Friday, April 15, 2011
The House of the Spirits- ERK
The movie and the novel "The House of the Spirits" by Isabel Allende demonstrate very few magical realist elements however, they do share an intriguing plot. The plot of the movie and the events reported in the book are slightly different. In the book, the eathrquake is portrayed as a major portion of the plot that allows Esteban to rebuild Tres Marias and become a hero among the laborers. At least in his mind, he is able to use this as justification for viewing himself as a hero. Also, in the book, Esteban breaks almost every bone in his body and Pedro sets the bones for him; this causes Esteban to feel some respect for Pedro. In the movie, Esteban views himself as a shepherd of the campesinos and thinks that his contribution to their lives has been more along the lines of insureing stability and order at the hacienda. The earthquake is only a minor portion of the movie and Esteban is not injured by it. Also in the novel, Esteban rapes and terrorizes almost all of the women on his ranch, but in the movie, Esteban has one incident of rape with one of the peasant women. Thus, his reputation with women is downplayed in the movie. However, Esteban's reputation for harshness with the campesinos is exaggerated in the movie when he whips Pedro Tercero for spreading communist beliefs among the workers. This scene is emotional, because Pedro Segundo is forced to watch as the Patron whips his son. Later in the story, the book portrays the revolution as a lengthy process. First, there are elections and then, political changes, then the government is dissolved, then the military takes over. In the movie, the political changes seem to go straight from business as usual to a revolution and political turmoil. Also, in the movie, Blanca's experience in the revolution seems short albeit brutal. In the book, Blanca is regularly interrogated over the course of an extended prison stay and it finally dumped after what seems like a few weeks or months rather than just a few days. Another important part of the book that is missing in the movie is that Barabas is not included at all in the movie.
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The movie and the novel "The House of the Spirits" by Isabel Allende demonstrate very few magical realist elements however, they do share an intriguing plot. The plot of the movie and the events reported in the book are slightly different. In the book, the earthquake is portrayed as a major portion of the plot that allows Esteban to rebuild Tres Marias and become a hero among the laborers. At least in his mind, he is able to use this as justification for viewing himself as a hero. Also, in the book, Esteban breaks almost every bone in his body and Pedro sets the bones for him; this causes Esteban to feel some respect for Pedro. In the movie, Esteban views himself as a shepherd of the campesinos and thinks that his contribution to their lives has been more along the lines of insureing stability and order at the hacienda. The earthquake is only a minor portion of the movie and Esteban is not injured by it. Also in the novel, Esteban rapes and terrorizes almost all of the women on his ranch, but in the movie, Esteban has one incident of rape with one of the peasant women. Thus, his reputation with women is downplayed in the movie. However, Esteban's reputation for harshness with the campesinos is exaggerated in the movie when he whips Pedro Tercero for spreading communist beliefs among the workers. This scene is emotional, because Pedro Segundo is forced to watch as the Patron whips his son. Later in the story, the book portrays the revolution as a lengthy process. First, there are elections and then, political changes, then the government is dissolved, then the military takes over. In the movie, the political changes seem to go straight from business as usual to a revolution and political turmoil. Also, in the movie, Blanca's experience in the revolution seems short albeit brutal. In the book, Blanca is regularly interrogated over the course of an extended prison stay and it finally dumped after what seems like a few weeks or months rather than just a few days. Another important part of the book that is missing in the movie is that Barabas is not included at all in the movie.
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