Jaws

 

Jaws

 June 17, 2014

Peter Benchley, author of Jaws, first published his novel in 1974. The movie version, directed by Steven Spielberg, was released in 1975. The movie is filled with suspense, some humor, and some gore but is driven by the performances of the characters. The story of both the movie and the novel, centers on one town, Amity, terrorized by a great white shark hunting its prey. One major difference between the novel and the movie is the way the characters are portrayed and the likability of these characters. What the movie does that the novel does not is focus more on character motivations on why they are hunting down the hunter (the shark). The main characters of Hooper, Chief Brody, and Quint are not very likeable in the book, the audience does not really care if they live or die. While in the movie, the characters are likeable and whether they are nice or not the audience generally does not want to see harm done to them

The main protagonist of the movie and novel is Chief Martin Brody. Chief Brody in the film is an outsider who must defend his town from the killer shark that threatens the lives the people that live and visit the island. In the movie, Chief Brody is very afraid of the water, even more so than the shark but in the end must face his fear of the water to save the day. Chief Brody in the novel is a native of Amity island and not such a likeable character. Brody, in the novel, lets the job come first and his wife and family come second. In the movie, Spielberg makes Brody a loving family man who hunts down the shark, not only because it’s his job, but as a way to protect his family from the force that comes close to attacking his family. Spielberg switches the dynamic of Brody to make him likeable; also he wants the audience to root for Brody in the end when he faces the monster.

Matt Hooper in the novel is an uptight rich shark expert. Also in the novel, Hooper is a snob who has an affair with Chief Brody’s wife, Ellen, and constantly bickers to Brody.  The film version has Hooper as a young man who comes to Amity to help Chief Brody and becomes friends with the water phobic chief. Hooper is the man of reason and expertise on the subject but the tables are turned when he meets Quint. Hooper and Quint are both alike and different. Hooper is book smart, with some scientific knowledge, but Quint is a man who has come to face the animal they hunt personally and knows the true nature of the natural water predator. Spielberg made Hooper, like Chief Brody, more likeable because he wanted to portray scientists as being helpful and relatable, not some cold unfeeling professional as the stereotype suggests.

Quint, in both the movie and novel, is very much like Captain Ahab. Quint, in the novel, is just as mean and unrelenting as the shark. Quint, in the novel, kills innocent creatures from the sea; much like the shark kills innocent people that enter the ocean. The Ahab comparison is more predominate in the book. Ahab and Quint have the same demise, both character get tangled up in the ropes, after they harpoon there beasts, and are taken down to the deep waters of the ocean and drown. The end comes to Quint, like Ahab, and the audience is generally happy to see two bad characters meet their fate. Spielberg still makes Quint kind of a jerk, but a jerk with a back-story that makes the audience realize why he has become the way he is. Quint, in the movie, tells the story of how he was on the ill fated USS Indianapolis and how the sharks swam all around him and killed the friends he loved. This is why Quint goes after the shark, not only for the money, but as an act of revenge for his loved ones and the past that still haunts him. Spielberg switches the evil Quint, in the book, to a man who is damaged because of his past terrors in the ocean. Spielberg changed the characters unlikeable qualities in the novel, to likeable in the movie to sell the movie and make a movie everybody would enjoy. Spielberg wanted the audience to cheer for Brody at the end when he kills the shark and not feel sorry for the shark.