A picture is worth a thousand words, that’s the common theme that is increasingly true in our world today. Many movie adaptations of great classic stories and literature works have been created with great visuals. Question is, do the adaptations really carry the same meaning and weight of the original written works or are the adaptions meant to open new perspectives for the audiences? This paper will, through the examining the settings, character, tone and storylines, compare and contrast the book version and movie adaptation of the classic short story ” Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street ” by Herman Melville.
Herman Melville is regarded as one of the most influential authors of the 20th century; He authored great literary works such as “Moby Dick” which is considered his masterpiece. However before his work was commonly recognized Herman Melville was in a period of deep isolation from his readers and peers 1850 – 1891 (Nash 109), during this period in his writing career his writing focused more on the conditions of humanity instead of popular fictions, basically his works were becoming too philosophically distant for the readers and critics at the time.
The short story “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street” was written during this period (Mordecai 366).
The Essay on Awakening In the Story Bartelby by Herman Melville
In the story “Bartleby, the Scrivener, by Herman Melville,” we learn the many decisions the narrator has to make as the story progresses. We first learn of his background as a lawyer of a business on Wall Street who deals with rich men's bonds, mortgages, and deeds. He describes himself as a man who thinks the easiest way is the best. Others also consider him, as in the words of John Jacob Astor, ...
Many people and critics have, through the decades, engaged in many literary explorations of the story. Many interpretations of his work exist in the literature community. One such movie adaptation of the story is now called simply `Bartleby’. SETTINGS The physical setting of the story between the book and movie versions are different.
In the book version the physical setting was in an law office on Wall Street in New York City, and Wall Street at the time when the story was written was where the capitalist ideals was best exemplified by show of big companies starting to dominate the national economy. In the movie version the physical setting was in a city record office on a lonely hill surrounded by high ways and completely inaccessible by pedestrians. In the book version the office was stale and grey, in the movie version the office was created by mixed colors.
Even though the adaptation was different in purely physical terms but it carried similar meaning to the audience. They both meant that the office was located somewhat remote from everyday life and both were quite inaccessible to normal people. Such is the setting for the story and where unique interpretations can be made. CHARACTERS The book version has mainly three supporting characters, Turkey, Nippers and Ginger Nuts. Each with distinct personalities and traits. They are the typical stock characters.
In the movie versions the characters were created with actual names instead of nicknames, they were Ernie, Vivian and Rocky. The characters are different in their traits: in the book version Turkey was troubled by alcohol and Nippers was troubled by stomachaches while Ginger Nut’s role was mainly to facilitate Turkey and Nippers demands. In the movie version the characters were more rounded and given more detailed illustrations, especially with the character Vivian, an office secretary, the woman of many adorable talents.
During one scene in the movie it was shown that Vivian had a motive to see Bartleby not succeed in the office because she was fearing that Bartleby would threaten her usefulness around the office, later also she was more eager to use her womanly charms and her command of the English language to test her ability to lure men into submission. The character of Nippers character was replaced by Rocky who was troubled by his tendency to socialize with any female around instead of food digestion problems. And the character of Turkey was replaced by Ernie who also have alcohol and financial problems.
The Essay on The Influence of Movies vs. Books
Books and movies both have equal importance for the man of 21st century. As the technology develops so are the needs of man. Every one’s life has become quite fast and busy. Books and movies provide you the best way to escape and relax yourself from busy schedule. Great revolution has occurred in both books and movies with the passage of time. Firstly if we talk about movies, they have great ...
The main character Bartleby however was pretty faithfully kept and depicted by the movie version, and is evidenced by his behaviors and the symbolic response “I prefer not to”, In the book version one symbolic gesture of Bartleby was when he was almost fixated on staring at a dead blank wall outside of the window, compared to a similar actions in the movie version but instead of staring at the wall outside, Bartleby was staring at the air vents; both the dead wall and the air vents also serve as symbols in the story (Bigelow 354).
The narrator’s character had more internal verbal descriptions of emotions and thought processes in the book version where similar emotions were depicted through actions such as when the office boss was confronting Bartleby about why he would not do any work, and is recently rejected by Bartleby’s “I would prefer not to” response. The office boss was in a burst of anger and tossed folders and items from Bartleby’s desk in frustration, where in the book version the narrator simply verbalized his frustration and resorted to a few more days of the status quo.
The characters are different in personalities and physical attributes between the book and the movie, however effects and messages they represented was effectively delivered by the movie based on the modern setting it was created upon. The supporting characters of Turkey, Nippers, Ginger Nuts and their movie counterparts were all a bit strange for typical employees, for whatever meaning they may represented they at least have achieved similar levels of strangeness.
When it comes the main characters of Bartleby and the narrator there are even more similarities in both physical and mental traits, such as Bartleby’s pale skin tone, his clothing, the classic dialogues and the emotions they displayed. TONE The book version was vividly described compared to the focused images of the movie version. However the movie version had one advantage which was the usage of music that instilled a sense of peculiarity and strangeness to the common sense of things.
The Essay on Peter Pan Movie vs Book
The Barrie book and the Disney film present a big number of elements that match and of facets that are completely distinct. Firstly, the 1953 movie respects the narrative lines and the main personal characteristics. Peter Pan, for example, is as cocky, courageous and forgetful as he is in the book, just as Tinker Bell is as jealous, but possibly in a slightly less sexual way. The most important ...
The book has more a mundane tone to the story, basically the typical office environment and the only display of activities was about Bartleby’s passive resistance. The movie had a more comical tone to many of the scenes such as when Rocky comically engaged in sweet or trashy phone talk with some nameless women or when Ernie repeatedly indulges himself in seemingly retarded behaviors during the city manager’s visit to the office. The subtle seduction of both the boss and the city manager by Vivian also greatly enhanced the overall comical sense of the movie. STORYLINE
One main difference between the movie and the book is the ending. In the movie Bartleby died outside on the street near a homeless camp compared to his death in the prison yard in the book. In the movie after Bartleby’s death and the boss discovered a letter his Bartleby’s jacket. It was the letter he wrote for Bartleby as a recommendation letter in hopes of encouraging Bartleby to find another job, the letter became a dead letter. This realization was very impactful that it allowed the boss to focus on capturing Bartleby’s story as his primary mission in life.
In an attempt to spread the story of humanity he went to a publisher and was met with rejection. In frustration he yelled out he prefer not to leave the office, because he was so shocked that the publisher was not even slightly interested in a story about humanity compared to so many other less important subjects. The movie ended with the boss looking out through the fence over a highway overpass out to the many hills with similar office towers, a highlight of a sense of loneliness in the world full of materialistic achievements.
Even the book didn’t have the narrator reaching the same realization as the boss did in the movie, the essence of the plot was essentially very faithfully kept. A well-meaning and efficient office manager who was forced to reconsider his sanity and values when he dealt against a certifiably insane nonconformist, Bartleby. CONCLUSION The book and movie versions had many differences and similarities, the movie explored an interpretation of the book that is based on the author’s own point in life. It reflected on how Melvin was trapped in the world of ignorance and denial of his work.
Comparative Essay Between Movies and Books
In 2003, David Foster Wallace said “Reading requires sitting alone, by yourself, in a room…I have friends—intelligent friends—who don’t like to read because there’s an almost dread that comes up about having to be alone and having to be quiet…When you walk into most public spaces in America, it isn’t quiet anymore. ” Although the collective amount of time spent by people reading has declined with ...
He was met with many walls and barriers when he was writing Bartleby. Everyone in the society at the time wanted Melville to continue to write what had proved successful, but Melville wanted something new, something that showed about the deeper side of humanity instead of simple adventures. The movie was a successful adaption of the book for it showed an aspect of the book’s interpretation and delivered with similar meaning and weight through the smart creation of characters based on a more modern age.
