Comparative Analysis Between The Original Novel and The Film Adaptation

Introduction

A film adaptation is a transfer of a story or novel, in whole or part, to a feature film. Some people also say that they have produced the film by inspiring its original story or novel. However, it is challenging for producers to turn a notable work or story into a movie. A reader has imagined the characters in the story and theme as the writer presented it through his writing. So, when the adaptation film doesn’t match the reader’s imagination, that’s why people don’t like the movie as much as they liked the original story. Another reason might be that the film director changed or removed some key parts of the story during the movie's creation.

Comparing a Novel and Its Film Adaptation

Joyce Chopra also did the same with Joyce Carol Oates’s short story “Where are you going, Where have you been?” in her film “Smooth Talk.” The main character Connie does not have a good relationship with her mother. Chopra tries to add more scenes between Connie and her mother. By providing more background story, Chopra shifts the main theme of the movie from being about the transition to adulthood to focusing more on family values and the significance of relationships with family. This thematic shift supports the film's ending, making notable differences between the film and the story. In the short story, it seems the mother doesn’t care about Connie because she is jealous of Connie’s beauty and doesn’t like Connie’s careless and carefree behavior.

In the movie, her mother does care for her, but Connie always misbehaves with her mother. Another key change from the short story to the movie is the confabulation about the Pettinger girl. In Oates’s story, Connie says, “Oh, her. That dope,” and she draws a thick clear line between herself and those girls. In the story, it seems her mother is too simple; that’s why she easily believes in Connie’s words. On the contrary, this scene in the movie involves her mother continuously interrogating Connie about those girls until she lashes back and gets a slap on her cheeks from her mother. Possibly, Chopra changes this aspect of the mother’s character so her ending in the film with reconciliation would make more sense.

The movie makes it more convenient to accept the ending, where it shows reconciliation between daughter and mother because Chopra has given a lot of scenes of Connie and her mother at the beginning. Most of Connie’s dialogue with Arnold Friend in the film is directly from the story. Chopra doesn’t excessively change scenes and dialogues between Arnold Friend and Connie. However, she has changed some small parts, which makes a big difference. In the original story, the author doesn’t reveal how Arnold Friend knows everything about Connie and everyone. But in the movie, Chopra adds a scene where Connie’s friend Jill describes a man who was asking questions about Connie. This additional scene provides context that makes the story more engaging for the audience.

“Smooth Talk” presents only one interpretation of Oates’s story; contrariwise, there is an ambiguous ending in the story that allows different interpretations. Chopra slightly changes Arnold Friend’s character. In Oates’s story, she gives Friend some more sinister characteristics recognizable as the modern interpretation of the devil. Some clues are: it seems that he wears a wig, maybe to hide horns; his walking style seems weird, probably because of hooves; makeup on his face because he wanted to hide his real face; he never enters Connie’s house because, according to myth, the devil can’t come in if not invited; he threatens to use fire to bring her out of the house; he declares he knows everyone and everything; he seems familiar to Connie; playing rock music is kind of the devil’s sign; and last but not least, if we remove all “r” from his name, then it leaves “An Old Fiend.” These elements are present in the original story, but in the movie, there is no clue or sign of devil characteristics matching Arnold Friend’s character. “Smooth Talk” presents him as an older man who is dangerous and has bad intentions. The story explains the character Arnold Friend well because Oates gives all subtleties about him and provides clues about his mysterious behavior, creating a possibility that he is a devil. I like the “Smooth Talk” movie more than the original story because of the dramatic ending, which has only one interpretation that is more powerful and gives a positive message. Although the ending of the story is ambiguous and concludes sadly, Chopra wanted to make it seem that there is hope for Connie’s future in the film. There is also an ambiguous ending about whether she is raped in “Smooth Talk.” But Connie’s behavior changes, and she also tells Arnold Friend that she doesn’t want to meet him again, which might imply that he raped her. However, Chopra includes a scene of reconciliation between Connie and her mother. Although Oates provides every detail of the character and scene, making the story beautiful, the ending is ambiguous, allowing readers to interpret it differently. But it also offers no hope for Connie’s life. The story can be interpreted positively, where Connie always wants freedom from her mother’s interrogation, and Arnold Friend gives her freedom, but these chances are less.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the film and story beautifully present the same theme, but how they are presented differs. Oates’s story ends with consummately no conclusion, but she still uses Arnold Friend as a representation of the culture Connie lives in. This culture ends up being her own undoing as it lures her far from her house and into the unknown. Chopra’s film ends with Connie rejecting Arnold Friend after realizing her troubles and returning to her house. The title of the short story is the question Connie could be asking herself as she is walking out to Arnold’s car: “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”

References

1. Chopra, J. (Director). (1985). Smooth Talk [Film]. International Cinema Corporation.
2. Oates, J. C. (1970). Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? In The Wheel of Love and Other Stories (pp. 25-48). Vanguard Press.