A staple when it comes to school literature, The Great Gatsby is one of the most iconic novels and movies around. Its story has influenced culture for years since its release and captures the essence of the beautiful period of the Jazz Age.
The 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald was adapted into a 2013 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, and Carey Mulligan, and is one of the best historical romantic dramas out there. If you want a glimpse into the movie, find out the best quotes from The Great Gatsby that fans often think about to this day.
The movie is narrated by Nick Carraway, a new neighbor of Jay Gatsby, who throws outrageous parties, and he’s immediately sucked into the life of Gatsby and his lavish dreams. His descriptions, along with the lines of many others, are some of the best quotes from The Great Gatsby, and these are the best examples.
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6. “He Gives Large Parties, and I Like Large Parties — They’re So Intimate” Jordan Baker
The Great Gatsby is set in the 1920s and features incredible, extravagant parties of the Jazz Age. The music, while modern, is the perfect background to the theatrical entertainment, dancing, and vibe.
In the movie, Jay Gatsby throws these luxurious parties to draw in people from everywhere, ultimately hoping to bring in the love of his life. Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby’s new neighbor, is invited to one of his many parties.
There, he meets Jordan Baker, a famous golfer, where she says this iconic line: “He gives large parties, and I like large parties — they’re so intimate. Small parties, there isn’t any privacy.” It would feel the quite opposite, but with Gatsby’s rambunctious parties, two people could steal a private moment without anyone noticing.
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5. “Gatsby Believed in the Green Light” Nick Carraway
When Jordan Baker and Nick Carraway learn the truth about why Carraway was drawn into Gatsby’s life, that Carraway was related to Daisy, the woman he loved before leaving for the war, it’s heart-shattering.
And when Jordan Baker reveals that Gatbsy bought the house that is just across the bay from Daisy’s home, it’s so romantic. Later, viewers will learn that the green light that Jay Gatsby watches is in fact an electric lamp that marks the end of Daisy and Tom’s boat dock, and while so many teachers go on and on about the importance of the color green in the novel, it really is important.
Jay watches the green light, his reminder of his goals and dreams. Nick Carraway remarks this by saying Gatbsy always believed in those dreams, believed in the green light. The line is said at the end of the movie, and without giving spoilers, it makes every viewer tear up.
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4. “I Knew It Was a Great Mistake for a Man Like Me to Fall in Love” Jay Gatsby
As soon as Nick Carraway meets the infamous Gatsby, it’s clear that he has an idea for his future that seems lavish and impossible.
He has big plans, and big ideas, and hopes that his life just increasingly gets better. While the book is narrated by Nick Carraway, the story is clearly about the wonderful Gatsby. This lays out the foundation of what he expects from his, and one of the best quotes from The Great Gatsby is him admitting that it was a great mistake to fall in love.
He believed that he had his life planned out, and falling in love, while remarkable, marked a path in his life that he was forging towards that wasn’t working out in his favor, as if a distraction on what could have been.
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3. “I Hope She’ll Be a Fool” Daisy Buchanan
The Great Gatsby touches on, not only the Jazz Age but the society’s standards. While Daisy loved another and refused to marry Tom on their wedding day, she couldn’t go back on it and was forced to marry Tom. That, and there is a lot of prosperity and expectations for women.
This makes Daisy Buchanan’s line one of the best quotes from The Great Gatsby one of the best ones. The scene shows Tom and Daisy fighting because Tom has a woman on the side. Daisy, while unhappy, is forced to stay in the marriage with the expectation of being loyal to her husband, while men are often allowed to do as they please.
After the two are done fighting, Daisy and Nick are walking in the garden, and she produces this heartwrenching line, “And I hope she’ll be a fool. That’s the best thing a girl in this world can be — a beautiful little fool”. It speaks about the hardships a woman goes through in society.
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2. “Gatsby’s Real Name Was James Gatz” Nick Carraway
One of the best quotes from The Great Gatsby is another line that revolves around Jay Gatsby’s background. Nick Carraway recalls his meeting with Gatsby and him telling him his life story and his dreams.
He begins by saying “Gatsby’s real name was James Gatz. His parents were dirt-poor farmers… but he never accepted them as his parents at all. In his own imagination, he was a son of God, destined for future glory”. The whole movie is not only experiencing the tragic love story between Daisy and Gatsby, but it’s also just trying to under who Gatsby is through pieces of story Carraway gives us.
And this line makes us understand Gatsby and why he has the ideas that he does. It’s a powerful line that turns the tables on viewers, giving us an answer but also making us question even more.
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1. “You Can’t Repeat the Past” Nick Carraway
Not only is this a great life lesson by Nick Carraway, but it’s also the theme of the movie. One of the best quotes from The Great Gatsby is said by Carraway when he first meets Gatsby. This is said before Gatsby says the iconic line of wishing he didn’t fall in love.
Before then, Carraway starts to understand that Gatsby is still holding on to his past before he was in the war and says that he shouldn’t repeat the past and that he should let it go. But of course, Gatsby doesn’t even consider that, saying that of course, he can repeat the past.
That’s the only way his life can keep climbing the way that he wants. The overall theme in the movie is chasing a vision, chasing the past and repeating it, and hoping for a better future, but ultimately making things even worse.