Belinda E Il Mostro Book And Movie Comparison

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Belinda e il Mostro is an old folk tale written by an Italian author : Italo Calvino. The story eventually made its way into the United States as the movie we all know and love, Beauty and the Beast. However, although the American version and the original Italian version share some similarities, they share many differences as well, besides the language of which they were written. Throughout both stories, we follow the same protagonist, a young girl named Belle. Belle is a beautiful girl who, in both pieces, has only her father. However, Belle’s father has different professions in each of the two stories. In the Italian version, her father is a merchant, and ends up finding out that his lost shipment had been found. This is what brings him …show more content…

Belle’s innocence is effectively portrayed in both versions through the same scene. In the Italian version, her father has to leave and check on his newly found, thought to be lost shipment. He asks the three girls what they wanted him to bring back for them. The two sisters wanted very expensive dresses, while Belle only asked for one single rose. In the English version, this request stays the same. This shows the importance of the rose within both stories, as this request is what brings the father to conflict with the Beast. In both stories, the father ends up in the Beast’s castle, and is shown utmost hospitality. He was given a fire to warm himself, and a nearly endless tray of food. In both stories, there is also an array of objects that are alive, as they are people who have been cursed with the Beast. Furthermore, after remembering the request of Belle, the father picks a rose out of the Beast’s rose bush. This infuriates the Beast, leading him to imprison Belle’s father. In the English version, the father’s horse comes and “tells” Belle that her father was captured. This leads Belle to go to the …show more content…

When the father returns, he refuses to take Belle back, but Belle insists. Eventually, the father succumbs to Belle’s wishes and takes her to the Beast. As the story moves on, we come upon a scene that is very similar in both versions, but share vital differences. In both versions, Belle comes upon some event that forces her to leave the castle. This shows that the Beast and her have developed trust. In the Italian version, it was her sister’s wedding, and the Beast had given Belle a ring in order to determine how healthy the Beast is. In the English version, a magic mirror showed Belle and the Beast that her father was in trouble, leading to the Beast telling her that she must go save him. However, this is where the stories truly start the differ. In the Italian version, Belle loses the ring on multiple occasions, but ends up back to the Beast’s castle. She then expresses her love to him, turning him back into a prince, and turning her sister’s to stone. This is different in the English version, as Belle and her father were captured and locked up leaving the antagonist, Gaston, on a mission to kill the Beast. This is shared throughout the townspeople as some sort of mob mentality. Furthermore, Belle and

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