Grapes of Wrath
No wonder a must-read-book
Animals are not just animals
In the novel, animals are described meticulously. They mean something more than a livestock. For instance, the book starts with a turtle. Yet this unfortunate little guy almost gets ran over. The scene represents the callousness of the people and the hardships of life they have to face, which is the main reason for their indelicacy. Also, in the later phase of the novel, there are descriptions of other animals like birds. The animals are used to foreshadow what would happen to the human characters; the animals are the vicarious “victims” that represents the mankind. The film, however, does not catch all the small nuisances of these animals. Although the film also includes the poor turtle scene, it does not fully incorporate what that turtle has to do with the flow of the plot.
The Subtle Descriptions Left Out
The main character in the book is Tom Joad. It would be hard to argue against it. Steinbeck focuses on developing this character throughout the book. His thoughts are presented through Joad. Similarly, Steinbeck tends to focus on character by character, giving many of them some time to describe them and show the world more realistically. On the other hand, the film depicts the entire family as a single unit rather than individual characters. Thus the movie tends to be more optimistic in that the family is trying to withstand the hardships together, whereas the book shows certain conflicts that everyone faces, making their lives a little more miserable than it already was.
Inhumanity towards others
Environment
The novel frequently delineates the environment in a more negative aspect. The nature does not convey the feeling of warm Mother Nature but more of dull, grey, isolation, and savageness. Yet the movie does not fully depict the environment in such manner but rather in a hopeful way. For instance, the camp where Joads stayed is more sanitary and livable compared to the book, which describes the place as almost unbearable that they had to abandon and move on.
The Omitted
Some characters from the book are not included in the movie. One of such unlucky character is the Wilsons, who lived next to the Joads for a short period of time. Joad’s grandmother is also disregarded in the fact that her death was curtailed from the movie. Both the Wilsons and the death of the grandma show the harsh life that the numerous “Okies” had faced. The movie ends up having a brighter tone compared to the book as such exclusions abate the gloomy reality of the period.
Family = One
The film is more hopeful in that the family stands as one and work their way out together. The bond between the members are more intensified than the book. Perhaps this is due to the nature of the movie, the conciseness. For instance, the book describes the grandpa's death and its aftermath in a very sullen tone for numerous pages. In the movie, however, it is a very short scene. The audience had too little time to fully empathize with the characters.
Hopelessness pervades...
Ending Changes All
The ending of the book and the movie is significantly different and dramatically shows the difference between the moods of each medium. As the books keeps on pointing at the inhumanity of the people and forlorn reality of that time period, the Joads end up with Rose of Sharon, who gives birth to a stillborn baby. To the very end, the book keeps its somber tone and does not depict much hope for anyone. On the other hand, the movie tends to keep a lighter, happier tone. So the Joads settle in a government camp where it is nice and cozy, at least compared to the shack that was described in the book. Such scene insinuates a happier future for the Joads, unlike the novel.