Of Mice And Men
...John Steinbeck, an author who is also acclaimed as a Nobel Prize winner. The novel was published in 1937, and is a story about Lennie Small and George Milton, characters that were displaced ranch laborers during the Great Depression in California. The novel was based on the author’s own experiences working as a bindle stiff during the 1920’s, and the title of the book is taken from the poem To a Mouse by Robert Burn, ‘The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry’. In 1992, the book was transformed to the big screen, and this version directed by Gary Sinise was an acclaimed film that inspired and encouraged film buffs to pick up the novel and see for themselves the relationship that existed between novella and feature film. In most cases, the relationship was strikingly similar, however this essay will explore the manners in which the book differed from the movie.
Due to time constraints and editing concerns, movies made from books and novels are forced to take out details and will contrast sharply with the feel of the book. In fact, it is very difficult for the vision of a director to parallel the vision of the author of any book, and so rarely will we find the same feelings and emotions evoked from watching a movie after having read the book. The phrase ‘the book is always better than the movie’ is a common layperson expression of how movies can change the effects of a story found in a book, and it is impossible to change this. The primary reason for this is that movies are forced into brevity, and with a few exceptions such as Gone With the Wind, it is very difficult to encapsulate details, vivid depictions and descriptions, and imagery that can be found in a book to the big screen. It is also not fair to compare the vision and talent between a Nobel Prize winning author with the vision and talent of a director and accomplished...
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