An analysis of the Great Gatsby – Characters ( Jay Gatsby)

The costume – James Gatz has turned himself into Jay Gatsby using costume by…. wearing upper class clothing such as three piece suits, shirts, coats, sweaters, hat shoes and accessories including bowties, and pocket watches. When James became Jay Gatsby he was poor so he would have not been able to afford fancy suits, nor would they have been practical in labour intensive jobs. Men simply wore a pair of pants with a shirt and suspenders. Colours were a bit dull, they were grey, brown, navy blue, black. When Gatsby met Nick in the movie, he was wearing a black tux with a white shirt and he had his hair slicked back. I couldn’t find a quote for this one…

The props – Yellow is frequently associated with Gatsby and his house and parties during the first few chapters of the book. Gatsby having a yellow car ties in with this. I think yellow is used to show his status of a wealthy man to attract Daisy’s attention. Gatsby car also adds to his appearance as everything about him was a spectacle. ” it was a yellow car… big yellow car… ” This is another thing outlining that Gatsby is now rich and he used to be poor.

Setting of the ‘stage’ – “this fellas a regular belasco” David Belasco was a famous theatre producer known for his lavish sets. Owl eyes is indicating that he knows Gatsby is simply putting on a show with his mansion and his wild parties. David Belasco was well known for putting so much time into his sets that people believed him. This links back to Gatsby because Gatsby has set up this new life from the age of 17 and he has said some things that aren’t necessarily true. Gatsbys house is another setting. Gatsby holds many big parties at his huge house. This is to hopefully grasp Daisys attention. As we get to the end of the book, the illusion becomes more transparent… The house that had once been a symbol of Gatsbys success and wealth became a symbol of Gatsbys colossal loneliness, and the failure of his pursuit to find happiness.

The speech and dialogue – “old sport” Gatsby uses this phrase a lot during the book but it sounds pretty forced. In his timetable that Gatsby’s father shows Nick at the end of the book, he has written “Practise elocution, poise and how to attain it” elocution means the skill of clear and expressive speech. This means that every day from the age of 17, Gatsby practised the way he spoke, he wanted to speak elegantly.

The Backstory – Gatsby goes to great lengths to ensure that we get his side of the story throughout the book. A lot of rumours are shared about him which seem really suspicious from the start. Myrtles sister Catherine seems to think that he “… killed a man once..” and Gatsby claims that he went to Oxford. In chapter 6 when Gatsby took them to a party they meet some of his friends who seem to think he came from Louisiana and New York, when Gatsby told Nick he came from North Dakota. Gatsbys back story is full of lies and they consume him. After Gatsby dies, we find out what Gatsby was hiding. Not only his criminal bootlegging, but also his family name, Gatz, and his poor, ethnic-American roots, which in the end exclude him from the upper-class he hoped to enter.