compare contrast of sherman alexies movie and story

Tristan Marshall

January 29, 2007

Intro to literature

Jung

Compare Contrast of Story and Movie

The story “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona”, by Sherman Alexie and the movie Smoke Signals are based on the same stories. But that doesn’t make them totally the same, they have many differences. Some are obvious and some aren’t. But in the end both the movie and the story have the same end result.

The things that were the same about the movie and the story were they both had the same plot, which was a journey to find Victors dead father in Arizona. There settings were the same and the Indians in the reservation weren’t doing to well. The reservation that Thomas and Victor lived at was poor and this gave out a kind of boring sad vibe in both the story and the movie. The main characters were also the same; they both had the same role in the story and the movie. Thomas was an annoying story teller with no friends, and Victor was kind of just a regular kid on the reservation.

Some actual parts in the story and the movie that were the same were when victor found out that his dad died, and he wanted to go get him but didn’t have enough money. He went to the council and they didn’t have anything but 100 dollars to give him. The part were he runs into Thomas was the same and some how Thomas already knows, Thomas says the exact same line in the story and movie also, he says, “I heard it on the wind. I heard it from the birds. I felt it in the sunlight. Also your mother was just in here crying.” Also when they were traveling in both the book and the story they sit by a gymnast who is very flexible. She asks Thomas to try one of the moves she was doing, and after he gets done trying both the gymnast and Thomas start laughing. The girl also kept rambling about the same stuff in the movie and book, Thomas also had the same lines in both the story and the movie.

One of the things that were the same was when they got to Phoenix and victor took his dads pickup truck. The story about Thomas and his dream was also the same, almost word for word. Thomas had a dream and went to the falls then victor’s dad finds him and takes him home. The ending of both the story and the movie were also the same Thomas and Victor didn’t become best friends like you thought they would; they just kind of had a new respect for each other. And they both said they would throw the dads remaining ...

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Some of the differences between the movie and the story was the start, the movie started with a burning house and Victor’s dad saving Thomas, while Thomas’s parents died in the fire. In the middle of the story we find out Victors dad started the fire. This is all was added to the movie and really changed a lot of things compared to the story.

The movie also has some scenes from when his dad was still living with him and his mom, while the book doesn’t. The movie also shows why Victors dad left. It shows more of victor being mad at his dad then it does in the story. In the movie there is a weather man that’s adds more comedy. Also in the beginning of their journey they run into these two girls that like to ride there car backwards, these girls end up giving them a ride to gas station, all this stuff isn’t in the story.

They also take a bus in the movie instead of a plane to Arizona. And while their on the plane and talking to the gymnast, Victor is mean to her in the movie and not in the story. They also don’t sing a song at the end of the ride in the story.

When they get to Arizona the movie is very different, it adds a lot of things that the story doesn’t have. For one the scene when they get off the bus and Thomas changes the way he dresses and the way he looks is an added scene. Also the thing were they meet the girl at the dads trailer site isn’t in the story. There whole conversation and everything about that is added. The scene were Victor goes into the trailer to find anything he might want is different because he cuts his hair, and in the story he does nothing like that. There also isn’t anything in the story about Victor being good at basketball, and the story about victor and his dad playing 2 on 2 isn’t in the story. The movie adds this scene I think to give more drama and it works very well.

There ride home from Arizona is also very different because they talk about different things. And the whole scene about them getting into a car crash isn’t in the story. Therefore the scene about the guy trying to frame them and them talking to the cops isn’t in the story also. Also there conversation and there big fight in the movie that changes Victor isn’t in the story.

Also a lot of the stories about Thomas and Victor growing up are different, or not even in one or the other. For example the story about Thomas saving Victor from a wasps nest isn’t in the movie. Also when they get in a fight the story says Victor was drunk and beat up Thomas for no reason; while the movie showed it being because Thomas egged him on right after his dad left. Also in the movie Victor’s mom stops the fight instead of some warrior women.

In the end both the story and the movie were very good. But the two were different then any other story and movie combination that I have ever seen because I actually liked the movie better then the story. The movie just had more details and more drama which I thought made it a lot better. But in the end both the story and the movie teach you the same thing and give you a different taste of there breed.

Talke about he way