"Love Story": The Film and the Novel

Paper Summary:

This paper states that the film version and the novel of "Love Story" are very much alike; they even used a lot of the dialogue from the book with no changes in the film. This paper points out that the novel is told through the eyes of Oliver Barrett; but, in the film, the story is told by the camera and not with the voice of Oliver and, therefore, does not include as much about the inner thoughts of this character. The author explains that the father accepting these young people and their new ways is very different from the way romance is treated in China.

From the Paper:

"Another change comes when a scene is moved. The scene between Oliver and the dean as Oliver asks about a scholarship takes place in the book after Oliver meets Jenny's father; but in the film, it takes place before. This has several effects. For one thing, it adds to the break between Oliver and his father and to the idea that Phil will have to accept Oliver as a poor person who will even have trouble getting through school. It also moves the meeting with Phil so that the next scene after that is the wedding, which helps the audience with some of Phil's reactions during the wedding. At the end of the scene in Rhode Island in the book, Phil is surprised when he hears that Jenny will talk during the wedding ceremony, and she asks, "Could you imagine any situation in which I would shut up?" This joke is not in the film. Instead, she tells her father that it is a whole new world today, and he agrees, sadly."

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