A Comparison of John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men and the 1939 Film Version of the Novel

A Comparison of John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men and the 1939 Film Version of the Novel

Looking at the novel 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck there is the

clear comparison that this is a print text, while the 1939 film

version of the novel by Milestone is a visual text. There are many

things that need to be taken into consideration when analysing a

visual text, these being the use of camera angle, sound, lighting,

editing and the mise en scène, whereas when looking at the print text

the use of description, dialogue, characterisation and imagery. The

three scenes which are most relevant to the novel and the film are,

the shooting of Candy's dog, the fight which takes place between

Curley and Lennie and the scene which takes place in Crooks room.

There is a clear difference between the scenes from the book and the

scenes from the film; this is due to a number of reasons. The main one

being that the novel has left the reader to make up their own mind

about the characters in their own time but the film has a limited

amount of time to do this, introducing the characters quickly and

getting straight to the story. Also, the book was written by Steinbeck

but the film was not produced by him, therefore we are seeing two

interpretations of the novel.

The first scene, which is a major focus of the film and the novel, is

that of the shooting of Candy's dog. This is dramatic and creates a

high emotional response, both in the novel and the film. The film

introduces the scene with a number of high angle shots with the focus

on the dog. These high angle shots of the dog are featured with the

dog close to Candy, showing that there is a conn...

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...e characters and the setting of the novel with the use of the

imagination. The way that Steinbeck combines detailed descriptions of

the scenery with the more vague descriptions of the characters to draw

the reader into the novel and stimulate their imaginations is very

effective, this does much more for the audience than the film.

Steinbeck leaves more to the imagination of the reader than

Milestone's film version. This is more rewarding because the reader

has developed sympathy for George and Lennie through their own

imagination and not because they have been influenced by their

appearances on the film. Milestone's opinions on the characters are

apparent in the film because it is his own interpretation of the

novel. However by reading the novel, each individual is able to make

up their own interpretation of the novel.