Of Mice And Men Movie And Book Comparison

Often books become so popular that they are changed into movies. The directors often take the liberties to keep them the same. In Gary Sinise’s version of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men there are many significant changes. Although symbols are used in both versions viewers lose out on the foreshadowing of the red and the thematic aspect of solitaire. The absence of foreshadowing to the color red changes the viewers meaning behind the symbol. In the first scene of the movie a woman is running down a hillside wearing a tattered red dress in Weed. In the book the event was told by George as he said ''Well he [Lennie] seen this girl in a red dress… So he reaches out to feel this red dress an' the girl lets out a squawk''… (Steinbeck 41) From the opening scene of the movie the girl in Weed as she is known as is wearing a tattered red dress tells the viewers that something happen. The original title of Of Mice and Men called ''Something That
In the movie George doesn’t play solitaire at all which shows he isn't lonely. From this standpoint the viewer losses out on the theme of loneliness in the book. In the book George plays solitaire because it says ''George stared at his solitaire lay and then he flounced around the cards together and turned around to Lennie ''(Steinbeck 29). This shows that George is travelling a two man Journey but only one of the men is thinking because Lennie can't do it for himself at times. Lennie not being able to think on his own makes George feel alone in everything they do. Another quote in the book that doesn't show up in the movie is '' George carefully built up his line of solitaire cards''(Steinbeck 42). On this occasion George is surrounded by people and still feels lonely because he forgets the people around him while playing. The thematic aspect of loneliness in the movie is lost is important because the movie never shows George