Comparing James Joyce’s, The Dubliners, and the Screen Adaptation of the Novella

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James Joyce’s’ “The Dubliners” is the story of a gathering of people who come together for a party following the New Year. The short story was adapted for the screen by writer Tony Huston, directed by John Huston and was released in 1987. Throughout this essay, any alterations from the novella will be examined. These alterations will include any omissions and inclusions of certain aspects from the film. The location, setting and timeframe are very important elements of the text and their influence on the overall production will be taken into consideration. Finally, a personal opinion on the screen adaptation of the text will be offered.

The film opens very differently to the novel, setting the scene and presenting some indication of a time frame as we seen the horse drawn carriage passing a Georgian house which is the main focus of the shot. One piece of information which is included in the film in this opening shot is the inclusion of place and year. This piece of information is missing from the text and the first indicator of what year and time the film is taking place is when Mr. Grace mentions that Freddy took the pledge for New Years Eve. In the film version, we are reminded several times of when exactly the film is taking place. The film also introduces us to some of the characters earlier than the text but this really has no major significance on the story other than to allow the film to run more smoothly and heightens the sense of expectation for the party. Another slight change is the way that descriptions that appear in the text are but into dialogue in the film version; this helps the reader to understand what is being felt by the actors and enables us to focus on the characters rather than what is going on around ...

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...mage of the graveyard covered in snow is one which remains with us, long after the closing credits.

Overall, the screen adaptation of the novella is portrayed very well. There are very few changes made to the text except those which merely allow the film to flow effortlessly. The most interesting inclusion is the creation of a new character, Mr. Grace, and his inclusion leads to some very important questions of Nationalism and how it is portrayed in the film more so than the text. The timeframe and location of the setting in the film is very consistent with the text. The use of images fro Dublin reinforces the idea that it is set in Dublin, as is the mention of local place names. In my own opinion, the adaption does great justice both to James Joyce and the novella. It does not deviate in any major way from the text and this owes greatly to its success as a film.

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