The 2013 film based on the novel of the same name is a visual treat. Baz Luhrmann’s interpretation of The Great Gatsby is beautiful to look at, and it also engages with the source text very well. Keeping most of the iconic lines from the novel in the film as well, Baz Luhrmann uses the spectacular star cast to present the story.
Gatsby, Nick, and Daisy are played by Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, and Carey Mulligan respectively. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s poetic lines are incorporated in various ways in the film. Here are some of Nick Carraway’s quotes that have now become classic.
Updated on June 15th, 2021 by Kristen Palamara: The Great Gatsby is a classic book that has turned out multiple movie adaptations most notably the 1974 movie starring Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, and Sam Waterston as Gatsby, Daisy, and Nick respectively. But another notable version was released in 2013 with Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, and Tobey Maguire in the titular roles and while this version had the usual visuals of a Baz Luhrmann it still stayed true to the extravagant 1920s novel using some of the most iconic quotes from the book and film’s narrator Nick Carraway.
12 “Gatsby Looked, In That Moment, As If He Had…Killed A Man.”
There are several heated and intense moments between characters throughout the movie and the book and this Nick Carraway quote appears in both versions of the story to emphasize a particularly tense moment for Gatsby.
The quote is said in a voice-over during a tense meeting between the main characters Nick, Gatsby, Daisy, Tom, and Jordan, and although Nick doesn’t seem to know that Gatsby was involved in the deadly hit and run it’s an odd coincidence.
11 “I Am One Of The Few Honest People I Have Ever Known.”
Nick Carraway narrates the lives of the people around him both in the novel and in the 2013 movie and this quote is said very early on in both versions.
It’s such a memorable quote because of how odd it is that a narrator would even bring this up in a work of fiction in the first place. It cues the audience to wonder if Nick’s narration and the way he presents the events are actually honest and true.
10 “In My Younger And More Vulnerable Years, My Father Gave Me Some Advice.”
The novel and the film start with the very same line. This iconic line of Nick Carraway sets the stage for the events to come. By using the same first line to start the film, the movie is able to effectively capture the essence of this character.
The introductory scene shows Nick Carraway and introduces the viewers to Gatsby as well. Nick’s first few lines about Gatsby are incredible. They paint him as the extremely hopeful yet eccentric character that he is.
9 “I Was Within And Without…”
“I Was Within And Without. Enchanted And Repelled By The Inexhaustible Variety Of Life.”
This is probably the most mesmerizing line from the novel and it was shown so beautifully in the film. The movie tries to literally portray these things that are written. It shows the very many yellow windows and a Nick who is looking out from inside, as well as a Nick looking in from the outside.
This quote is from the time Nick gets incredibly drunk at the apartment and the messy party gets to his head. This line also reflects the manner in which Nick viewed these things and viewed the world as such.
8 “Possibly It Had Occurred To Gatsby…”
“Possibly It Had Occurred To Gatsby That The Colossal Significance Of That Light Had Vanished Forever.”
The green light across the bay was very important to Gatsby. It was an enchanted object that held so much significance for him. It was his light of hope, of one day, getting back with Daisy. And his idea of getting back with Daisy mainly revolved around reclaiming the past. Therefore, the moment Daisy puts her arm around him, he realized how she was actually there with him.
Which now meant that the green light didn’t hold the same significance. What he thought was far away, was now right there next to him. It’s sort of bittersweet for a man who set store by such things.
7 “You Can’t Repeat The Past.”
Gatsby is obsessed with the past. He thinks it is possible to change the past entirely. He wants Daisy to say that she never loved Tom. He thinks it is possible to excise away the five years they have been away from each other. Nick calls him out on this and says that he is expecting too much of Daisy.
Nick understands that fundamentally, there is no way of going back in time, nor is it possible to repeat the past. Gatsby however is unwilling to accept this and goes on believing in the possibility with the enduring hope that only he is capable of.
6 “They’re A Rotten Crowd. You’re Worth The Whole Damn Bunch Put Together.”
This is the last thing Nick says to Gatsby, and it is the first time he complimented Gatsby. It was also the last time he saw Gatsby before he was shot. Nick is the wallflower who witnessed the entire story play out. He saw what everyone had done, what they had not done, what they said, and what they didn’t say.
After Gatsby tells Nick his entire life story, Nick is even more affected by Gatsby’s unwavering hope and optimism. Nick goes on to say how Gatsby is better than Daisy and Tom, and all of the others.
5 “They Were Careless People, Tom And Daisy…”
“They Were Careless People, Tom And Daisy. They Smashed Up Things And People. And Then Retreated Back Into Their Money And Their Vast Carelessness.”
Viewers get to witness the magic being chipped away. Nick grows thoroughly disillusioned by what he witnesses. Even though it was Daisy who had hit Myrtle with the car, and it was Tom who had the affair with Myrtle, they both go away and the entire blame is pinned up on Gatsby.
Gatsby’s whole world comes shattering down and even his life is ended by the mess that Daisy and Tom created. But Daisy and Tom face no consequence for their actions only because they were wealthy. The disillusionment comes across very clearly in this quote.
4 “I Remembered How We Had All Come To Gatsby’s…”
“I Remembered How We Had All Come To Gatsby’s And Guessed At His Corruption While he Stood Before Us Concealing An Incorruptible Dream.”
There was a clear distinction in society between old money and new money. The fact of the matter was that Gatsy had tried to work inside an already corrupt world and knew that the only way to achieve anything was through means that the old money folk would turn their noses up at.
And that’s what they did, even at his parties that they came to; however, Gatsby had done whatever he had with a singular dream in mind. He wanted to be worthy enough for Daisy and everything was for Daisy.
3 “Gatsby Believed In The Green Light…”
“Gatsby Believed In The Green Light, The Orgastic Future That Year By Year Recedes Before Us.”
The final sequence in the film is heavy on dramatic tension. Nick Carraway visualizes the dead Gatsby imagining what it would have been like the first time Gatsby viewed the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock.
Baz Luhrmann literally paints the words on the screen as he tries to capture the intensity of emotions in this line. Nick knew that there was no one else who was as incredibly optimistic and hopeful as Gatsby. And Gatsby’s belief in the green light and his dream was something that Nick hadn’t seen in the others around him.
2 “Tomorrow, We Will Run Faster, Stretch Out Our Arms Further… And One Fine Morning–“
The movie ends with the same lines as the novel. These are probably the most memorable lines that are etched into the memories of any literature enthusiast. Nick Carraway’s thoughts don’t meld into one coherent thought here, and the movie doesn’t change this.
It keeps it the same way, as Nick stops this thought mid-way. The quote also looks unfinished. It could reflect the concurrent thoughts Nick had about Gatsby’s hope and relentlessness towards pursuing it.
1 “So We Beat On, Boats Against The Current, Borne Back Ceaselessly Into The Past.”
The very final line of the novel is the final line of the film as well. This quote appears on screen as being typed into a typewriter. This allows the movie to beautifully tie in with the novel, giving a nod to the incredible piece of literature from which this movie is adapted from.
As much as Nick thought Gatsby was obsessed with the past, Nick too has become the same way. Gatsby was obsessed with returning to the past and rewriting his history with Daisy. Nick Carraway was obsessed with Gatsby and he may be now realizing why Gatsby was the way he was.
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