This is all I got when I googled "her voice is full of money"
Daisy is the penultimate "material girl" being the "role mode" for many young girls too hyped up about boys and money. Whether or not Gatsby is aware of her shallowness and her improper use of wealth and status, he certainly makes a precise jab when he says that her voice is "full of money". To me, what it means is that Daisy speaks with such a carefree and careless manner, not confident, but with a sense of foolish certainty that nothing bad will ever happen to her. This can be seen by her reckless remark revealing that she loves Gatsby and the indiscreetness in her voice.This is due perhaps, to the fact that she her enormous wealth becomes the cushion bed for her errors and that she is excluded from having to subject to any moral or responsible behaviour. Her voice is also described by Nick to be song-like with an low and airy hum about it. This is most likely the technique at which she uses to lure men in a seductive fashion and thus she gains their wealth leading to Gatsby saying that its "full of money"(I dont think im quite right here).
For the role of Daisy, there would be many female actresses who would fit nicely into the role of a beautiful blonde on the outside who is also an innocent and weak person on the inside. Scarlet Johansen is one of them, although she might be too big of a star to play a character who people are not fond of. Daisy sits on the border of being a protagonists and an antagonists. She is neither, and her careless and foolish character makes her unpopular. The added fact that she is actually clever and concious of her actions make her even more unpopular. Another consideration I would make would be Gwen Stefani. Even though she is not an actress, her well portrayed role in No Doubt's video "its my life" as a confused, foolish and careless blonde, is reminiscient of Daisy's own character, injected with a bit of a mental problem.
Daisy is a character who at first, seems only like the simple brainless blonde who depends on her wealth and status to live life without hassle. In comparison to Jordan, she is a much more helpless character. She does not admit her mistake about Myrtle's murder, and neither does she even show up at Gatsby's funeral. She is the epitome of a rich, young 1920's woman. She does not make brave decisions and does not stand out for what is right. Although she might have the conscience, she lacks the courage or the responsibility to do what is right. She is always confused and frightened. Her innocence is tarnished by her cowardice and that makes her one of the more hated characters. She posseses no value at all and in a sense she betrayed both Gatsby and Nick by letting Gatsby die. She might feel apologetic but does not dare show it around Tom and just tries to let it off her mind. That makes her a very shallow and easy person to hate. So personally, i dont really like her.
Orlando Bloom would be a good choice if not for his british accent. If he could lose it, he would be a suitable actor to play Nick because of his youth, his held back tone of voice and his body size. Another actor taken into consideration would be tobey Maguire. His youth, his innocent blue eyes and the mild manner in which he speaks makes him a good choice to be Nick Carraway. Nick's character is always portrayed as innocent, and he doesn't like to look at things in a negative way, preferring to filter whatever he hears. It is the innocence in both Orlando Bloom and Tobey Maguire which is important in casting them for the role. SO far, both actors have played untarnished characters who are mostly pure in heart. Another actor taken into consideration would be Mark Wahlberg. He has uncharacteristic eyes in comparison with a Jude Law Gatsby and would be a different sort of Nick as he is older. His age would pivot the story in the sense that the focus on Nick's character would be his maturity and his insight into the people around him, instead of his innocence. I think both types of "Nick" would suit well.
Nick is undoubtedly the most likable character next probably to Jordan and Gatsby(subjective really). Like said earlier, he is not Marlow, and thus he doesnt lie to himself. That is left for Gatsby to do. I almost wanted to state that Marlow is Conrad and that Nick is not Fitzgerald but I realised that i was wrong. Nick IS Fitzgerald, it is his inner conscience while Gatsby is Fitzgerald in real life. That is why Nick is the only that actually develops along the whole story, and actually realises that he is "30". Nick is likable in the sense that he is different from the rest of the characters who are nothing but part of a big advertisement, being young , rich and beautiful. They do not age and mature and feel that life will always remain this way, just like when gatsby says that he can turn back everything to the way it was. Nick is better as he learns from the experience and matures. His character is deep in thought, and matures as he realises that the decadent lifestyle in the East is only futile.
Of course, but Marlow is not Nick in the sense that he does not share the same function. Marlow is merely a storyteller, he observes, and does not hold close relationships with any of the other characters in the HOD. Nick instead developes relationships with the people around him and is more involved in the action. Marlow is also a more central character than Nick, and can be compared to Kurtz himself. In fact, it can be strongly debated that Marlow IS the main character in HOD and that his storytelling is actually a self-analysis. Nick instead, firmly reinstates that he is the anti thesis of gatsby and doesnt resemble or follow in Gatsby's footsteps. Mainly because they are about the same age and that Nick has already established his character and that he respects Gatsby as someone who is different than him. Marlow constantly repeats the fact that he and Kurtz are the same, and that they are only different due to slight differences in decision making and consequence. Nick instead is a character of his own, and he represents something different from Gatsby. Kurtz and Marlow are the same, in the sense that Hod is a metaphysical book and that both characters represent European civillisation. However, on a more shallow and literal level, both Marlow and Nick are similiar in the sense that they are gentleman-like, they try to uphold morals, and that they observe and make judgement. The big difference is that unlike Marlow, Nick has less problems trying to deal with keeping up with his own set of rules as they are not the main focus of the story.
Labels: Nick Caraway
Who is Nick? Nick Carraway is well brought up Midwestern Man who was borne into a rich family. He is the narrator, the second cousin of Daisy once removed and is, and most of us can say the "hero" of the novel, being the only character to learn something out of the whole experience. He is witty and eloquent and at the same time he is cautious and a clean freak. He is also polite and believes that there is this great divide between the Midwestern American life and the Eastern American life.
Labels: Nick Caraway
Jude Law. The one and only. Because he was so terrific as Alfie and that guy in the Talented Mr Ripley. I like both the movies. Jude Law can mimick that 1920's Jazz Age accent, and hes got the height the presence, and the oiled hairstyle that reminds me of Jay Gatsby everytime i think about him. Since Tom is "straw-haired" I would prefer Gatsby to be dark haired, with tan skin and dark eyes. Jude Law. He doesnt need to be too tall, because then he would look stronger than Tom, which would make it less .... romantic(as in the literary method). Jude Law is tall, but you could always pick Ethan Hawke to play Tom, whos taller. Gatsby could also be Leanardo DiCaprio, although he would have to die that blonde hair. Leanardo Di Caprio is a good actor, and with a bit of touch up he could play Gatsby. The most crucial elements to playing Gatsby would be the smile, and the "old sport" thing, as well as reasonably good looks and youth. SO, Jude Law has an enormous smile and can mimick the accent with the old sport business and is good looking even though he is a bit too tall. Leanardo Di Caprio is also just as good, but he doesnt have as a great a smile as Jude Law. Al Pacino in his youth, could have played Gatsby, but an Italian-American would raise suspicions of Gatsby being a mafia, which would do the book injustice. Another actor highly in consideration would be Marlon Brando. His presence, his eyes, and his voice and his style make him very Gatsby like , even if he doesnt smile a lot. Maybe its jsut me, but Francis Ford Coppola made the right choise by keeping Al Pacino to the Godfather, Marlon Brando to Apocalypse Now, and Robert Redford to the Great Gatsby...
To me the Gatsby was, if anything, a vision of the author Fitzgerald himself. The reason for placing Nick there was to make sure that The Great Gatsby was not an autobiography. Fitzgerald didnt want to get too emotive with his work but in a sense his financial success, alchoholism and his struggle to take care of Zelda was partly knifed into the storyline of the Great Gatsby. It was a reflection of his life. Other than himself, Fitzgerald was probably influenced by the character Kurtz from Joseph Conrad's novel, The Heart of Darkness. Although Gatsby might be a functioning at a smaller scale than his French/German colonial counterpart. One of the earliest influences to Gatsby, be it a concious effort by Fitzgerald or not, is Icarus, who Daedelus(1920's America) gave wings to and flew high up in the sky only to be burnt by the sun and dies, just like Gatsby gained financial success only to be murdered. One of the metaphors of the book describing Gatsby is "He was the Son Of God" and that he was spreading good, just like jesus did in the bible. Gatsby can be similiar to Jesus in the sense that both of them sought out to achieve whatever they had planned and dreamed for, but were in the end betrayed by their closest friends/allies. Gatsby was betrayed by Daisy, who failed to meet his expectations as his perfect woman and pushed her blame to Gatsby in the same way that Judas, Jesus's close friend and disciple betrayed him. Fitzgerald had to be brave to actually say that someone could actually be compared to "The Son of God". It would be a very controversial and sensitive matter. Post Fitzgerald characters influenced by the Great Gatsby would most likely be Charles Foster Kane, who seeked toe be loved through his wealth and power. Another character, VERY similiar to Gatsby, would be Count Lazlo De Almasy from The English Patient. He loved a married woman, was rich, kept on pursuing her despite being tragically torn apart, used foul methods and eventually got killed trying to pursue his dream of being with his only love. I bet there are a lot of more figures which i havent put inside. Not many historical figures which I can accurately relate though there are some who come to my mind but I dont feel are worth mentioning..
To a certain extent yes. As Nick says, “Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it is what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men."He was merely a young boy wishing to improve himself, to escape the cycle of poverty which had encapsuled his family. His ticket was the bootlegging and decadent culture of the 1920's and his model would be a slighltly altered version of his mentor Dan Cody. However true and pure his goals might be, it was the corruption of his methods, and not his initial goal(which was to achieve wealth and happiness), that destroyed him. He realised that to achieve his dream, he had use foul methods like bootlegging and lying to make himself seem rich and noble. His dreams were somehow pure and innocent as he looked for wealth and happiness, he lacked maturity to see that what he was chasing after was endless and that it was pointless for him to pursue it anyway.
Gatsby is someone who has always had big dreams. He was never content with what he had in life and was always chasing more and more power. He was later influenced by the Dan Cody who became his mentor and idol. Gatsby wanted the power that Cody had, but felt he was above Cody in the sense that he would not share the same fate as his predeccesor. He convinced himself by consuming very little liqour. When he did achieve wealth he had in the process stumbled upon a new desire, Daisy. It is the endless unattainable goals which turned James Gats into Jay Gatsby, a facade which he thought would help him achieve happiness but in turn made him less satisfied as he became aware of new possibilities and desires. Furthermore, he can be considered materialistic in the sense that he cannot quell his desire for luxury, indulgence and status. His initial goals as a young man to improve himself had corrupted into chasing a dream which was never really worth it. Gatsby fails to learn his lesson when he realises his wealth cannot quench his thirts for happiness. He then pursues Daisy, believing that she will make him happy, when in truth he had actually made a false image of her, and given her huge expectations. It was not worth it and it eventually killed him. He is also dishonest, but not to save himself from trouble or to jeapordise a person, like Tom, instead he lies to make a new image of himself by saying that he studied in Oxford and constantly using the upper class British slang "old sport" as well as posing as an aristocrat. However, even though Gatsby was obsessive and disillusioned, he was morally upright in the sense that he took responsibility and cared about others. He is loyal to both Nick and Daisy and does not seek to harm anyone as he is only in pursuit of his own happiness.
Gatsby is a young man just over his 30's who is one of the protagonists in the show. He was an American soldier who fought in the Great War. He then met and fell in love with Daisy, yet another character in the book, whom he tried to impress by amassing a large fortune, albeit by suspicious methods. He lives in the West Egg New York, right across from Daisy in the East Egg, and he holds massive parties in the hope that one day Daisy would come to one of them. He later befriends Nick Carraway, the other protagonist, so that he could form a plan to meet with Daisy.
since i am such a great big fan of music, i thought it would be relevant to think about what gatsby would have had playing in his car. I would think that on his way home when he knocked down Myrtle he was probably listening to Bing Crosby. I dont really know whether they had radios in cars at the time, or whether Crosby had reached fame in 1922, but we all know it doesnt really matter, we can always push the timeline five years ahead and it doesnt matter because its still in the 20's. Another possible musician could be Louis Armstrong, and he could have been playing in Gatsby's big band jazz orchestra, if Fitzgerald allowed him to. Many African-American artistes like Armstrong started emerging in the 1920's and their music was enjoyed by both black and white Americans playing jazz music, not really swing yet. I didn't really get Mr Wee's suggestion that the Great Gatsby should be read with Swing Music being played in our heads because firstly, Swing Music was only present in the early 30's during the big band era and Charlie Christian, and secondly, there were some sentimental and quiet parts especially in the scenes around East Egg and West Egg which just don't have me thinking about swing music. It could have been applied when the Nick visited New york, in a "brand new automobile" which brings about images of wealth and decadance. But other than that, I'd say Jazz is a much better choice, and silence an even better one at certain instances. :)
Well, I finished the book already. Three times. Once on friday, saturday and sunday. Muahahahahahha. Coffee helps. But not when you have a floorball match the next day very early in the morning against a bunch of fit and huge NUS people. Anyway, the book became interesting to me once i realised how influential it was. I began reading about its past, and I realised its influence or other books and films. The glitzy scene of America became the scene for many of hollywoods shows, and the romantic storyline which i felt was predictable was only because i realised that the great(and not so great) hollywood films, have loosely used the plot and the concept of the book many times. For example, the whole "past lovers" thing, which brings about moral dilemna, is an issue in Casablanca as well. And the new rich vs aristocrat rich is also another issue raised in films like "Titanic", although it does emulate PnP to a certain extent but in a more objective and balanced way.
:P The west egg and the east egg are fictional names for some place called hampton beach. I actually researched it, because apparently I couldnt believe a place could ever be called west egg... Oh yah and by the way i finished reading the book till chapter 3. Isnt that just lovely
One look at the book, and I knew it wouldn't be so simple. The back cover said it was the the "supreme American novel". The first few chapters sounded like heart of darkness because it was in first person, and because it was about the character explaining about his background, and because it had intolerably long sentences with a plenty of difficult words which sometimes made no sense. In fact, the American slangs used made it even more confusing than HOD. However after reading the first few pages again i realised that it wasnt that bad...But i still didnt understand how being 'privy' to wild men made Mr Nick a politician??? Obviously someone with the name as complicated as Fitzgerrald or something like that had to make a complicated book just like Joseph conrad. His name was even more commplicated till he had to just shorten it. So my new theory is, writers with complicated names make complicated books, period. Just kidding...hehe
this... is a work in progress...hehe