How and why to compare incomparables: The Great Gatsby and La Règle du jeu.

This article focuses on a comparative analysis of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel *The Great Gatsby* (1925) and Jean Renoir’s film *La Règle du jeu* (The Rules of the Game, 1939), highlighting their shared narrative structures and thematic concerns about the moral decline of the upper class during the interwar period. Both works draw on Alfred de Musset’s 1833 Romantic play *Les Caprices de Marianne* as a structural template, featuring intermediary narrators—Nick Carraway in the novel and Octave in the film—who observe and critique decadent aristocratic societies. The article situates these masterpieces alongside Orson Welles’ *Citizen Kane* to illustrate how cinema matured into a modern art form paralleling literary modernism, with both Renoir and Fitzgerald employing innovative styles to engage broad audiences while delivering incisive social critiques. Ultimately, the comparison underscores the enduring cultural and artistic significance of these original works beyond mere adaptation, revealing their shared exploration of romantic idealism confronting entrenched social decay.