wealthy lifestyle are more apparent. Tom tends to believe in class and education and finds Gatsby essentially a crude bootlegger. Gatsby while not having the sophistication or education of Tom believes he can win over Daisy’s heart with extravagant parties and money. The film also demonstrates the apparent dismissal of the new money as equals. Tom is seen as a bully and someone with less morals than that of Gatsby, highlighted through Tom’s affair with another woman. The film also highlights the recklessness of the 1920’s. The 1920’s are shown as a period where money was plentiful and people were not afraid to spend it. People were frequently spending money they did not have on things they did not need. Gatsby is shown to be a very flashy person with a pink suit and expensive cars. Historically speaking it is now known compared to when the book was written the consequences of the recklessness. (i. e. the great depression) It is clear that the main relationship that Luhrmann wanted to emphasize was the relationship between Gatsby and Nick. Throughout the course of the film there are various differences from the novel that highlight the emotional relationship that Gatsby and Nick share with one another. For example the film has Nick telling the story to a doctor at a centre for rehabilitation, while the novel does not specify who Nick is narrating the story too. Nick is apparently here for Alcoholism which demonstrates that his experiences with Gatsby and ultimately Gatsby’s death took a more traumatic toll on Nick’s life. Also in the film Nick’s relationship with other women, specifically Jordan in the novel, is virtually non-existent. In the film there is no evidence to show that Nick maintains or has a romantic relationship with anyone. This once again highlights the strength of his relationship with Gatsby. Perhaps the most interesting difference is the lack of anyone who shows up for Gatsby’s funeral in the film. Nick is the only one who attends the funeral and he is seen as heartbroken. In the novel however, people do attend Gatsby’s funeral specifically Gatsby’s father. The special relationship that Luhrmann creates for Gatsby and Nick may be suggesting that Nick is in fact in love with Gatsby. Being directed by Baz Luhrmann, anyone familiar with his previous work will know what to expect from The Great Gatsby. People who enjoyed the general story of the book will enjoy this particular film version, but as for getting a point across or inciting emotion the film tends to be very shallow. While Luhrmann likes to create a visual spectacle, one can only be distracted by pretty colours and lights for so long. The actors in the film, while all good, are clearly not the directors primary focus. Luhrmann is able to bring the spectacular parties and beautiful landscapes to life, he is not able to really create distinct relationships between the characters and actors of the film. The two most standout performances are that of Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio, the relationship between Gatsby and Carraway is by far the most interesting part of the film. Carraway’s obsession and defence of Gatsby may lead one to believe that he wants to be more than just friends with Gatsby.

My Walk with Nature :: Personal Narrative Writing

My Walk with Nature In Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie noticed while living in the Everglades that some of the Indians started leaving the town and heading east. She also noticed that the animals started to scatter as well. Janie asked one of the Indians why they were leaving and he said that there was a hurricane approaching. The park ranger that guided us on the slough slog informed the class that this is a fact. The animals as well as the sawgrass know when hurricanes are approaching. The Indians these days know when a hurricane is approaching as well. Yet, these days they most likely find out from the weather channel reports on their big-screen TV's in their casinos instead of analyzing whether or not the sawgrass is blooming! It would have been interesting to have had class this Friday to see for ourselves if the blooming of sawgrass is indeed a fact now that Hurricane Michelle is approaching. Last Friday there was an abundance of animal life throughout our slough slog since there was no hurricane threatening our coast. Two deer sprinted across the road as we were driving through the tollbooth and I scared Jose Antonio half to death as I screamed upon seeing them. He jumped up in his seat thinking I had crashed into something and was relieved to see that I was only enthusiastically pointing out a couple of deer to him. A mob of black vultures formed a roadblock on our way to the slog. I was delighted to see numerous cricket frogs, both green and brown. We could have held an apple snail bobbing contest with all the apple snails floating on the surface. I constantly had to untangle myself from spider webs that the colorful crab spiders spun between the sawgrass. Dozens of swallows sped across the sky. Anoles firmly grasped onto their sawgrass as we stampeded through their habitat. Crayfish swam circles around my feet each time the ranger stopped to point something out for us. Mosquito fish nibbled at my fingers as I sat on a submerged cypress having our book discussion. Plus, I'm sure that for every animal that I saw there were probably a hundred more I missed. Would things still look the same this Friday? Or have the animals started evading Hurricane Michelle? My Walk with Nature :: Personal Narrative Writing My Walk with Nature In Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie noticed while living in the Everglades that some of the Indians started leaving the town and heading east. She also noticed that the animals started to scatter as well. Janie asked one of the Indians why they were leaving and he said that there was a hurricane approaching. The park ranger that guided us on the slough slog informed the class that this is a fact. The animals as well as the sawgrass know when hurricanes are approaching. The Indians these days know when a hurricane is approaching as well. Yet, these days they most likely find out from the weather channel reports on their big-screen TV's in their casinos instead of analyzing whether or not the sawgrass is blooming! It would have been interesting to have had class this Friday to see for ourselves if the blooming of sawgrass is indeed a fact now that Hurricane Michelle is approaching. Last Friday there was an abundance of animal life throughout our slough slog since there was no hurricane threatening our coast. Two deer sprinted across the road as we were driving through the tollbooth and I scared Jose Antonio half to death as I screamed upon seeing them. He jumped up in his seat thinking I had crashed into something and was relieved to see that I was only enthusiastically pointing out a couple of deer to him. A mob of black vultures formed a roadblock on our way to the slog. I was delighted to see numerous cricket frogs, both green and brown. We could have held an apple snail bobbing contest with all the apple snails floating on the surface. I constantly had to untangle myself from spider webs that the colorful crab spiders spun between the sawgrass. Dozens of swallows sped across the sky. Anoles firmly grasped onto their sawgrass as we stampeded through their habitat. Crayfish swam circles around my feet each time the ranger stopped to point something out for us. Mosquito fish nibbled at my fingers as I sat on a submerged cypress having our book discussion. Plus, I'm sure that for every animal that I saw there were probably a hundred more I missed. Would things still look the same this Friday? Or have the animals started evading Hurricane Michelle?

In Harm’s Way

Persuasive Essay: In Harm’s Way The sinking of the USS Indianapolis was a horrible event, which killed hundreds of soldiers, and left hundreds floating adrift in the sea with swarms of sharks circling around them. Captain McVay, the captain of the Indianapolis, was charged with negligence. Truly, Captain McVay did his job with what he had, and should not be the scapegoat for the navy. Generals, Lieutenants, and Commodores are all partially responsible for the sinking due to negligence, miss communication, and important top-secret intelligence. Captain McVay did nothing wrong, and did a great job as Captain with the knowledge and information that he was aware of. Inconsistent communication and information that were out of McVay’s control are responsible for the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. Captain McVay was an experienced captain and knew what needed to be done to run the ship and the procedures to travel safely during a period where Japanese subs were everywhere waiting to take down American ships. When the USS Indianapolis left San Francisco, McVay had a crew that was not experienced. Therefore, he requested to have his crew be trained and was promised that training would take place in Guam when they arrived. When they arrived to Guam the crew was not completely trained. If an emergency were to happen, the crew would not be trained properly, which would result in many deaths. McVay was not being negligent, he knew what needed to be done in advanced and the navy denied his request. With a crew that was not very experienced, McVay was about to sail from the Marianas Sea Frontier into the Philippine Sea Frontier, a passage that had a navy communication conflict between Admiral Nimitz and General MacArthur. The political conflict between Nimitz and MacArthur was somewhat resolved because Nimitiz ended up getting control. However, there was still tension between them that caused information about ships and important facts to sometimes become lost. During this time, the passage was dangerous due to Japanese subs and with inconsistent communication, The USS Indianapolis could be in trouble and communication could get lost. The ship was not equipped with sonar because it wasn’t used for finding and hunting down subs. McVay was aware of this and how dangerous it was to cross to Leyte. Aware of the dangers, McVay requested an escort to assist with a safe sail to Leyte. Lieutenant Waldron, the convoy routing officer then called to request an escort â€Å"Waldron inquired of the officer on duty whether there was an escort leaving for Leyte, with whom the Indianapolis might tag along. Waldron was told that none was necessary†(Stanton 70). McVay did his duty by requesting the escort however; Captain Oliver Naquin was the one who denied it. As Captain, McVay had to rely on mainland communication and intelligence. â€Å"naval command assumed that she could travel safely in the backwater unescorted†(70). Even if McVay disagreed with their decision, he would still have to follow orders. With no escort, McVay follow protocol to steer the ship to decrease the risk of getting hit by a torpedo and requested an intelligence report for the whereabouts of enemy subs. McVay knew to travel in a zigzag direction, which made the ship harder to hit. He was to follow a zigzag course during daylight hours, and at night, at his discretion, during periods of good visibility†(71). McVay followed this order but when the Indianapolis was hit, it was at night when McVay was sleeping and not zigzagging. The Navy blamed McVay for not zigzagging when the ship was hit, Zigzagging was only required by the navy during daylight. Also, the naval command thought it was going to be a safe sail unescorted in which McVay would obviously have to trust and agree with. This ended up being false and making his trip more dangers than expected. McVay took action and requested an intelligence report to be aware of any enemy subs since he had no escort. When McVay received the intelligence report, the most crucial and important information was not given. â€Å"Three days earlier, the USS Underhill, a destroyer escort, had been sunk by a Japanese torpedo†(72). This message was kept a secret, neither McVay or anyone that he was communicating with was aware of this attack. However, this was crucial information for McVay, because the attacked happened in the same route as the USS Indianapolis. Commodore James Carter met with McVay at the CINCPAC headquarters and was aware of the attack but neglected to mention it to McVay. Communication was a big factor in the attack of the USS Indianapolis and even when the ship sank, successful SOS messages did not get communicated right resulting in a delayed rescued mission. Before the ship went down SOS and even the ships coordinates were sent out multiple times to multiple communication stations. One of the messages was received at Leyte and Commodore Gillette sent out tugboats out to the location of the sinking. After seven hours of the twenty-one hours initial trip, Gillette ordered the tugs to abort and come back to Leyte. McVay did the right procedures during the sinking; Gillette on the other hand was negligent and did not further investigate the reported sinking. Many of the other messages that were received were either ignored or thought to be fake distress calls from the Japanese. Throughout World War two, consistent communication was very difficult. Japan was intercepting America’s communication and getting leads throughout the war. This caused inconsistent communication and intelligences, which resulted in disasters such as the USS Indianapolis because information was not being provided correctly. The navy new of such crucial information that was very important to the USS Indianapolis such as, the sinking of a navy ship three days before the Indy. The Indianapolis was carrying atomic bombs making its delivery very important even though very few people knew about the bombs. The navy was negligent for doing this, and if McVay had known about the secret information, he would have changed his tactics to make sure he completed his mission. In Harm’s Way Persuasive Essay: In Harm’s Way The sinking of the USS Indianapolis was a horrible event, which killed hundreds of soldiers, and left hundreds floating adrift in the sea with swarms of sharks circling around them. Captain McVay, the captain of the Indianapolis, was charged with negligence. Truly, Captain McVay did his job with what he had, and should not be the scapegoat for the navy. Generals, Lieutenants, and Commodores are all partially responsible for the sinking due to negligence, miss communication, and important top-secret intelligence. Captain McVay did nothing wrong, and did a great job as Captain with the knowledge and information that he was aware of. Inconsistent communication and information that were out of McVay’s control are responsible for the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. Captain McVay was an experienced captain and knew what needed to be done to run the ship and the procedures to travel safely during a period where Japanese subs were everywhere waiting to take down American ships. When the USS Indianapolis left San Francisco, McVay had a crew that was not experienced. Therefore, he requested to have his crew be trained and was promised that training would take place in Guam when they arrived. When they arrived to Guam the crew was not completely trained. If an emergency were to happen, the crew would not be trained properly, which would result in many deaths. McVay was not being negligent, he knew what needed to be done in advanced and the navy denied his request. With a crew that was not very experienced, McVay was about to sail from the Marianas Sea Frontier into the Philippine Sea Frontier, a passage that had a navy communication conflict between Admiral Nimitz and General MacArthur. The political conflict between Nimitz and MacArthur was somewhat resolved because Nimitiz ended up getting control. However, there was still tension between them that caused information about ships and important facts to sometimes become lost. During this time, the passage was dangerous due to Japanese subs and with inconsistent communication, The USS Indianapolis could be in trouble and communication could get lost. The ship was not equipped with sonar because it wasn’t used for finding and hunting down subs. McVay was aware of this and how dangerous it was to cross to Leyte. Aware of the dangers, McVay requested an escort to assist with a safe sail to Leyte. Lieutenant Waldron, the convoy routing officer then called to request an escort â€Å"Waldron inquired of the officer on duty whether there was an escort leaving for Leyte, with whom the Indianapolis might tag along. Waldron was told that none was necessary†(Stanton 70). McVay did his duty by requesting the escort however; Captain Oliver Naquin was the one who denied it. As Captain, McVay had to rely on mainland communication and intelligence. â€Å"naval command assumed that she could travel safely in the backwater unescorted†(70). Even if McVay disagreed with their decision, he would still have to follow orders. With no escort, McVay follow protocol to steer the ship to decrease the risk of getting hit by a torpedo and requested an intelligence report for the whereabouts of enemy subs. McVay knew to travel in a zigzag direction, which made the ship harder to hit. He was to follow a zigzag course during daylight hours, and at night, at his discretion, during periods of good visibility†(71). McVay followed this order but when the Indianapolis was hit, it was at night when McVay was sleeping and not zigzagging. The Navy blamed McVay for not zigzagging when the ship was hit, Zigzagging was only required by the navy during daylight. Also, the naval command thought it was going to be a safe sail unescorted in which McVay would obviously have to trust and agree with. This ended up being false and making his trip more dangers than expected. McVay took action and requested an intelligence report to be aware of any enemy subs since he had no escort. When McVay received the intelligence report, the most crucial and important information was not given. â€Å"Three days earlier, the USS Underhill, a destroyer escort, had been sunk by a Japanese torpedo†(72). This message was kept a secret, neither McVay or anyone that he was communicating with was aware of this attack. However, this was crucial information for McVay, because the attacked happened in the same route as the USS Indianapolis. Commodore James Carter met with McVay at the CINCPAC headquarters and was aware of the attack but neglected to mention it to McVay. Communication was a big factor in the attack of the USS Indianapolis and even when the ship sank, successful SOS messages did not get communicated right resulting in a delayed rescued mission. Before the ship went down SOS and even the ships coordinates were sent out multiple times to multiple communication stations. One of the messages was received at Leyte and Commodore Gillette sent out tugboats out to the location of the sinking. After seven hours of the twenty-one hours initial trip, Gillette ordered the tugs to abort and come back to Leyte. McVay did the right procedures during the sinking; Gillette on the other hand was negligent and did not further investigate the reported sinking. Many of the other messages that were received were either ignored or thought to be fake distress calls from the Japanese. Throughout World War two, consistent communication was very difficult. Japan was intercepting America’s communication and getting leads throughout the war. This caused inconsistent communication and intelligences, which resulted in disasters such as the USS Indianapolis because information was not being provided correctly. The navy new of such crucial information that was very important to the USS Indianapolis such as, the sinking of a navy ship three days before the Indy. The Indianapolis was carrying atomic bombs making its delivery very important even though very few people knew about the bombs. The navy was negligent for doing this, and if McVay had known about the secret information, he would have changed his tactics to make sure he completed his mission.

My Mother s Heritages Are Chinese And Portuguese And...

My mother s heritages are Chinese and Portuguese and Puerto Rican. She gets the Chinese from her father and her Portuguese and Puerto Rican from her mother. As far as my mother s Chinese heritage they did not really practice it because she has grown up on Maui her whole life. Her Puerto Rican and Portuguese heritage was kept alive through different Puerto Rican and Portuguese foods. We also got our faith from that side of the family because catholicism is very popular in Puerto Rico and Portugal. My father s heritage is Hawaiian and Caucasian. His mother was a full blooded Hawaiian. She was born in 1935 during the time where speaking Hawaiian and doing Hawaiian things were not allowed. So my dad is not really familiar with his Hawaiian heritage but my siblings and I are lucky enough to go to a Hawaiian school where we can learn about our Hawaiian heritage. My dad was 19 when his father passed away so that Caucasian heritage was noreally even talked about. My father is not even exactl y sure what kind of Caucasian they were because he grew up being told they were Irish, Scottish, and Native American but his father s certificates only say Caucasian. That heritage has not been kept alive. My Puerto Rican and Portuguese family members came in the early 1900’s and my great grandpa went on to work in the sugarcane fields after his grandfather did when they first arrived. My grandpas family came in the early 1900’s from China. They went to the Big Island to work on theShow MoreRelatedLangston Hughes Research Paper25309 Words   |  102 Pagesexpressed contempt for black Americans who continued to submit to segregation and live in poverty. Langston Hughes, 1933 (Library of Congress) Langston was not ashamed of being a black American. He had already written poems celebrating his heritage. He felt connected to the oppressed brown people of the world and hated his father for mistreating his Mexican employees. Witnessing his fathers tyranny made Langston sick enough to require hospitalization. By the end of the summer, Langston