After reading the 1952 novel The Natural by Bernard Malamud, and comparing it with the 1984 film that was based on the novel. I was easily able to distinguish the differences between both the book and the movie. For example there were many changes to the plot, characters and theme of the movie. There was an overall different mood that was set in the novel which was not in the movie. The first difference I spotted there were many missing scenes from the book. For example the movie was missing the important car scene part with Memo and Roy. Also, the movie didn’t follow the plot of the novel. Iris isn’t Roy’s “girlfriend” and Roy isn’t suppose to have a kid with Iris ,in the book Iris is a grandmother and Roy is more attracted to Memo.
It’s going, going, gone. It’s a homerun! Strike one, strike two, strike three he’s out! These are the main things that go on in the incredible novel, The Natural. We start off with hearing about a nineteen year old, Roy Hobbs, baseball superstar getting shot in a shooting accident which damaged his career. Then we skip to the failing New York Knights who just moved up a thirty- four year old ballplayer, Roy Hobbs, signed for only $3,000, Roy eventually becomes a mega superstar after the death of the old team superstar, Bump Bailey. Roy ends up falling in love with Bump’s old girlfriend, Memo Paris. Roy goes through a slump and one game a girl stand up for him in the stands when no one else would. Roy hit a homerun to end his dry spell. He likes this girl, Iris Lemon, but not more than Memo. Roy pleads with the owner of the team, the Judge, for more money. The Judge says no, but tells Roy if he throws away the game to win the pennant he will give him $35,000. Roy agrees, but in the end tries to win the game back failing miserably. He strikes out after breaking the only bat he was good with, Wonderboy. After the game he meets the Judge, and throws the money in his face. They fight, and eventually Roy is seen as a loser for throwing the game. In the novel, The Natural, by Bernard Malamud the author conveys that decisions made through selfishness and without consent of a moral code lead to major consequences in one’s life.
The Europeans changed the land of the home of the Indians, which they renamed New England. In Changes in the Land, Cronon explains all the different aspects in how the Europeans changed the land. Changing by the culture and organization of the Indians lives, the land itself, including the region’s plants and animals. Cronon states, “The shift from Indian to European dominance in New England entailed important changes well known to historians in the ways these peoples organized their lives, but it also involved fundamental reorganizations less well known to historians in the region’s plant and animal communities,” (Cronon, xv). New England went through human development, environmental and ecological change from the Europeans.
I think that most of the event in the movie were not in the same order that Jeannette had wrote them. After reading the book I had a different picture in mind of how each character would look and it threw me off for the rest of the movie. I did like the fact that I could see what was happening and not just imagine things in my head that I thought was happening, as I was watching the movie I was seeing the same thing everyone else was and not just what I was picturing while reading the
“An abrupt sound startled Rainsford. Off to the right he heard it, and his ears, expert in such matters, could not be mistaken. Again he heard the sound, and again. Somewhere, off in the blackness, someone had fired a gun three times.” (2). This abrupt sound is what lead Rainsford to the island and got him into multiple conflicts including, man versus man, man versus himself, and man versus nature. For example, the conflicts Rainsford faces consists of man versus nature , man versus man, and finally man versus himself.
There are many similarities presented to the audience between the movie and the novel. One
At this point, the readers create their own movie in a way. They will determine important aspects of how the character speaks, looks like, and reacts. Whereas, in the movie, the reader has no choice but to follow the plot laid out in front of them. No longer can they picture the characters in their own way or come up with their different portrayals. The fate of the story, while still unpredictable, was highly influenced by the way the characters looked, spoke, and presented themselves on screen.
For example, Mama goes to the bank in the movie and is given a hard time about paying her mortgage, but this did not happen in the book. Another major difference is that the school bus scene, where the Logan kids played a trick on the white kids, was not shown in the movie, even though it was an important part of the story. There are some character changes as well. Lillian Jean, Jeremy, R.W, and Melvin are Simms’ in the book, but in the movie they are Kaleb Wallace’s children. However, the main plot difference is how the movie starts in the middle, summarizing everything from the first part of the book very briefly. Additionally, many scenes are switched around and placed out of order. Altogether, the plot and character changes contribute to my unfavorable impression of the
I have only included what I have to believe are largely important plot gaps and differences in the movie version in comparison to the book one, and so I apologize again if I have missed any other major ones. Forgive me, please.
Usually movies try to take the story to a different level or by adding parts or just try to change it to a completely different story. Some of the differences between the movie as to the book are some little and large differences. They might also try taking little parts away that will change how the readers see the story characters. An example of that would be Walter not smoking in the movie (Pg 115). Walter usually smokes because he is stressed or just as a way to relax. Walter also does not get punched by Mam...
In both the novel and movie focus on the war. The war influences the characters to enroll.Also, the main setting is at the Devon School. However, in the novel Gene visits Leper at his house but in the movie Leper lives in the woods.In the novel Gene is coming back to the Devon School 15 years later.However, in the book he is coming to Devon as a new student.Therefore, similarities and differences exist in time and setting in the novel and the movie.In the novel and the movie there are similarities and differences in events, character, and time and setting.
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 movie lacks a lot of insight onto the other characters in the book, it mostly focuses on Ponyboy. For example, in the movie there was a lack of detail on characters such as Darry and Sodapop even Dally. Dally was a major character in the book but his death in the movie seemed a bit minor because there wasn’t much detail for viewers to get attached to his character. I felt as if his death was glazed over and easily forgotten in the movie while in the book it was described for at least two pages.
When you get to the beginning, middle, or end u realize they are both very different. The movie and book have a lot in common like they both have the same characters .
The film may have edited out one of the drastic details that made the novel’s success, explaining the film’s failure.
The decision of the screenwriter and director to cut out what I felt were several story arcs and scenes from the novel was very disappointing. For example, in the movie there is no mention of Beth's shyness, or of her overcoming that shyness to become friends with Mr. Lawrence. The scene in the novel where she gathers her courage to walk over to his house and thank him for giving her his piano is one of the most defining moments for Beth. Overall I found Beth and Mr. Lawrence to both be sadly underdeveloped in the movie. Mr. Lawrence appears in only three scenes, while many of Beth's key moments also vanished. Jo's wonderful tomboyish nature is also severely tone-down for this version. She does not say "Christopher Columbus"; nor any of her other slang words. We never see the scene where she longs to go be a soldier fighting in the war and wishes she were a man. They transformed the character of Meg from someone who longs for finer things and tends to be snobbish into the wise older sister who does not care about such things. Lacking is the wonderful moment when she realizes that she does not care about Mr. Brook's poverty as she staunchly defends her love of him against Aunt March. While Amy's quest for a perfect nose is mentioned twice, there is never a scene showing some of her efforts such as her wearing the clothespin on it at night to make is straight, nor do we get enjoy watching her artistic endeavors such as her attempts to make a plaster cast of her foot.