James M. Cain's Novel Mildred Pierce: Comparing the Book and Movie Version
Mildred Pierce is one of the greatest novels written by James M. Cain. After the success of the novel, the Hollywood film came out, produced by Jerry Wald. The novel and the movie are very different from each other. “James M. Cain sent several letters of complaint to producer Jerry Wald, objecting to the changes Wald wanted to make, especially the dramatic idea of making Veda a washout musically and putting her in a tawdry nightclub” (Bennett Notes). The three main differences in the film were, the murder of Monte, Veda not having a successful career, and the time period only covering 1941 to 1945.
The main difference between the film and the novel was the murder that Hollywood added. Right when the film begins, it starts making the viewer think about who the killer is already. The novel doesn’t make the reader guess in any aspect. Jerry Wald makes the viewer think that Mildred is the killer at first, especially because she tries to commit suicide in the beginning of the film. Then it makes the viewer think that Bert is the killer for a while. Finally, the real killer is revealed at the end of the movie, which turns out to be Veda. The best thing about the movie was that it kept you guessing until the end. “Throughout the film we are never certain that Mildred is not Monte’s murderer. Even when she is cleared, she is not exculpated” (LaValley 12). Mildred tries to cover up for Veda again, by telling the cops that she killed Monte. The cops tell her that she can’t get her daughter off the hook this time. Finally, Veda ends up paying the consenquences for her action and goes to jail.
Another big difference between the novel and ...
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...vel was how the characters would survive the Depression, and how they would make money. “As the Depression deepened in 1932, jobs were few and far between. More than 10 million Americans were out of work” (Strock 12). The film’s plot was totally different, which mainly focused on who killed Monte.
Works Cited
Bennett, Bsabas A. Joan Crawford Online-Films:Mildred Pierce. 26 May. 2002. 30 May.2002
http://www.joancrawfordonline.com/films/m/mildred/mildredpierce.html.
Joan Crawford Filmography. October, 2001. May 25, 2002.
http://www.lynnpdesign.com/classicmovies/crawford/mildred.html.
LaValley, Albert. Mildred Pierce. Madison, Wisconson: The University of Wisconson Press, 1980.
Skenazy, Paul. James M. Cain. New York, NY: The Continuum Publishing Company, 1989.
Strock, Clancy. ‘We Had Everything But Money’. Greendale, WI: Roy Reiman
The characters make a big difference in the movie and the book. One thing they both have in common is that Otis Amber and Berthe Erica Crow get married. And that Edgar Jennings Plum and Angela Wexler get engaged instead of Doctor Denton Deere. Also Jake Wexler is a gambler instead of being a bookie.
...rtrayed differently in the movie. Lennie is shown as being very mentally challenged, whereas in the book he is just a little slow and has a mind of a young child. Although some changes are made in the movie to make it flow better, it is still based on the same story as the book. The movie has the same plot line and characters, and some of the scenes are told in the exact same way as they are in the novel. As well, the movie and the book give out the same themes. This story is about how all the people in the Great Depression were trying to escape their unhappy, lonely lives, but weren’t capable of doing so. The movie stays very true to the book even though some things are removed or added. Everything that is added or changed still works very well and captures the film perfectly.
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.
The idea that vouchers give parents a choice of schools for their children is simply incorrect. The only people who have any real choice in the matter are the private...
Literary point of view is no different from a lens which functions as a filter controlling the audience’s access to certain information about the characters and the plot. It provides a perspective, a directed interpretation that to the events and characters. James M. Cain’s Mildred Pierce and the Michael Curtiz’s film adaptation of the novel are constructed to be multi-layered, interweaving various themes through the story of Mildred Pierce, yet, they both engages and focuses on the position of women in the bourgeois family and in the American society.
Why would anyone wish to withhold support for a program that has the potential to revolutionize the, often, insufficient American education system? This question has undoubtedly entered the mind of proponents of education voucher systems across the country. However, despite the pressure placed on legislators everywhere, close scrutiny of the real issues should not be clouded by public fervor. It is my belief that, after a thorough examination of the merits of such programs, school vouchers would be a gross detriment to both the American education system and the nation itself.
Vouchers have grown into an important and powerful tool that government can use to provide directed goods and services to specific groups. Voucher systems have become a highly effective tool that is not only used for food/nutritional and housing services, but secondary educational and child-care services, as well. Although voucher systems continue to remain a heated public and political debate, success stories, as the one mentioned in the case examined will only give rise to such systems in the provisioning of public education in years to come.
Aldous Huxley uses the viewpoint of an outsider, or Savage, to give the reader different perspectives of his dystopian world in Brave New World. After traveling to the World State from the reservation, John (the savage) disagrees with the lack of intimacy, the lack of morality, and the lack of free will that he witnesses there, which shows the reader a very different side of the World State. These imperfections, along with many other factors, cause John to plunge into insanity and eventually commit suicide.
In order to understand why China is in such environmental difficulties we need to understand why the lifestyles of people in Europe and the US could be to blame. The first area to consider is the environmental issues that China is currently suffering with. Once this is established I can assert what impact the US and Europe has in relation to these issues and what actually causes them. In linking the events it will be easier to see the chain of events. To do this I am going to work backwards and understand the issues that exist within China and then secondly what they are a result of. This will give me the background of why China’s environmental issues have become so dire.
...said, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Another striking difference between the movie and the book is that both are developed by different sexes. This obviously could effect the compare and contrast views of this paper. For example, being male, I found that the two images that left the greatest impression were of sexual nature, Gertrudis making love with the soldier, and Tita being intimate with Pedro. The different views of the sexes may also be the answer to some of the contrasts between the movie and novel. For instance, the death of Mama Elena. Esquirel’s version fits the emotional death, suicide, geared toward the female audience, while Arau’s shows a more sexual and violent death, extinguishing the male desire for action. In conclusion, I found the novel more entertaining than the movie. The reason the movie fell short in expectations is because Esquirel does a great job in allowing the reader to draw on their imaginations. However, Arau is able to capture this imagery occasionally throughout the movie. Furthermore, most of the changes added to the movie were grand, which added to the thrill and plot of the story. Overall, both are memorable and deserve their legacy.
Charter schools, which exist all over the United States, are “rooted in the premise of public, free education nestled in the ideas of parental choice” (Pardo 6). Since “Minnesota launched its first charter school in 1991”, charter schools have experienced “an enormous increase in number to over 5,300 by 2011” (Chen). Like traditional public schools, charter schools are “funded with public money” (Chen). However, parents have to “submit a separate application to enroll their children in charter schools, and spaces are often limited” (Pascual). Each charter school has an independent governing board that oversees finance (Pardo 6). Enrollment is based on choice, with parents selecting schools due to their specific focus, curriculum or other features (Pardo 7). When enrollment is exc...
Overall, the movie and book have many differences and similarities, some more important than others. The story still is clear without many scenes from the book, but the movie would have more thought in it.
China has approximately 20% of the world’s population, which is around 1.3 billion people (Morris, 2009, p. 111). Also, China has become one of the worlds biggest manufacturing countries within 30 years (Fawssett, 2009, p. 27). However, such rapid development has come at a cost, which has created various environmental problems. Coincidentally, China has 16 cities on a list of the 20 worst polluted cities in the world (Fawssett, 2009, p. 15). Therefore, this essay will explain the reasons for China’s environmental problems, then evaluate the claim that the Chinese government and people, are tackling these environmental problems. First, crop farming techniques over the last hundred years, and their consequences will be explained. Followed by, how peoples choice in food has changed over the last hundred years, and how this indirectly affects the environment. Then, how a capitalist economy is linked to agriculture, and finally what the Chinese government and people are doing to tackle these problems.
Many of Aristotle’s teachings have shown remarkable insight into the human mind, especially considering the time in which he lived. Just as some of his teachings on physics were held as true for nearly 2000 years, many of his teachings on the human mind were well ahead of his time. His method of study and experimentation, followed by logical deduction are the basis for all sciences now, something which was completely new when he wrote of this approach.
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