Grapes of Wrath. Movie vs. Book
The Grapes of Wrath: Novel versus Film
“America, the land of opportunities” When people hear this phrase, they may think America have always had a handful of opportunities for everyone, but this wasn’t the case in the novel “The Grapes of Wrath” written by John Steinbeck. In the 1930’s, North America faced the Great Depression, the longest economic slump ever experienced by the country. Author John Steinbeck wrote about the tragic experience of a poor American family (The Joads) as they get kicked off their Oklahoma home and moved west towards California, during the time of the Great Depression through his book. Steinbeck’s novel became so popular that the movie, consisting of the same name as the book, directed by John Ford was even made after it. Like every novel and that was made into a film, it will have its similarities and differences. Audiences will have their own opinion on which of the two versions is better. However the book will stand on top in how it gives the audience more opportunities, it has an extended story and portrays the hardships of the great depression better. Therefore, of the two versions of “The Grapes of Wrath” I will be arguing that the novel version is better than the film in how it provides more for the audience.
First of all, I want to speak about the benefits of a book. The novel “The Grapes of Wrath” like any other book gives the audience the opportunity to set their own pace to the story. Unlike movies, which sum up the whole story into a two hours sequence, the book will take longer than 2 hours of reading to finish. It can take days, weeks, months or even longer depending on how much the reader decides to read. Since the reader set the pace to the story, they can take their time on understanding the story more as well. Another opportunity the audiences get from reading “The Grapes of Wrath” is the freedom to imagine. Unlike the movie where it already provides all the pictures and scenes for the audience, they don’t get
“America, the land of opportunities” When people hear this phrase, they may think America have always had a handful of opportunities for everyone, but this wasn’t the case in the novel “The Grapes of Wrath” written by John Steinbeck. In the 1930’s, North America faced the Great Depression, the longest economic slump ever experienced by the country. Author John Steinbeck wrote about the tragic experience of a poor American family (The Joads) as they get kicked off their Oklahoma home and moved west towards California, during the time of the Great Depression through his book. Steinbeck’s novel became so popular that the movie, consisting of the same name as the book, directed by John Ford was even made after it. Like every novel and that was made into a film, it will have its similarities and differences. Audiences will have their own opinion on which of the two versions is better. However the book will stand on top in how it gives the audience more opportunities, it has an extended story and portrays the hardships of the great depression better. Therefore, of the two versions of “The Grapes of Wrath” I will be arguing that the novel version is better than the film in how it provides more for the audience.
First of all, I want to speak about the benefits of a book. The novel “The Grapes of Wrath” like any other book gives the audience the opportunity to set their own pace to the story. Unlike movies, which sum up the whole story into a two hours sequence, the book will take longer than 2 hours of reading to finish. It can take days, weeks, months or even longer depending on how much the reader decides to read. Since the reader set the pace to the story, they can take their time on understanding the story more as well. Another opportunity the audiences get from reading “The Grapes of Wrath” is the freedom to imagine. Unlike the movie where it already provides all the pictures and scenes for the audience, they don’t get
Bibliography: Novel: Steinbeck, John. “The Grapes of Wrath”. US: Penguin Classics, 2006. Print Film: The Grapes of Wrath. Dir. John Ford. Nunnally Johnson and John Steinbeck, 1940. Film.