Green light across the shore, a mirage of dreams

Author: Sunny Wind

Source: Justice Network

The Marvelous Gatsby 2013 Film Edition

Created in 1925, the world literary masterpiece "The Great Gatsby", which has been put on the big screen four times, is a short story by American writer F.S. Fitzgerald set in the high society life of New York in the United States in the 1920s. The 1920s and 1930s were the golden age of the American novel, a time when the stars shone brightly and brightly. Even critics as harsh as Hemingway recall Fitzgerald that since he could write something as good as The Great Gatsby, I believe he could have written better.

Looking at the original book because of the movie, director Bazruman, who has directed many gorgeous films such as "Moulin Rouge" and "Romeo and Juliet", has once again put this work on the big screen. That was the most brilliant years of "little plum" Leonardo DiCaprio on the big screen - the body shape has not yet been blessed, the eyes are not greasy, and the "local tycoon" atmosphere after Gatsby's overnight wealth is naturally revealed between the hands and feet.

1.

The film, shot in 2013, still looks gorgeous and dazzling today, with every frame flowing with the color of money, like Daisy's voice. Fitzgerald's description of the appearance of this beautiful and bright woman in the novel is very vague, but a few strokes, "the face is melancholy and beautiful, there are two bright eyes, there is a bright and enthusiastic mouth", but there are more than 20 descriptions of her voice, "there is an exciting quality in her voice, as if every sentence is a note that will never be played again", "This is the source of the endless charm of the ups and downs in her voice, the sound of money jingling..." Some commentators said that Daisy was a gold worshipper, It was the representative of the new York society at that time that advocated money, but from a female point of view, she was not exactly. She is just a woman with posture and knows how to seduce people with her voice, clinging to and enjoying men's pursuits, and enjoying it. Just like the siren banshee in ancient Greek mythology, she is good at seducing navigators with her natural singing voice and making it her belly food.

When I was young, I didn't like this novel, the plot was very cheesy, the story of the poor boy who pursued the rich family and lost his life. However, when people reach middle age, they feel more and more that this novel is remarkable. Originally a penniless officer, Gatsby met and fell in love with the wealthy Daisy at a banquet. War broke out and Gatsby went to war. When the war was over, the beloved girl was married. In order to regain his love, he desperately took the risk of selling private liquor and became a rich businessman in just five years. To attract Daisy's attention, he built a mansion opposite Daisy's residence, spending money like land to hold a banquet, "all summer nights there is music coming out, and in his blue garden, men and women come and go like moths between laughter, champagne and stars..."

The luxurious depiction in the novel is highly restored in the movie, and the scenes of fine wine, costumes, fireworks, sports cars, and scenes of drunken fans and singing and dancing fill the audience's eyeballs, trying to show the luxurious and hedonistic "jazz age" in the United States in the last century, making the audience unforgettable.

Gatsby finally got his wish and got Daisy, but that's where the tragedy began. Is Daisy still the Daisy of that teenager's dream? The scene in the novel where Gatsby and Daisy's husband, Tom, meet briefly is impressive. They argue over Daisy, but when Tom reveals that Gatsby's wealth came from improper means, Gatsby loses, "looking as if he had just killed someone." This low-level person who wanted to make himself an upper class and integrate into the aristocratic class was still weak and inferior in essence, which led to his tragedy.

The novel ends with a climax, and I applaud the author's ingenious design. Daisy accidentally kills her husband's mistress while driving, and Tom marries Gatsby, causing her husband to shoot Gatsby and cut himself off, ending his short life. This "more remarkable than anyone" Gatsby died in the pool of his home without water. In the empty pool, the truth is buried and the sin is washed away. The woman he had loved so much, but who continued to live a life of erosion without remorse, was undoubtedly full of irony.

The Great Gatsby book cover

2.

The reason why this work has become a classic is not only because Fitzgerald wrote a love tragedy, but also because it tells the story of a dreamer's broken dream. "The Great Gatsby" was once titled "Under the Red, White and Blue", and the red, white and blue is the color of the American flag. In the United States in the 1920s, the First World War had just ended, values were fissioned, classes were constantly flowing, the aristocracy was declining, tycoons were rising, and New York City was singing night and night. Behind the carnival is the desolation of morality. Indulgence mocks fidelity, freedom replaces morality, desire obscures nobility, and money is the only measure of values. In Fitzgerald's own words, "It was an age of wonder, an age of art, an age of profligacy, an age of mockery."

In the film, there is a figure that always stands on the dock, as if to grasp the dazzling green light on the other side. "That green light, although we can't catch it now, but as long as we run faster and reach farther, one day, we will strive forward, sail against the current, and will continue to approach." That green light seemed to hide the love desire of teenagers, but in essence, it was also the unattainable "American Dream" that the young people at the bottom were doing at that time. It is similar to the era of "The Red and the Black" a hundred years ago, becoming a celebrity, stepping into high society, becoming a "big man", and a poor boy can get rich money, it seems to cross the class and meet the dream. Money is supreme, spiritual desolation, such a dream is a mirage after all. The tragedy of love comes at the cost of death, while reality is just as cruel. In 1929, an economic crisis of unprecedented scale broke out in the United States, and the "Great Depression" period in American history arrived. God gave it to the people, and took it back overnight, and the best of times was finally empty.

Once known as the "New Age" in the 1920s, wealth and opportunity seemed to open their doors to Americans who had just won World War I, society as a whole flocked to new technologies and new ways of life, and "conspicuous consumption" became the trend of the times. Even President Hoover argued that "on the eve of our decisive victory in the war on poverty, slums will disappear from America." However, on October 24, 1929, that Black Thursday, the Wall Street stock market suddenly plummeted, and the price fell so fast that even the automatic display of the stock market could not keep up... The homeless in the city built simple shelters with wooden planks, old tin sheets, tarpaulins and even kraft paper, and the villages where these huts gathered were called "Hoover Village", the homeless people's rice bags were called "Hoover bags", the cars that could not afford to buy fuel and were pulled by animal power were called "Hoover cars", and even the newspapers covered by the homeless people sleeping on the streets were called "Hoover blankets"... Apple vendors on the streets became one of the most well-known symbols of the Great Depression, and many of those forced to make a living by running a mobile fruit stall were formerly successful financiers...

Readers familiar with 20th-century American critical realism literature john Steinbeck's masterpiece "Grapes of Wrath" must be impressed by this moment. "Grapes of Rage" is set against the backdrop of the Great Depression in the United States in the 1930s: the ultimate spread of widespread hunger is to eat garbage, the urban poor fight with wild dogs for rotten fruit, rummaging through garbage heaps for bones and watermelon peels, and guarding the leftovers dumped by chefs outside restaurants. In the novel, the landless, homeless Tom Jodd's family embarks on a journey westward into California. During the long journey, Tom's grandparents died because they could not withstand the hardships of the road and the harsh environment, and their dream of going to California to pick grapes was shattered with the end of their lives. In the midst of all the hardships and misfortunes, the Jodd family eventually reached their dream place, California, but it was far less than they had advertised, and they were still unemployed, hungry, and miserable. In the midst of unemployment, illness, death, their dreams are finally disillusioned...

The Great Gatsby 1926 film version

3.

Looking for a photo of Fitzgerald himself on Baidu, this is really a handsome man, with handsome eyebrows and a firm mouth. Regrettably, he only lived to be 44 years old. In such a short life, he wrote 4 novels and more than 160 short stories.

Gatsby has fitzgerald's shadow. In July 1918, Fitzgerald met the beautiful Zelda at a country ball in Montgomery, Alabama. Zelda, the daughter of an Alabama Supreme Court justice, was fluent in ballet, French, and poetry, and along with her family's pampering, bred her extra pride and rebellion. She learned to smoke and drink early, danced all night, and played with many men. Zelda once recalled in his diary: "I danced at every table in all the clubs in Manhattan, and my skirt was lifted to my waist. Standing tall on his legs, smoking in public, chewing gum, drinking and sliding into the gutter. "She likes to watch others being teased by herself, likes to switch from dance partner to dance partner with ease, and likes to cope with the sweet words of men. To her, "these guys are just a bunch of appendages with a little value, good dancers and companions, nothing more." In Fitzgerald's view, though, he "liked her bravery, honesty, and fiery self-esteem." Fitzgerald embarked on a fanatical quest for Zelda, and Zelda finally agreed to his marriage proposal on the condition that he could earn money to make himself a good life.

Fitzgerald married Zelda in April 1920 and moved to France four years later, but soon the marriage was lit up with red lights. While Fitzgerald concentrated on the creation of The Great Gatsby, Zelda was extremely dissatisfied with her husband, often making a big splash at the ball, and met a French pilot who ran back to divorce her husband, causing her husband to even sympathize with the enemy duels...

In fact, Zelda is also a talented woman and has a natural sensitivity to words. Fitzgerald has used large sections of her work from her diaries, letters, and even her experiences with psychiatric treatment. At one point, he also persuaded Zelda to publish her work under his name or under the names of the two of them, because with his fame, he could get paid more.

Zelda couldn't bear to be a "writer's wife", so at the age of 27 she returned to her youthful love of ballet. Although it is difficult to improve due to her age, she ignores the crazy training and finally forces herself into a desperate situation. Intense, overloaded training triggered a nervous breakdown, and she was later diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Seven years after Fitzgerald's death, Zelda's mental hospital accidentally caught fire, she was trapped on the top floor and could not escape, and was burned alive in a raging fire...

The author's tragic outlook on life influences these works, and "The Great Gatsby" reveals the author's deeply buried sadness, a kind of sadness. Fitzgerald once wrote in a letter to his daughter that life is nothing more than a hoax, and the end is failure; What can be compensated for is not joy and happiness, but the satisfaction that comes from struggle and struggle. Fitzgerald was bankrupt before his death and his will called for the "cheapest funeral". His tombstone is engraved with the end of "The Great Gatsby": "So we continued to push forward, sailing against the current, and were constantly pushed backwards until we returned to the old days."

Stills from the movie "The Genius Catcher", which mentions Fitzgerald's writing and financial difficulties

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