Imre Eigerman

May 6 2024

Mr. Smith Honors

G Block

The Great Gatsby is a novel written by author Scott F. Fitzgerald in 1925 which

embodied the spirit of its setting, the roaring 20s, the novel stood the test of time and is viewed

as a classic in American literature, to this day. A film adaptation of The Great Gatsby which was

directed by Baz Luhrmann was released in 2013. Director Baz Luhrmann read The Great Gatsby

through the idea that Nick Carraway might be gay, because of this, in the film he made the

possibility of Nick being gay more likely than it was originally in the book due to his decision to

not include Nick’s initial reaction when he first met Jordan Baker and his relationship with her.

The film presents a stronger possibility that Nick is gay due to its exclusion of Nick's

initial reaction to Jordan, however The novel presents little evidence to the possibility. In the

novel when Nick Carraway first met Jordan Baker he described the attraction he felt towards her,

in a way that might not be looked at as tasteful in the present day, saying “I looked at Miss

Baker, wondering what it was she “got done.” I enjoyed looking at her. She was a slender,

small-breasted girl, with an erect carriage, which she accentuated by throwing her body

backward at the shoulders like a young cadet. Her grey sun-strained eyes looked back at me with

polite reciprocal curiosity out of a wan, charming, discontented face” (Fitzgerald 15). The way

author Scott Fitzgerald characterizes Nick as being clearly attracted to Jordan Baker as

articulated by his own thoughts about her, leaves little room for speculation of him being gay.

Contrary to his immediate attraction to Jordan in the book, in the movie Nick’s initial reaction to

meeting Jordan is watered down. As when Nick first meets Jordan he says in voiceover “She was
the most frightening person I’d ever seen, but I enjoyed looking at her.” In the actual moment

Nick just mentions to Jordan how he saw her on the cover of a sports magazine, and extends his

hand for a handshake. Nick's voiceover in this scene is obviously referencing his quote in the

book, but it is majorly cut down and altered to a point where it is lacking all the context that

made it so crucial to Nick's characterization. This scene, where Nick meets Jordan for the first

time, in the book provides evidence through Nicks personal thoughts about Jordan, that refutes

the possibility of Nick Carraway being gay, however when this detail is left out of the movie, it

creates a narrative where the possibility of Nick being gay is much more likely. Therefore,

Luhrmann excluding Nick's thoughts in this scene leads to a much higher possibility of Nick

being gay in his movie adaptation.

As time went on, the relationship between Nick and Jordan expanded, in the book Nick

and Jordan started dating. This led to Nick starting to compare this personal relationship of his

with the relationships his friends Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan had and thinking to himself,

“Unlike Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, I had no girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark

cornices and blinding signs, and so I drew up the girl beside me [Jordan Baker], tightening my

arms. Her wan, scornful mouth smiled, and so I drew her up again closer, this time to my

face”(85). Nick believes he doesn't have the same relationship with Jordan that Tom and Gatsby

have with Daisy, as he believes they idealize her to an extent where their perception of her is

more based in their fantasies, rather than her as an actual real person. Hence Nick's wording of

Daisy being a “disembodied face floating along” in the eyes of Tom and Gatsby. Nick could be

saying that his relationship with Jordan is superior to Tom and Gatsby’s relationship with Daisy

because his relationship is more based in reality and so he accepts Jordan for how she is, rather

than fantasizing about what she could be like Tom and Gatsby do with Daisy. Or, Nick could be
saying that his relationship with Jordan is not superior to Tom and Gatsby’s relationship with

Daisy because he doesn't have the same consuming passion for Jordan that Tom and Gatsby have

for Daisey that leads them to their constant fantasization of her. Either way, Nick is

acknowledging that he does have a relationship with Jordan. Overall, Nick's relationship with

Jordan in the novel discredits the theory of him being gay.

In the movie, Nick and Jordan do go on a date but it is for the purpose of discussing

helping Gatsby pursue Daisey rather than an actual date. In the scene, Nick shows up looking for

Jordan Baker at a crowded rooftop restaurant filled with rich diners dressed in elegant clothing.

Nick is visibly annoyed and confused as it was Gatsby who invited him, and also hinted about

having Nick do a favor for him. After finding Jordan sitting at a table, Nick, frustrated, asks

“What game are you and Gatsby playing at!?” After Nick talks about how strange and confusing

the whole situation is, he asks Jordan what this big request that Gatsby hinted at is. Jordan

answers, saying that Gatsby wants Nick to invite Daisy to tea, so that Gatsby can see her.

Shocked, Nick asks why, and Jordan tells him the whole story about how Gatsby has known

Daisy for years and has been in love with her, after that they part ways for the night. By having

Nick's date with Jordan only serve the purpose of informing Nick and the audience that Gatsby’s

“big request” for Nick is to invite Daisy to tea, and revealing the truth that Gatsby has known

Daisy for years and is in love with her, the movie is majorly downplaying Nicks relationship

with Jordan. By downplaying Nick's relationship with Jordan, the film is leaving out important

context about Nick's identity, leading to misinformed views about his sexuality. Also, by solely

focussing on the romantic dynamic between Gatsby and Daisy, this scene distracts the audience

from the romantic dynamic between Nick and Jordan entirely, once again portraying how film
makes the possibility of Nick being gay more likely than it was originally in the book due to

Luhrmann's decision to not include Nick’s relationship with Jordan Baker.

In the film adaptation of the Great Gatsby, Director Baz Luhrmann made the likelihood

of Nick Carraway being gay more feasible than it was originally in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel

due to his decision to not include Nick’s initial reaction when he first met Jordan Baker and his

relationship with her that developed throughout the novel. The movie’s version of the scene in

the novel where Nick goes to Tom’s house and meets Jordan for the first time, and thinks to

himself about how she is attractive, excludes Nick’s personal thoughts, in turn removing a lot of

the valuable substance that was in the original. Also, by having Nick’s date with Jordan later in

the movie only exist to further the plot line of Gatsby’s romantic pursuit of Daisy, Luhrmann

majorly diminishes the significance of Nick’s relationship with Jordan. Both of these changes in

the film remove a lot of important context about Nick Carraway's identity, leading to possible

misinterpretations of him being gay.