The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow Book And Movie Comparison Essay

After reading “The legend of Sleepy Hollow”, “Rappaccini's Daughter”, and “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” and comparing them to their movies, the reader will find that the authors and producers had much to compare. There are several different literary components to compare and contrast between the texts and the movies. Three literary components that were most obvious to compare and contrast were plot, character, and setting. These three components had many similarities and differences between the text and the movie for each story.

One literary component that was comparable between the texts and the movies was plot. In most of the stories that were analyzed, the plots were not the same in both the movie and the text. For example, in “The

Legend of Sleepy Hollow” the rumor that went around the town was that the horseman’s head was taken off by a cannonball (Irving 17). However, in the movie, the horseman’s head was taken off by a sword (S.H. dir. The legend of Sleepy Hollow). The producer most likely made this change to the plot in the movie because the movie came out way after the story was written. During the time period in which the movie was made, swords were much more commonly used than cannons. Another change to the plot that was made by the producer of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is that at the end of the text Ichabod Crane is attacked by a horseman and goes missing. In the movie, Ichabod Crane is chased by a horseman that ends up being fake, and he continues on with his normal life. The probable reason that the producer made this change was so more events could take place after Ichabod Crane was attacked by the horseman and the movie would last longer. Also, in the text Ichabod Crane disappears and Brom Bones marries Katrina, whereas in the movie Katrina moves to New York with Ichabod Crane. The plot is also changed several times in “Rappaccini’s Daughter”. In the text, as Giovanni is looking through his window he notices that the lizard and butterfly die when they are touched by the moisture from the purple plant (Hawthorne 66). However, in the movie, Giovanni never sees either one of them die so he does not know that the purple plant is poisonous (D.M. dir. Rappaccini’s Daughter). The producer most likely made this change to create a more mysterious atmosphere in the movie. Another change to the plot that was made in “ Rappaccini’s Daughter” is that in the text the maids were not introduced until further on into the story, but in the movie the maids were introduced right away. Also, in the text several people had seen Beatrice before, however, in the book Beatrice has never been seen by anyone. When Beatrice dies, Giovanni and Rappaccini start to argue in the text unlike the movie where they both say nothing to each other when she dies. Another example of the plot being changed between the text and the movie is in “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”. In the text, granny lays in bed the entire time (Porter 698). In contrast, granny was very active in the movie (R.H. dir. The Jilting of Granny Weatherall). The producer probably did this to make the movie more entertaining and more comprehensible. another example from “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” where the plot was changed is that in the text the entire story occurs over one day, but in the movie the entire story occurs over two days.
Another literary component that was comparable between the texts and the movies was character.

For example, in “The legend of Sleepy Hollow”, Ichabod Crane believes in supernatural occurrences in the text (Irving 17), but in the movie he does not believe in supernatural occurrences, but instead believes strictly in science (S.H. dir. The legend of Sleepy Hollow). Most likely, the reason the producer made this change is because most of the time when supernatural occurrences happen in a movie it seems so unrealistic that the audience loses interest. One similarity between The Legend of Sleepy Hollow text and movie is that the characters that were used were the same in both. However, in the text, Ichabod Crane is a strict school teacher. In contrast, the movie characterizes Ichabod Crane as a constable who goes to Sleepy Hollow to investigate murders. The characters are also changed between the text and the movie in “Rappaccini’s Daughter”. Throughout the entire text Giovanni’s feelings toward Beatrice's were expressed many times (Hawthorne 62-92). However, in the movie Giovanni’s feelings toward Beatrice were shown very few times (D.M. dir. Rappaccini’s Daughter). The reason the author most likely expressed Giovanni’s feelings more in the text was to keep the reader's attention and to allow the reader to put himself into the characters shoes. Another difference between the text and the movie is that at the end of the text, the author revealed that Bagaloni really just wanted to be a better scientist than Rappaccini, yet in the movie Bagaloni wants to help Beatrice escape and fall in love because of the garden. In “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”, the characters were also changed between the text and the movie. In the text, Granny is a very passive person and is alot less controlling and demanding over people (Porter 698-703). In contrast, she was very controlling and bossy in the movie (R.H. dir. The Jilting of Granny Weatherall). The reason the producer made her

more controlling in the movie is most likely to portray what kind of person granny really was. Also, Galton was an added character into the movie and was not a character in the book. One similarity between the text and the movie is that the reason Haspy is granny’s favorite child is because of her hair in both the text and the movie.
The last literary component that was comparable between the texts and the movie was the setting. In most of the stories that were analyzed, the setting was not the exact same in both the text and the movie. For example, in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” Ichabod Crane lives in a place called Greensburg. It is a town that is very close to Sleepy Hollow but is not considered to be Sleepy Hollow(Irving 16). In the movie, Ichabod Crane actually lives in Sleepy Hollow (S.H. dir. The legend of Sleepy Hollow). The producer most likely slightly changed the setting so that the audience would be less confused as to whether or not Ichabod Crane was a resident of Sleepy Hollow. One similarity between the setting in the text and movie in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is that they are both set in the middle of nowhere surrounded by woods. This setting was most likely created to set a mysterious and fantasy like atmosphere. In “Rappaccini’s Daughter” the setting in the text and the movie were very similar though there were a few differences. In the text most of the story took place in Giovanni’s room and Rappaccini’s garden (Hawthorne 62-92). However, in the movie a lot of the scenes took place out on the streets, especially when Giovanni was conversing with Bagaloni (D.M. dir. Rappaccini’s Daughter). The producer most likely did this because in the movie Giovanni and Bagaloni talked to each other a lot more and the only place that would have made sense for them to both be would be in the streets. Bagaloni would have no reason to be in Giovanni’s room and Giovanni would have no reason to be at Bagaloni house, especially since he is not a scientist. The setting is also changed between the text and the movie in “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”. In the text, the story was set in Granny’s bedroom almost the entire time (Porter 698-703). Granny stayed in bed and kept going in and out of sleeping. However, in the movie there were several different setting. The main ones were Granny’s porch, Granny’s kitchen, and Granny’s bedroom (R.H. dir. The Jilting of Granny Weatherall). The producer probably had the movie set in more than one place so there was more for the audience to see. If the entire movie was just set in Granny’s bedroom then the audience would lose interest. Also, the audience was able to better understand the plot of the story when the setting changed throughout the movie.
After analyzing the literary components of both the movie and the texts for “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, “Rappaccini’s Daughter”, and “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” the reader will find several literary components to compare and contrast between the texts and the movies. In these contemporary and modern selections it is very easy to identify the similarities and differences between each story's text and movie. Plot, character, and setting were the three literary components that had the most obvious comparisons throughout each story. Often times producers will make small changes to the literary components from the text to make the movie more entertaining and enjoyable for the audience.