Thinking Activity: The Great Gasby

                    Introduction

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.

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 favorite recordings for at-home listening.

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

The Great Gatsby's meditation on The American Dream—the idea that people are always reaching towards something greater than themselves that is just out of reach.

If we look at the idea of film that gives to us a proper Understanding of the Novel, also we can easily pick up the jay Gatsby example.

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

The valley of ashes:  

 A symbolic place in the novel that first appears in chapter two. Nick goes there to search for his mistress. It is a place between East and West Egg created by dumping the industrial waste. It represents how morality and social code of conduct are dropped out of the industrial society. It also depicts the miserable plight of people like George Wilson who live among the ashes without ambition. This is a highly effective symbol that represents the divide between the poor and the rich class in the society of that time and even the present.

The Eyes of T. J. Eckleberg

 Another symbol we see in the novel is the eyes of T. J Eckleberg. These are faded bespectacled eyes printed on the billboard over the ‘valley of ashes’.  The eyes represent the commercialism which is the backbone of the American dream. It is clear from the fact of how Gatsby earns a lot of wealth to get Daisy back in life. These eyes also represent the hollowness and solidity in Gatsby’s eyes, for despite having all the glitters in life, his eyes reflect emptiness. To George Wilson, they are the eyes of God that watch over every segment of the society. To Nick, they represent the waste of past which sticks around, though, vanished.

The Green Light

The green light pops up many times in the novel and represents Gatsby’s dream and hope. It also represents everything that haunts him and takes him to the past. It also signifies the green stuff (money), his memories with Daisy and the gap between his past and his present. He deliberately chooses the house in a direction from where he can have the enchanting sight of green light. He loves to stand at the dock to stare at that green light which represents his innermost desire to revive his past. He is hopeful that one day he will win the lost moments. The artificial green light also stands for his artificial and unrealistic aims in life.

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

While in New York with Jay Gatsby, Tom’s opinion about race is revealed through his

speech with Daisy Buchanan; “Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family, institutions, and next they'll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white” . He disapproves of the intermarriage of races. Gatsby is “Mr Nobody from Nowhere”, and therefore, he constitutes a danger to the aristocracy . Even thoughGatsby acquired wealth, he is still inferior to the old money because of his poor background.

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

Nick Carraway is The Great Gatsby's narrator, but he isn't the protagonist (main character).

This makes Nick himself somewhat tricky to observe, since we see the whole novel through his eyes. How can you watch the narrator? This difficulty is compounded by the fact that Nick is an unreliable narrator—basically, a narrator who doesn't always tell us the truth about what's happening.

He is a young man from Minnesota and a graduate from Yale who fought in the World War I. Then, he came to New York to indulge himself in bond business. He is generally quite reserved and honest. Nick is a confidant to Jay Gatsby, the central and most mysterious character of the novel who is full of troubling secrets. Being a friend of Gatsby, Nick gets a chance to peep into his soul and understand his love.

                                                    Thanks😊