AbstractsLanguage, Literature & Linguistics

In this analysis of F. Scott Fitzgerald???s The Great Gatsby I compare it to the 2013film adaptation of the same title by Baz Luhrmann. I explore four key elements crucial to an informed understanding of the novel???s most poignant theme, the transformative effect of the American individual???s response to hope: narrative point of view, the use and function of music, the use and function of fashion, and the use and function of the automobile. I examine the novel for its presentation of themes regarding the principle characters??? capacity for hope and the perception of reality that results from their responses; in tandem I examine the film for ways in which it effectively captures the essence of these themes. Most notably I focus on the particularly contemporary choices Luhrmann made for his film and the opportunities that are presented for new and renewed readings of the novel. I argue that the film is, in spirit, a faithful adaptation of a period novel that successfully maintains its own contemporary relevance. Along with joining in conversation with scholars who have compared earlier film versions to the novel, such as Dennis Cutchins, who discusses the benefits of film adaptation analysis in the teaching of literature, I also examine critical scholarship on Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby novel, and Baz Luhrmann???s film techniques, as well as literary, sonic, and dramatic scholarship that investigates film adaptation and interpretation.