The Great Gatsby (1974 Film)

The Great Gatsby (1974 Film) Literary Elements

Director

Jack Clayton

Leading Actors/Actresses

Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Sam Waterson

Supporting Actors/Actresses

Bruce Dern, Karen Black

Genre

Romance, Drama

Language

English

Awards

Academy Awards for Best Costume Design and Best Music

Date of Release

March 29th, 1974

Producer

David Merrick

Setting and Context

New York, 1922

Narrator and Point of View

We see the story from the point of view of Nick Carraway, who also narrates in voice over.

Tone and Mood

Romatic, Dramatic, Dreamy, Mysterious, Ominous

Protagonist and Antagonist

Gatsby vs. Tom Buchanan/Gatsby's Dream

Major Conflict

Gatsby is in love with Daisy, but she is already married to Tom Buchanan.

Climax

When Gatsby is shot by George Wilson, who misguidedly thinks he killed Myrtle.

Foreshadowing

Myrtle's instability (when she breaks the window tapping on it) foreshadows her demise. Shots of the pool foreshadow Gatsby's murder in the pool.

Understatement

Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques

Allusions

Paradox

Parallelism

Tom and Myrtle's affair and their class disparity is in parallel to Gatsby and Daisy's affair and their class disparity.