Compare and Contrast Essay

Why do directors choose to stay faithful to or depart from a text when they are producing a film? Many directors choose to either alter or maintain literary elements such as characters, plot, and resolution from a text. The presence or lack of these specific features affects the audience. For instance, in the story “The Monkey’s Paw”, a classic short horror story written by W.W. Jacobs, and its accompanying film, the similarities and differences in the characters, plot, and resolution have an effect on the readers and viewers.

The characters in the short story “The Monkey’s Paw” are different from those in the motion picture. For example, in the text, a war veteran named Sergeant Major Morris presents the monkey’s paw to the White family. On the other hand, in the video, a gypsy woman brings out the talisman instead. This character difference affects the mood, which is clearly shown in the film when the gypsy is introduced. She is portrayed as being insane, as shown by the derision of the other guest members at the party. Few people are willing to believe in the magic of the monkey’s paw or the lady’s emphatic warnings. Though when Mr. White’s wishes actually come true, the horror and credibility of the “loco” woman’s admonitions become undeniable. This creates an even creepier mood than in the story; in the text, the sergeant major’s forewarnings are much less elaborate than the gypsy’s: “‘Hold it up in your right hand and wish aloud,’ said the sergeant major, ‘but I warn you of the consequences’” (Elements of Literature 90). He does not go into detail about “death” and “doom” as the gypsy does. The director may have intended to depart from the text in this way, though. He or she may have chosen to chan...

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...e same theme as in the story. Therefore, the director of the film of “The Monkey’s Paw” may have chosen to stay faithful to the resolution of the text to ensure that the audience would receive the same message.

In short, there are multiple similarities and differences in the characters, plot, and resolution in the short story and motion picture “The Monkey’s Paw” that clearly influence the audience. For instance, the difference in characters affects the mood. Similarities in the plot influence the tone, and the corresponding resolutions impact the theme. The director of the motion picture “The Monkey’s Paw” chose to stick to some aspects of the text as well as change some for numerous reasons, some of which include keeping the audience's attention, sustaining the author's tone in the text, and ensuring that the readers and viewers receive the same message.