Novel vs. Movie

Alice Walker’s The Color Purple has been depicted in two literary forms – a movie and book. The movie is surprisingly true to the book. There are a few differences that I believe take away from the integrity of the novel. In the novel, Celie finds Nettie’s letters that Mr. hid from her in his chest. In the movie the letters were kept underneath a floorboard, underneath the locked chest. I believe that although subtle, this difference is significant. In the novel, Mr. just tucking away the letters in the chest portrayed how Mr. thought of Celie. He knew that she would never go against his wishes and open the chest, so he did not take any extreme measures to conceal the letters. Also, a few of the characters (like Sophie’s children) had more of a presence in the movie than the book. I was glad that the story of Sophie remained the same. It was important for the viewer to see the scenario that unfolded on Christmas with her family and to observe the unjust life that she was forced to lead.

One of the main things that I missed in the movie was the close interaction with Celie (the writer of the letters). The narrator in the movie reads some of her letters at certain intervals, but the innocent, almost child-like voice that I heard in the book was not apparent. I think that the reader doesn’t connect with the main character as much in the movie. Also the story of Nettie in Africa remained the same. Not as much time was spent on her letters (so far in the movie) unlike the book, which I was glad for as I found them rather dull and repetitive. I did enjoy being able to put a face with all of the different characters in the book though. Mr. is not how I pictured him nor was Shug. But Celie was the most similar to what I had envisioned. All and all, I think that the common phrase “the book is always better” remained true for this story.