Throughout F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, America's quest for wealth and power, along with the moral decay of the times are the primary themes. While the film adaptation of the book does convey the majority of the novel's intended meaning, the screenwriters took some liberties when adapting the novel and added and removed several key components to the storyline. These additions and retractions in a way detract from the original meaning of the novel.

Three significant events were added to the film that were not in the novel; Myrtle Wilson fell down the stairs of her home when arguing with her husband George, Gatsby kept a photo album full of newspaper articles and pictures of Daisy, and Gatsby gave Nick a silver tea set to impress Daisy. The fact that Myrtle fell down the stairs of her home when she was arguing with George is important...