The Great? Gatsby

(Warning: spoilers)

I really enjoy movies.  Most people do I think.  We love story, and it’s pretty easy to sit back and let the movie tell you the story.  Sure the book is almost always better, but the movie is quicker.

I read the Great Gatsby years ago.  I really didn’t remember much about the story, other than it was about the “roaring 20’s” and there was something significant about a big yellow car hitting someone, though I couldn’t remember who it hit or why it became so significant.

Written in 1925 by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby is considered by many to be “The great American Novel”.  I had been looking forward to watching Baz Luhrman’s movie based on the book.  I really like Leonardo DiCaprio as an actor.  Ever since I saw him in “The Basketball Diaries”, I have been really impressed with him.  I also enjoyed what Baz Luhrman did with Romeo and Juliet a few years ago.  So I was looking forward to watching “The Great Gatsby” with my wife, but I have to say that, overall, I was disappointed.

Luhrman’s movies always have a bit of “weirdness” to them, but that is part of what I like about them.  I love the way he remixes modern songs to better fit the era he’s set his movie in (Jay-Z produced the soundtrack).  I think he did a great job directing.  Although I’m not a fan of Tobey Maguire, I think the cast did a fine job acting.  

Where I think the movie failed, was that it was based on the book, which ultimately is flawed.

I’m not sure who I think I am to call “the great American novel” flawed, but it is.

I realized the truth of this as I was watching the movie.  In the final moments, Tobey Maguire’s character, Nick, says this:

“I remembered how we had all come to Gatsby’s and guessed at his corruption, while he stood before us concealing an incorruptible dream”

I imagine that what he meant by “incorruptible” was that Gatsby wouldn’t allow anything to get in the way of his dream, which would normally be an admirable trait.  But the problem is that Gatsby’s dream was corrupt to begin with; it was an immoral dream.  Gatsby wanted to steal another man’s wife.  Forget the fact that he loved her first (and arguably better); she was still married to another man.

That simple fact eliminates Gatsby as a likeable character.

The fact that Nick did not see that this was immoral eliminates him as a likeable character.

Daisy, the woman in question, would rather be with Gatsby and cheats on her husband.

Daisy’s husband is cheating on her.  He only wants her as a possession; to keep Gatsby from having her.

There is no possible outcome that you can cheer for; no character that you want to see win.  The one character that you might feel pathos for becomes a murderer in the end.

For all the discussion of Gatsby being the “most hopeful man” that Nick had ever met, the viewer is left with a sense of hopelessness at the end of the movie.

You feel as dirty as the inhabitants of the valley of ashes, for being mixed up in this story.

Someone might argue that this is what makes the story “great”.  That it is realistic, as opposed to being too idealistic.  And while that may be true, it doesn’t make it great.  By that standard, the evening news is “great”.

More than anything else, it is the suggestion itself that Gatsby is “great” that leaves the viewer so disappointed.

Immorality is definitely realistic, and it may certainly be forgiven, but it should never be celebrated.

Robert Frost, Bono and You.

Robert Frost’s famous poem, “The Road not taken” ends with the line: “Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

Of course, he doesn’t say what kind of difference it made.  It’s possible that taking the less traveled road resulted in some hardship, which is perhaps the reason it was less traveled in the first place.

Wouldn’t it be great if every time our roads diverged there were a sign telling us where they led?

One of my favorite poets, Bono from U2 writes about this in the song “Ultraviolet” when he says “Baby, baby, baby, light my way”.  Okay, maybe it’s not as timeless as Frost, but I think he’s voicing a desire that we all have.  We want to know where we’re going.  We want to see what lies down the path we’re traveling.

I went to Europe in 1997 for almost 6 weeks.  My friend and I used a travel guide telling us about all of the best spots to go and the most affordable places to eat.  It was incredibly valuable to get that information from people who had been there before.

How many of us have a GPS, or a smartphone with Google Maps or some other tool that gives us insight into where we’re going?

How much more valuable would it be to have a tool that could give us insight in where our lives are headed?  When the roads of our lives diverge in a wood, how do you know which path to take?  What are you using to light your way?

Let’s be honest, none of us knows for sure what’s coming around the next corner in our lives.  Even if we think we have it all figured out with a 5, 10 or 20-year plan, we never know for sure when something might hit us out of the blue.

When something hits you out of left field, is there a GPS unit that will tell you how to recalculate your life?

The author of Psalm 119 in the Bible seemed to think so.  Verse 105 says: “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path”.

Here is the answer we’ve been looking for.  This fulfills the desire that we all have.  God’s word will light our way and direct our paths.

This makes perfect sense when you think about it.  God created us; God has a plan for each of our lives.  Why wouldn’t we want to read the guidebook that will direct us on our journey?  Why wouldn’t we choose to listen to the One who sees where all the paths lead and can direct us to take the correct one?

Imagine what it would be like to have a guide who knows where He’s going, to walk through the maze of life with you.

God has a plan for your life; trust Him to guide you through it.