The Great Gatsby

I finally saw The Great Gatsby this weekend! I hadn’t read the book and I really wasn’t familiar with any of the story. At the beginning of the movie I began asking myself lots of questions. Who is Gatsby? Why are these elaborate parties being thrown constantly? How do all of the characters tie into each other? As the movie unraveled, I answered all of my previous questions.

I began focusing on the things that I, and many of us, could relate to. Themes of keeping secrets, doing favors for a friend, greed, wanting to reinvent yourself, and wanting to change past events. Gatsby, Daisy, and Nick were all hiding Gatsby and Daisy’s affair from her husband, Tom. Gatsby lost five years with Daisy and tried to go back to the past and recreate what they once had. Gatsby was previously known as James Gatz and was dirt poor. He wanted to make a name for himself and changed his name to Jay Gatsby.

Although the themes probably aren’t directly relatable, the overall concepts are. Going into the movie I didn’t think there would be anything relatable and that I would just be watching a well made film. I really enjoyed Baz Luhrmann’s rendition of The Great Gatsby.