Beloved: Novel vs. Film
By:Chiaka Ogbogu
Overview:
Contrasts
Characters
Many differences minor and major were displayed in the movie comparing to the book for example in the movie, Denver is played by a small, thin actress, but in writing, she is described as being a larger woman. But beyond apperance wise they failed to mention an apperance of a character that would later be important The description of Baby Suggs is particularly snipped out of the film. Her longing for color while on her death bed is left out of the film. The town's jealousy toward her is left out, and no mention of the party that made the townspeople especially jealous and unwilling to warn Sethe that the white slave-hunters were in Cincinnati. Because of this omission, the pride theme from the novel is significantly weakened.
PLOT
Beloved's deepness is lost in the novel, her main purpose for living is as a healing force, bringing the past to light and forcing other characters to deal with it and move on. Toward the end of the novel, her existenct is killing Sethe, but she also reunites her with the townspeople, her family and her past. In the film, much of this complexity is lost and Beloved appears more as a demonic force, almost satanic. She is a demon who must be exorcised and her removal from 124 in the end is a great triumph rather than elsewise.
Theme
Because they are separate from the main plot line, in the movie, elements of the 1855 story from the plantation were largely left out of the film. Leaving out all the racism going on at the time on a deeper level.Descriptions of Sethe's and Paul D's old masters are left largely out of the film, as are many descriptions of schoolteacher's cruelty. The film also neglects to mention the book Paul D was writing in when he was metophorically comparing the slaves to animals. Several of the Sweet Home boys, whose roles were only part of the 1855 storyline, are cut out entirely, making it hard for the viewer connect to such a racially profiled time period. Halle is mentioned, but Sixo, Paul A and Paul F--the characters and their sad fates that help elaborate on the horrors of slavery--are left out of the film.