Film/Text Comparison
The three novels, The Outsiders, Speak, and The Hate U Give, all have film versions. The assignment for this paper asks you to write an analysis of 1000-1500 words (normally 3-4 pages) comparing one of these novels and the film made from it. For The Outsiders there are two versions of the film Please use The Outsiders: The Complete Novel. (The original film Coppola made was cut; those cut parts were saved and added to the film to create The Outsiders: The Complete Novel. Same film, same actors, just more!
In writing your paper, please focus on comparisons that permit you to comment on various literary and filmic aspects of the two texts. Here are some possibilities (don’t try to fit them all into a paper! Pick the ones that best fit what you want to say):
• Plot: are there changes in the plot in the film? How do they affect the story? Do the changes improve or weaken the story? Has the ending been changed in the film version? How does that affect the story?
• Character and point of view: Are important characters or relationships between characters missing or presented very differently? Again, what is the effect of these changes? All three of these novels use a first-person point of view—in other words, the narrator is a character who speaks to us and shares his or her thoughts with us. First-person point of view is much more difficult in film. How does the film you have selected deal with the issue of point of view? Does it work?
• Setting: Are there changes in the setting? Is an important setting different in the film? What is the effect of the change? How effective is the setting overall in reflecting the novel?
• Language (imagery, metaphor, simile, motif): How have language devices in the novel been transferred to film (or have they). Think about imagery—do the visual aspects of the film perhaps echo the images or even comparisons in the novel? Do motifs from the novel appear in the film? Do they still work as motifs? Has the film introduced visual motifs?
• A specific scene: How do the novel and the film represent a specific scene? Look at all of the elements above, but now focusing on the one scene you have chosen. This will give you a good chance to think about how the scriiptwriter, the director, the designer, and the actors have worked with what the novel has given them. How effective is the film in presenting its version of the scene? Remember that the film will add things as well as eliminate things. Is the overall effect of the scene similar or different?
The links for the novels:
https://www.depaulcatholic.org/pdfs/outsi
https://www.husd.org/cms/lib/AZ0100145/
https://www.learnstrong.co/thug-
novel.html
The links for the Films:
https://hdtoday.tv/watch-movie/watch-
the-outsiders-hd-16331.2519394
https://hdtoday.tv/movie/watch-speak-hd-
11257
https://hdtoday.tv/movie/watch-the-hate
