Some themes can be, society and class, Love, The American dream, wealth, Isolation, mortality, and marriage. I will be examining the theme, The American Dream through “The Great Gatsby” movie that shows that the meaning of the American Dream has degraded over time into a constant pursuit of a higher standard of living. When Daisy first rejects Gatsby, it is because of the huge gap between their social statuses. Thus, Gatsby, in an attempt to win Daisy earns money illegally. It is very clear to see how Gatsby, even with his great wealth cannot feel happiness. In the movie, we saw that no amount of perseverance could change his background when he first meets Daisy. When he does finally achieve a respectable status, time has passed and Daisy has already married Tom Buchanan. Which we see in the news papers in the movie.
This theme is also portrayed through George Wilson. George in the mivies is portrayed as this ugly, dumb, and clumsy man who owns a very small, honest business which cannot satisfy his wife's materialistic needs. His persistent hard work isn't enough to bring him wealth, and so he eventually loses his wife, who is enticed by Tom's wealth, tries to flee from George and runs towards what she believes is Tom's car. We saw that in the movie, Tom does the exact same thing to Daisy, and also to Myrtle.
In the novel, Fitzgerald has a very negative attitude on the idea of wealth. He portrays his view on wealth to us, largely demonstrated through many characters throughout the novel. Whereas in the movie, wealth is a big part and is what keeps the movie going. I feel that that the movie is trying to tell us that without wealth and the american dream, you will go nowhere. Daisy promises to marry Gatsby before the war, but does not, because of their difference in social class. We know this when we see Gatsby talking to Daisy in the car 5 years prior, in the movie. Great scene by the way. In other words, he does not have enough money to support her needs. However, in 1919, she married Tom Buchanan.
In the end, when Gatsby has died, and Nick is trying to put together a funeral for him, no one turns up. The people who frequently turn up in his parties do not care that he has died, and some 'even hinted that he deserved it'. Gatsby did not have any true friends who were not 'using' him solely because they enjoyed his parties. In the movie it was kind of heartbreaking when the paparazzi was taking pictures of his dead body for basically vows to benefit themselves.
