The film ran pretty close to the actual book. The dialogues for the most part were exactly the same and the scenes in the movies seemed to fit those of the book very well. Many of the differences were very minor and insignificant. There were a handful of differences that are worth noting however. Many of them are scenes left out of the movie that occurred in the book. A few times something is switched around. I had a list of differences from the film that spanned 3 pages but I selected a few of the main ones.
A difference that seems inconsequential but it really is quite important is that in the movie there is no "owl man". In the book Nick runs into the owl man in Gatsby's library going through his books amazed that they are real books, all of the highest quality. Although that seems very unimportant that scene in the book shows how hard Gatsby tries to have the appearance of being a rich, successful person in society.
I saw a small detail in the movie that has a deeper meaning that I did not notice in the book. In the movie at Gatsby's first party there is two scenes showing a scrappy scuffled looking dog. In one scene the dog sneaks onto the table and grabs a pi
ece of turkey and in another he sneaks in with the crowd into Gatsby's ballroom once it begins to rain. I believe the dog was a symbol of Gatsby's true self. In reality Gatsby came from nothing he was a "commoner". Gatsby was not a true high member of society like the image he tried to impress upon people. He kind of just sneaks around the party with his own agenda, just like the dog.
A difference in the script of the movie that I considered a mistake was how Nick meets Gatsby. In the book Nick and Gatsby have a conversation about the war and things and Nick doesn't even realize whom he is talking to until Gatsby tells him. In the movie a servant finds Gatsby and orders him to Gatsby's study where he introduces himself. I think each one conveys two completely different messages. The meeting in the book conveys the idea that although it is Gatsby's house no one really knows much about him, many not even knowing what he looks like. The meeting in the movie makes Gatsby seem to posses an all-powerful domineering executive type persona. The book version runs more true to the story since at the end no one really knows Gatsby personally enough to attend his funeral.
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