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The differences between books and movies
Similarities and differences between movies and books
Similarities and differences between movies and books
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East of Eden, by John Steinbeck and Elia Kazan’s movie adaptation demonstrate the struggle Cal faces for affection and acceptance from his father, Adam Trask. Characters develop differently and form different relationships with each other in the movie, which creates a story of its own, far from the book. The movie branches differently from the novel through its set-up, character portrayal, and character relationships.
Since the movie only covers the last hundred pages of the book, the story development up until that point aren’t shown, which sets up the story differently. The film begins with Cal Trask following his mother, Cathy, home which allows the viewers to become interested in his motives. Although, this set up leaves out many significant details that preceded that moment, it gives the film
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space to develop while remaining loyal to the book.
This set up however, leaves out important elements such as Cathy and her story of how she grew up and where her intentions lie. This disallows the viewers to get a better glimpse of her persona and understand her, along with other characters. The story of Adam and Cyrus also aren’t mentioned, which leaves out the parallelism to Aron and Cal, and how the Cain and Abel story passes down through the generations. However, since it is impossible to fit the entire book into a film, the decision to start the film at that scene was clever, as it introduces Cal Trask while still leaving space for the story to unfold.
The film’s portrayal of the characters display an accurate representation of Cal, however lacks depth of some other major characters in the book. James Dean’s portrayal of Cal Trask brings his character to life through his acting and exchanges with other characters.
His performance of Cal is spot on, through his conflictions and search for love and acceptance from his neglective father. However, the lack of Lee removes the father-son relationship Cal shared with Lee, and takes away how he came to overcome his fate. Lee was an essential character in the book, a catalyst to both Adam and Cal, as he guided them through life and served as a father figure to both Aron and Cal. The lack of Lee is evident in the film, as his wise advice is missing which interferes with Cal and Adam’s character development. Without Lee, Aron and Cal would be raised differently, and would not have ended up the same way. Lee’s absence, however, is supposedly replaced by Abra, who serves as a guide to Cal as he struggles to win his father’s affection. Abra’s portrayal is far different in the film, as she appears more attached to Cal, compared to the book, where she seemed more independent and strong-willed. Abra’s relationship with the brothers is also different, as she becomes romantically involved with Cal, unlike in the book where she only confessed to him. Cal’s relationship with Adam is more dramatic in the film, as Adam’s neglect is more evident, such as the dramatization of his rejection of Cal’s money. Cal’s adoration for his father was more clear in the book, as it served as his moral purpose to be just like his brother. Characterization in the film displays a different outlook on each of the characters, as some compensate for others. All in all, the film’s adaptation of East of Eden, gives a new perspective to the story. It’s characterization and set-up brings a new light to John Steinbeck’s novel whilst shaping it into a new story. Despite it’s obvious differences, the story wraps up the book’s themes nicely through Cal’s journey of acceptance from Adam and himself.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck is an optimistic film about a boy becoming a man and trying desperately to earn the love of his father and mother in the troubled times of the Great Depression. Cal, the main character is a troubled teen who lives with his entrepreneur father, and a brother who is following closely in his fathers steps. Cal’s mother left him and his brother to become a madam of a whorehouse. The struggle takes place between Cal and his father due to his fathers lack of compassion for his son. The conflict rises further when Cal tries to help his father repay a debt, his father further isolates his son and this turns to violent outbursts. Steinbeck focuses on Cal in order to suggest the theme that without love people become violent and mean.
In conclusion, details involving the characters and symbolic meanings to objects are the factors that make the novel better than the movie. Leaving out aspects of the novel limits the viewer’s appreciation for the story. One may favor the film over the novel or vice versa, but that person will not overlook the intense work that went into the making of both. The film and novel have their similarities and differences, but both effectively communicate their meaning to the public.
Several characters through the course of Steinbeck's novel East of Eden demonstrate a lack of self-knowledge or corruption of the soul. A gap is created between some the character's actions and their true essence as a person. The disparity between a character's conduct and their identity as a human being is often a demonstration of the fight between good and evil within the character's own soul. Caleb, one of Adam Trask's twin boys embodies this struggle vividly throughout his life. This search for self-identity plays into a key theme of the novel, which is that of free will. Despite the fact that there is a variance in the way a character wants to act or the person who they truly are at heart and the way that they actually carry out their lives, free will offers hope. Steinbeck pushes the idea that a person's life and fate is never out of their control and that it is never too late to change the road that you are on. It can be argued either way that this break up of fundamental identity, expression and self-knowledge is the nature of man or simply provoked by the events in the character's lives. It becomes apparent through Caleb's life that the nurture of the individual seems to be the larger factor in causing this separation. Caleb Trask's character demonstrates how the struggle between good and evil within an individual can affect one's self-knowledge, which is catalyzed mainly by the nurture of the character and, ultimately, is amendable through free will.
The color and temperature of a person’s eyes comprise the first layer of his identity. Welcoming, smiling eyes identify their owner as a friend, while angry, bitter eyes warn of a comparably biting personality. A person’s eyes show much at a first glance. In literature, they perform a more significant job, reflecting the character of the soul they guard. In developing the famously complex characters of his novel East of Eden, John Steinbeck heartily subscribed to this literary symbolism by giving special meaning to the eyes of his characters as ‘windows to the soul.’ This can be seen especially in the characters of Adam and Cathy Trask.
Steinbeck, John. Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters. 1969. New York: Penguin,
John Steinbeck's novel, East of Eden is the epic story of a California family who struggle to overcome issues of betrayal, infidelity, and the age old battle between good and evil and sibling rivalry. The story centers around two generations of brothers in the Trask family-Adam and Charles, and Adam's sons Aron and Cal. In each generation, one of the Trask brothers is moral and good while the other brother behaves badly and immorally. Because the good Trask brothers are favored, the bad Trask brothers develop envious tendencies and a recurrent theme of sibling rivalry appears throughout the book. Steinbeck's dramatic account of the Trask brothers and their rivalry in East of Eden is an impressive tale, but it is also a familiar one that closely echoes a
...ets in Heaven. In the story, the father’s “tough love” sometimes is very ugly indeed, but the “tough love” is still not the thing of anachronism in the real world. Overall, I feel that the adaptation illustrates a high fidelity to its inspiration, and the book gives the readers more details and the time to ponder while the movie gives the audience direct visual impression and easier storyline to adhere to. The both versions of “The Five People You Meet in Heave,” the novel and the movie, are mutually enriched, beneficial, and supplementary to each other, and are ultimately the quintessence of masterpieces selected carefully by our amiable professor, Tracy Virgil.
One of the most notable differences between the film and novel is that Scanlon doesn’t have the conversation with members of the ward in the movie, but he does so in the book.
Gandhi once said, “I have also seen children successfully surmounting the effects of an evil inheritance. That is due to purity being an inherent attribute of the soul”.
The book and the movie were both very good. The book took time to explain things like setting, people’s emotions, people’s traits, and important background information. There was no time for these explanations the movie. The book, however, had parts in the beginning where some readers could become flustered.
Steinbeck uses the biblical story of Cain and Abel in East of Eden to show us that we do not have set fate. Steinbeck uses the Hebrew word “timshel”, which means “thou mayest”, to suggest that man has the ability to choose good or evil. “Timshel” affects the characters in East of Eden such as Cal and Aron and their choice of overcoming good or evil. Steinbeck sees this novel as his most important work, and he uses it as a way to state his personal ideas concerning mankind:“The free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual.”(Steinbeck,132). Steinbeck shows God has given humans free will and their ability to choose good or evil, if they so decide. He portrays the “C” characters to be connected to Cain, such as Charles and Cal and the “A” characters to be connected to Abel, such as Aron and Adam.
within the fact that this book has no immediate plot. It is more of a
The plot of the novel begins with George and Lennie getting off the bus from Weed, and making the rest of their journey by foot to get to the ranch where they will begin work the following day.
In closing I feel that the book did a much better job than the film of illustrating the life of Wolff. The book made Toby’s relationship with his mother and the men that were in their life much more dramatic.
This particular event, in the very beginning of the novel, demonstrates how two people of t...