compare and contrast movie and book essay

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55 Writing about the Novel: Film Comparison

You began the process of writing your literary comparison paper in the Introduction to the Novel chapter by choosing an essay, reading it carefully, and writing a personal response. In this chapter, we will move through the remaining steps of writing your paper.

Step 3: Choose a Film for Comparison

The key to a good comparison essay is to choose two subjects that connect in a meaningful way. The purpose of conducting the comparison is not to state the obvious, but rather to illuminate subtle differences or unexpected similarities.

When writing a film comparison paper, the point is to make an argument that will make your audience think about your topic in a new and interesting way. You might explore how the novel and the film present the theme…or how the novel and the film explore the identity of a main character…or…the options are limitless. Here’s a quick video giving you a little overview of what a film vs novel comparison might look like:

To this end, your next goal is to choose a film adaptation of your novel. Some novels may only have one, but some have many that have been created over the last 100 years! Your adaptation could be a feature film, a YouTube short, or an indie film. Choose one that allows you to make an interesting point about the portrayal of the theme of the novel and the film.

Step 4: Research

Once you’ve chosen a second piece, it’s time to enter into the academic conversation to see what others are saying about the authors and the pieces you’ve chosen.

Regardless of the focus of your essay, discovering more about the author of the text you’ve chosen can add to your understanding of the text and add depth to your argument. Author pages are located in the Literature Online ProQuest database. Here, you can find information about an author and his/her work, along with a list of recent articles written about the author. This is a wonderful starting point for your research.

The next step is to attempt to locate articles about the text and the film themselves. For novels, it’s important to narrow down your database choices to the Literature category. For essays, you might have better luck searching the whole ProQuest library with the ProQuest Research Library Article Databases or databases like Flipster that include publications like newspapers and magazines.

Finally, you might look for articles pertinent to an issue discussed in the novel. For example, The Grapes of Wrath is about the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, but it also contains an environmental theme. Depending on what aspect you want to highlight in your comparison, you might look for articles about the Great Depression or about farming and the environment.

Remember, it is helpful to keep a Research Journal to track your research. Your journal should include, at a minimum, the correct MLA citation of the source, a brief summary of the article, and any quotes that stick out to you. A note about how you think the article adds to your understanding of the topic or might contribute to your project is a good addition, as well.

Step 5: Thesis & Outline

Similar to other academic essays, the film comparison essay starts with a thesis that clearly introduces the two subjects that are to be compared and the reason for doing so.

This video highlights some of the key differences between novels and films:

Begin by deciding on your basis for comparison. The basis of comparison could include items like a similar theme, differences in the focus of the piece, or the way both pieces represent an important issue.

This article gives some helpful advice on choosing a topic.

Once you’ve decided on the basis of comparison, you should focus on the points of comparison between the two pieces. For example, if you are focusing on how the literary elements and the cinematic elements used impact the message, you might make a table of each of these elements. Then, you’d find examples of each element from each piece. Remember, a comparison includes both similarities and differences.

By putting together your basis of comparison and your points of comparison, you’ll have a thesis that both makes an argument and gives readers a map of your essay.

A good thesis should be:

• Statement of Fact: “The novel and the film of Pride and Prejudice are similar in many ways.”
• Arguable: “The film version of Pride and Prejudice changes key moments in the text that alter the portrayal of the theme.”
• Personal Opinion: “‘The novel is definitely better than the movie.”
• Provable by the Texts: “Both the novel and the film focus on the importance of identity.”
• Obvious: “The movie provides a modern take on the novel.”
• Surprising: “Though the movie stays true to the original themes of the novel, the modern version may lead viewers to believe that the characters in the book held different values than are portrayed in the novel.”
• General: “Both the novel and the film highlight the plight of women.”
• Specific: “The novel and the film highlight the plight of women by focusing on specific experiences of the protagonist. “

The organizational structure you choose depends on the nature of the topic, your purpose, and your audience. You may organize compare-and-contrast essays in one of the following two ways:

• Block: Organize topics according to the subjects themselves, discussing the novel and then the film.
• Woven: Organize according to individual points, discussing both the novel and the film point by point.

Exercises: Create a Thesis and Outline

You’ll want to start by identifying the theme of both pieces and deciding how you want to tie them together. Then, you’ll want to think through the points of similarity and difference in the two pieces.

In two columns, write down the points that are similar and those that are different. Make sure to jot down quotes from the two pieces that illustrate these ideas.

Following the tips in this section, create a thesis and outline for your novel/film comparison paper.

Here’s a sample thesis and outline:

Step 6: Drafting Tips

Once you have a solid thesis and outline, it’s time to start drafting your essay. As in any academic essay, you’ll begin with an introduction. The introduction should include a hook that connects your readers to your topic. Then, you should introduce the topic. In this case, you will want to include the authors and title of the novel and the director and title of the film. Finally, your introduction should include your thesis. Remember, your thesis should be the last sentence of your introduction.

In a film comparison essay, you may want to follow your introduction with background on both pieces. Assume that your readers have at least heard of either the novel or the film, but that they might not have read the novel or watched the film–or both–…or maybe it’s been awhile. For example, if you were writing about Pride and Prejudice , you might include a brief introduction to Austen and her novel and an introduction to the version of the film you’ve chosen. The background section should be no more than two short paragraphs.

In the body of the paper, you’ll want to focus on supporting your argument. Regardless of the organizational scheme you choose, you’ll want to begin each paragraph with a topic sentence. This should be followed by the use of quotes from your two texts in support of your point. Remember to use the quote formula–always introduce and explain each quote and the relationship to your point! It’s very important that you address both literary pieces equally, balancing your argument. Finally, each paragraph should end with a wrap up sentence that tells readers the significance of the paragraph.

Here are some transition words that are helpful in tying points together:

Finally, your paper will end with a conclusion that brings home your argument and helps readers to understand the importance/significance of your essay.

In this video, an instructor explains step by step how to write an essay comparing two films. Though you will be writing about a novel and a film, rather than two films, the same information applies.

Here’s another instructor explaining how to write a comparison essay about two poems. Note the similarities between the two videos.

Here’s a sample paper:

Attributions:

• Content created by Dr. Karen Palmer. Licensed under CC BY NC SA .
• Content adapted from “Comparison and Contrast” from the book Successful Writing licensed CC BY NC SA .

The Worry Free Writer Copyright © 2020 by Dr. Karen Palmer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Comparing and Contrasting

What this handout is about.

This handout will help you first to determine whether a particular assignment is asking for comparison/contrast and then to generate a list of similarities and differences, decide which similarities and differences to focus on, and organize your paper so that it will be clear and effective. It will also explain how you can (and why you should) develop a thesis that goes beyond “Thing A and Thing B are similar in many ways but different in others.”

Introduction

In your career as a student, you’ll encounter many different kinds of writing assignments, each with its own requirements. One of the most common is the comparison/contrast essay, in which you focus on the ways in which certain things or ideas—usually two of them—are similar to (this is the comparison) and/or different from (this is the contrast) one another. By assigning such essays, your instructors are encouraging you to make connections between texts or ideas, engage in critical thinking, and go beyond mere description or summary to generate interesting analysis: when you reflect on similarities and differences, you gain a deeper understanding of the items you are comparing, their relationship to each other, and what is most important about them.

Recognizing comparison/contrast in assignments

Some assignments use words—like compare, contrast, similarities, and differences—that make it easy for you to see that they are asking you to compare and/or contrast. Here are a few hypothetical examples:

• Compare and contrast Frye’s and Bartky’s accounts of oppression.
• Compare WWI to WWII, identifying similarities in the causes, development, and outcomes of the wars.
• Contrast Wordsworth and Coleridge; what are the major differences in their poetry?

Notice that some topics ask only for comparison, others only for contrast, and others for both.

But it’s not always so easy to tell whether an assignment is asking you to include comparison/contrast. And in some cases, comparison/contrast is only part of the essay—you begin by comparing and/or contrasting two or more things and then use what you’ve learned to construct an argument or evaluation. Consider these examples, noticing the language that is used to ask for the comparison/contrast and whether the comparison/contrast is only one part of a larger assignment:

• Choose a particular idea or theme, such as romantic love, death, or nature, and consider how it is treated in two Romantic poems.
• How do the different authors we have studied so far define and describe oppression?
• Compare Frye’s and Bartky’s accounts of oppression. What does each imply about women’s collusion in their own oppression? Which is more accurate?
• In the texts we’ve studied, soldiers who served in different wars offer differing accounts of their experiences and feelings both during and after the fighting. What commonalities are there in these accounts? What factors do you think are responsible for their differences?

You may want to check out our handout on understanding assignments for additional tips.

Using comparison/contrast for all kinds of writing projects

Sometimes you may want to use comparison/contrast techniques in your own pre-writing work to get ideas that you can later use for an argument, even if comparison/contrast isn’t an official requirement for the paper you’re writing. For example, if you wanted to argue that Frye’s account of oppression is better than both de Beauvoir’s and Bartky’s, comparing and contrasting the main arguments of those three authors might help you construct your evaluation—even though the topic may not have asked for comparison/contrast and the lists of similarities and differences you generate may not appear anywhere in the final draft of your paper.

Discovering similarities and differences

Making a Venn diagram or a chart can help you quickly and efficiently compare and contrast two or more things or ideas. To make a Venn diagram, simply draw some overlapping circles, one circle for each item you’re considering. In the central area where they overlap, list the traits the two items have in common. Assign each one of the areas that doesn’t overlap; in those areas, you can list the traits that make the things different. Here’s a very simple example, using two pizza places:

To make a chart, figure out what criteria you want to focus on in comparing the items. Along the left side of the page, list each of the criteria. Across the top, list the names of the items. You should then have a box per item for each criterion; you can fill the boxes in and then survey what you’ve discovered.

Here’s an example, this time using three pizza places:

As you generate points of comparison, consider the purpose and content of the assignment and the focus of the class. What do you think the professor wants you to learn by doing this comparison/contrast? How does it fit with what you have been studying so far and with the other assignments in the course? Are there any clues about what to focus on in the assignment itself?

Here are some general questions about different types of things you might have to compare. These are by no means complete or definitive lists; they’re just here to give you some ideas—you can generate your own questions for these and other types of comparison. You may want to begin by using the questions reporters traditionally ask: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? If you’re talking about objects, you might also consider general properties like size, shape, color, sound, weight, taste, texture, smell, number, duration, and location.

Two historical periods or events

• When did they occur—do you know the date(s) and duration? What happened or changed during each? Why are they significant?
• What kinds of work did people do? What kinds of relationships did they have? What did they value?
• What kinds of governments were there? Who were important people involved?
• What caused events in these periods, and what consequences did they have later on?

Two ideas or theories

• What are they about?
• Did they originate at some particular time?
• Who created them? Who uses or defends them?
• What is the central focus, claim, or goal of each? What conclusions do they offer?
• How are they applied to situations/people/things/etc.?
• Which seems more plausible to you, and why? How broad is their scope?
• What kind of evidence is usually offered for them?

Two pieces of writing or art

• What are their titles? What do they describe or depict?
• What is their tone or mood? What is their form?
• Who created them? When were they created? Why do you think they were created as they were? What themes do they address?
• Do you think one is of higher quality or greater merit than the other(s)—and if so, why?
• For writing: what plot, characterization, setting, theme, tone, and type of narration are used?
• Where are they from? How old are they? What is the gender, race, class, etc. of each?
• What, if anything, are they known for? Do they have any relationship to each other?
• What are they like? What did/do they do? What do they believe? Why are they interesting?
• What stands out most about each of them?

Deciding what to focus on

By now you have probably generated a huge list of similarities and differences—congratulations! Next you must decide which of them are interesting, important, and relevant enough to be included in your paper. Ask yourself these questions:

• What’s relevant to the assignment?
• What’s relevant to the course?
• What’s interesting and informative?
• What matters to the argument you are going to make?
• What’s basic or central (and needs to be mentioned even if obvious)?
• Overall, what’s more important—the similarities or the differences?

Suppose that you are writing a paper comparing two novels. For most literature classes, the fact that they both use Caslon type (a kind of typeface, like the fonts you may use in your writing) is not going to be relevant, nor is the fact that one of them has a few illustrations and the other has none; literature classes are more likely to focus on subjects like characterization, plot, setting, the writer’s style and intentions, language, central themes, and so forth. However, if you were writing a paper for a class on typesetting or on how illustrations are used to enhance novels, the typeface and presence or absence of illustrations might be absolutely critical to include in your final paper.

Sometimes a particular point of comparison or contrast might be relevant but not terribly revealing or interesting. For example, if you are writing a paper about Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey” and Coleridge’s “Frost at Midnight,” pointing out that they both have nature as a central theme is relevant (comparisons of poetry often talk about themes) but not terribly interesting; your class has probably already had many discussions about the Romantic poets’ fondness for nature. Talking about the different ways nature is depicted or the different aspects of nature that are emphasized might be more interesting and show a more sophisticated understanding of the poems.

Your thesis

The thesis of your comparison/contrast paper is very important: it can help you create a focused argument and give your reader a road map so they don’t get lost in the sea of points you are about to make. As in any paper, you will want to replace vague reports of your general topic (for example, “This paper will compare and contrast two pizza places,” or “Pepper’s and Amante are similar in some ways and different in others,” or “Pepper’s and Amante are similar in many ways, but they have one major difference”) with something more detailed and specific. For example, you might say, “Pepper’s and Amante have similar prices and ingredients, but their atmospheres and willingness to deliver set them apart.”

Be careful, though—although this thesis is fairly specific and does propose a simple argument (that atmosphere and delivery make the two pizza places different), your instructor will often be looking for a bit more analysis. In this case, the obvious question is “So what? Why should anyone care that Pepper’s and Amante are different in this way?” One might also wonder why the writer chose those two particular pizza places to compare—why not Papa John’s, Dominos, or Pizza Hut? Again, thinking about the context the class provides may help you answer such questions and make a stronger argument. Here’s a revision of the thesis mentioned earlier:

Pepper’s and Amante both offer a greater variety of ingredients than other Chapel Hill/Carrboro pizza places (and than any of the national chains), but the funky, lively atmosphere at Pepper’s makes it a better place to give visiting friends and family a taste of local culture.

You may find our handout on constructing thesis statements useful at this stage.

Organizing your paper

There are many different ways to organize a comparison/contrast essay. Here are two:

Subject-by-subject

Begin by saying everything you have to say about the first subject you are discussing, then move on and make all the points you want to make about the second subject (and after that, the third, and so on, if you’re comparing/contrasting more than two things). If the paper is short, you might be able to fit all of your points about each item into a single paragraph, but it’s more likely that you’d have several paragraphs per item. Using our pizza place comparison/contrast as an example, after the introduction, you might have a paragraph about the ingredients available at Pepper’s, a paragraph about its location, and a paragraph about its ambience. Then you’d have three similar paragraphs about Amante, followed by your conclusion.

The danger of this subject-by-subject organization is that your paper will simply be a list of points: a certain number of points (in my example, three) about one subject, then a certain number of points about another. This is usually not what college instructors are looking for in a paper—generally they want you to compare or contrast two or more things very directly, rather than just listing the traits the things have and leaving it up to the reader to reflect on how those traits are similar or different and why those similarities or differences matter. Thus, if you use the subject-by-subject form, you will probably want to have a very strong, analytical thesis and at least one body paragraph that ties all of your different points together.

A subject-by-subject structure can be a logical choice if you are writing what is sometimes called a “lens” comparison, in which you use one subject or item (which isn’t really your main topic) to better understand another item (which is). For example, you might be asked to compare a poem you’ve already covered thoroughly in class with one you are reading on your own. It might make sense to give a brief summary of your main ideas about the first poem (this would be your first subject, the “lens”), and then spend most of your paper discussing how those points are similar to or different from your ideas about the second.

Point-by-point

Rather than addressing things one subject at a time, you may wish to talk about one point of comparison at a time. There are two main ways this might play out, depending on how much you have to say about each of the things you are comparing. If you have just a little, you might, in a single paragraph, discuss how a certain point of comparison/contrast relates to all the items you are discussing. For example, I might describe, in one paragraph, what the prices are like at both Pepper’s and Amante; in the next paragraph, I might compare the ingredients available; in a third, I might contrast the atmospheres of the two restaurants.

If I had a bit more to say about the items I was comparing/contrasting, I might devote a whole paragraph to how each point relates to each item. For example, I might have a whole paragraph about the clientele at Pepper’s, followed by a whole paragraph about the clientele at Amante; then I would move on and do two more paragraphs discussing my next point of comparison/contrast—like the ingredients available at each restaurant.

There are no hard and fast rules about organizing a comparison/contrast paper, of course. Just be sure that your reader can easily tell what’s going on! Be aware, too, of the placement of your different points. If you are writing a comparison/contrast in service of an argument, keep in mind that the last point you make is the one you are leaving your reader with. For example, if I am trying to argue that Amante is better than Pepper’s, I should end with a contrast that leaves Amante sounding good, rather than with a point of comparison that I have to admit makes Pepper’s look better. If you’ve decided that the differences between the items you’re comparing/contrasting are most important, you’ll want to end with the differences—and vice versa, if the similarities seem most important to you.

Our handout on organization can help you write good topic sentences and transitions and make sure that you have a good overall structure in place for your paper.

Cue words and other tips

To help your reader keep track of where you are in the comparison/contrast, you’ll want to be sure that your transitions and topic sentences are especially strong. Your thesis should already have given the reader an idea of the points you’ll be making and the organization you’ll be using, but you can help them out with some extra cues. The following words may be helpful to you in signaling your intentions:

• like, similar to, also, unlike, similarly, in the same way, likewise, again, compared to, in contrast, in like manner, contrasted with, on the contrary, however, although, yet, even though, still, but, nevertheless, conversely, at the same time, regardless, despite, while, on the one hand … on the other hand.

For example, you might have a topic sentence like one of these:

• Compared to Pepper’s, Amante is quiet.
• Like Amante, Pepper’s offers fresh garlic as a topping.
• Despite their different locations (downtown Chapel Hill and downtown Carrboro), Pepper’s and Amante are both fairly easy to get to.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Cover to Cover: Comparing Books to Movies

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

Movies can be an integral part of the language arts classroom when they are used in ways that encourage and develop students' critical thinking. In this activity, students explore matching texts—novels and the movies adapted from them—to develop their analytical strategies. They use graphic organizers to draw comparisons between the two texts and hypothesize about the effect of adaptation. They analyze the differences between the two versions by citing specific adaptations in the film version, indicating the effect of each adaptation on the story, and deciding if they felt the change had a positive effect on the overall story. Students then design new DVD covers and a related insert for the movies, reflecting their response to the movie version.

Featured Resources

• Grades 6–8 Book and Film List : This text list includes books and their corresponding movies that are appropriate for the middle school classroom.
• DVD Cover Creator : This online tool allows users to type and illustrate CD and DVD covers and related booklets for liner notes and other information.

From Theory to Practice

Movies have long been a part of the educational setting, but they can take on the role as simple entertainment unless teachers develop lessons that ask students to move beyond seeing the film as "just entertainment." Renee Hobbs explains that "When we use film and television in the classroom, it is important to do so in ways that promote active, critical thinking" (48). Hobbs urges teachers to design activities that "engage and motivate reluctant readers, enabling them to build comprehension strategies" (45). As students compare novels and the related film adaptations in this lesson plan, they move beyond simple entertainment to the kind of deeper critical thinking Hobbs advocates. Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
• 8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
• 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

• Grades 6–8 Book and Film List
• Book(s) and film you plan to share with students
• Television and VCR or DVD player
• Writer’s Notebook
• Permission to View Film/Video handout
• Focused Reading and Viewing Guide
• Book and Movie Comparison/Contrast Guide
• Thinking Critically about the Movie Adaptations: Preferences and Effects
• DVD Cover Templates and Layout
• Movie Adaptation DVD Cover and Notes Project
• Movie Adaptation DVD Cover and Booklet Project Rubric
• A Closer Look at Book and DVD Covers (optional)

Preparation

• Select a book that has been made into a movie to read aloud to the class. Possible titles have been included on the Grades 6–8 Book and Film List . If you wish to make these activities cross-curricular then cross-check the title with the Website Teach with Movies .
• Obtain permission for viewing the film using the Permission to View Film/Video handout, or the permission forms and any other documents required by your school or district.
• Decide whether students will complete the Focused Reading and Viewing Guide as they read or after the novel is complete.
• Share the novel with the class.
• Make copies of all necessary handouts.
• Test the DVD Cover Creator on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tool and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.

Student Objectives

Students will

• identify the characters, setting, plot, and resolution in a book and in the movie based upon the book.
• describe how the elements of the book and movie are alike and different.
• discuss the effects of and state preferences toward these similarities and differences.
• hypothesize reasons that movie makers altered characteristics from the book.
• design a DVD cover and booklet reflecting their response to the movie adaptation.

Session One

• After the book has been completed, ask the students to think about a time when they read a book and then saw a movie based upon that book.
• Ask students to recall the kinds of things that they thought about as they watched the movie. Students will respond with ideas that suggest they were comparing the book to the movie and mentally noting similarities and differences.
• Inform students that since they have just finished the book, they are going to watch a movie based upon it. During the movie they will consider how well the movie honors the ideas presented in the book.
• Have students fill in the book column on the Focused Reading and Viewing Guide , working individually or in small groups.
• Review items in the book column of the Focused Reading and Viewing Guide as a class, and ask students to watch for these elements during the movie.
• Explain when students will complete the film section of the Focused Reading and Viewing Guide —while watching the movie or after. Students’ ability to attend to multiple tasks should be a factor in making your decision.
• Begin viewing the film.

Session Two

• Review the previous session’s viewing.
• See if students have any questions or concerns regarding the film section of the Focused Reading and Viewing Guide .
• Continue viewing the film.

Session Three

• After viewing the film, go over students’ responses to the film section of the Focused Reading and Viewing Guide .
• Pass out copies of the Book and Movie Comparison/Contrast Guide , which asks them to determine how different elements of the story are alike and different, and ask students to complete the guide in pairs or small groups.
• Have students share their observations with the class.
• As a closure activity, ask students to share why they think some of the elements are different and whether it is important for movies to remain identical to the novels on which they are based.

Session Four

• Explain that students will be create a new DVD cover for the movie adaptation the class has viewed.
• To prepare for the task, review the Book and Movie Comparison/Contrast Guide .
• Using the handout as a guide, ask students, independently or in small groups, to discuss the changes they like most and least as well as the aspects of the film that remained true to the text that were most satisfying. If necessary, reference A Basic Glossary of Film Terms for appropriate cinematic terminology.
• Pass out copies of the Thinking Critically about a Movie Adaptation: Preferences and Effects handout.
• Have students determine one change or similarity that was crucial to their overall opinion of the film, and discuss it in the first row.
• Ask students to choose two elements of moderate importance to discuss in the middle rows.
• Have students indicate and discuss a fairly inconsequential change in the last row.
• As students complete the charts, collect them for informal feedback, focusing on comments that will help students strengthen their analytical skills.
• If students need additional time, this work can be completed on their own before the next session.

Session Five

• Return Thinking Critically about a Movie Adaptation: Preferences and Effects handouts, and share any general comments on students’ work.
• Have students or groups share their ranked responses to the film adaptation.
• Encourage engagement from other students, as there should be varying views at many levels at this point: Some students will think a change was significant, but was an improvement. Other students will see the same change as trivial, but feel it was a poor choice.
• Distribute the Movie Adaptation DVD Cover and Notes Project and DVD Cover Project Rubric to students and discuss the options for the project and related expectations.
• If possible, preview the DVD Cover Creator interactive on a projector so students understand their choices for templates in both Cover and Booklet modes. If this is not possible, distribute copies of the DVD Cover Creator Templates and Layout .
• Allow students time to plan the front cover, spine, and back cover. They should plan for a mix of images and text that will suit the needs of the project they choose.
• Allow students time to plan the text for their booklet. Responses should be brief, as the DVD Cover Creator interactive can hold approximately 50 lines of text (if no images are used). Guide students to connect their overall impressions of the film adaptation with the choices they made on their covers.
• If students need additional guidance in writing the review of the movie, see ReadWriteThink lesson So What Do You Think? Writing a Review . Students may also use the Internet Movie Database as needed to find information about the movie.

Session Six

• Take students to the computer lab and lead them in a brief demonstration of the DVD Cover Creator interactive if not completed in the previous session.
• Have students use their planning documents to transfer their ideas to the DVD Cover Creator interactive.
• Emphasize that tudents cannot save their work, so they should complete all work on one component (the cover or booklet) and print their work within the confines of a session.
• Gauge levels of completion and allow additional time in the computer lab if necessary.

Session Seven

• Have students share their responses through presentations or by setting up a display of the various projects around the room.
• Allow students to reflect on their work and the work of their classmates by quickwriting on the different perspectives offered in the DVD covers presented today.
• Facilitate a “Point/Counterpoint” debate between the students who preferred the book to the movie and vice versa.
• Have students create an alternate soundtrack to the film, justifying their choices in liner notes and creating a CD cover with the CD Cover Creator .
• In Session 5, have students analyze book and DVD cover art using the A Closer Look at Book and DVD Covers handout. Guide students to explore elements such as placement of text and what words are featured or downplayed; color choices; choice of images; placement of images; and the like.

Student Assessment / Reflections

• Collect students’ graphic organizers, and check for evidence of students’ understanding of story elements.
• During discussion, look for comments that show students can think critically about why movies and books would not be identical and that communicate their preferences for the film or book.
• For a formal assessment of group performances, use the DVD Cover Project Rubric .
• Calendar Activities
• Student Interactives

Students compare the film versions of The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's novels. Students then imagine how a scene in a current novel that they are reading would be filmed.

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• Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury

• Literature Notes
• Comparison of the Book and Film Versions of Fahrenheit 451
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Critical Essays Comparison of the Book and Film Versions of Fahrenheit 451

All these themes, dystopian society, censorship, and freedom of the individual, are addressed in the 1967 Vineyard Films' (Universal) version of  Fahrenheit   451 . Although the film reiterates the themes and basis of the book, there are many differences to contrast.

In examining the film and novel, one important item to note is that the same actress, Julie Christie, plays both Linda (Mildred's name in the film) and Clarisse. When looking at this casting decision, one can deduce that the film director, Frances Truffault, purposefully made this decision to show the audience that the women are similar in the way that they cannot continue as they are in the present society. Although the two women are dramatically different in their beliefs, Montag continually searches for signs of Clarisse's energy and enthusiasm in his wife. Montag, is not focusing upon their physical appearance; he's instead trying to find the internal wisdom and soul of the two women that he sees.

Unfortunately, Clarisse dies in the book when Montag begins to understand her. However, in the film, Clarisse survives and, in fact, becomes his teacher (she, in a way, replaces the character of Faber from the book who doesn't appear in the film). She is the character who guides Montag to the book people hiding in the woods outside the city.

Contemplate the fact that in the book, no women are present at the end of the novel, but in the film, women play a role in the reconstruction of the new society. Possibly, this difference reflects that the book was written in 1953, whereas the film was made 14 years later.

Regardless of the differences between the film and the book upon which the film is based, both stories of Fahrenheit 451 tackle the issues of a society that has allowed its government to take total control. Chillingly, people in this society have forgotten their histories and have allowed themselves to become victims of propaganda and censorship. In following the protagonist, Guy Montag, through his struggle and rebirth, the reader (and viewer) are given the opportunity to see that the human spirit triumphs and that the important knowledge that books can impart will never be destroyed.

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Compare and Contrast A Book and Movie Activities

My first year teaching - when I was constantly running on empty - I slipped several movie watching afternoons into my lesson plans. I defended this as educational, claiming that we were going to compare and contrast the book and movie.  Really, however, I just needed some time to play catch up.

Now, we did actually spend some time comparing and contrasting the book with the movie, but this was still a little bit of a cop-out.  My students filled in a blank Book Vs. Movie Venn Diagram, and most of the similarities and differences they found were simply the first observations that came to their head.  These were surface level observations that required no real thinking.

I wanted my students to think more critically and more deeply. 

Comparing and contrasting a book and a movie can be a very meaningful, educational experience that requires critical thinking - and without all the prep.  Use the questions and activity ideas below to help make your movie vs book lesson plans more rigorous for your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students.

Or, check out these ready to use, no prep activities for comparing books and movies.

Questions to Include in Your Movie Vs. Book Lesson Plans

I found the best way to encourage deeper thinking was to ask upper elementary students some questions before watching the movie so that they would be thinking more critically while watching the movie. This also helped my 3rd graders think about what they expected from the movie.  (No duh - teachers use before, during, and after reading questions with books. For some reason it took me a while to translate that to movies.)

Then, after the movie, I encouraged my students to think about very specific details about the book and movie, rather than just comparing and contrasting using the first thing that popped into their heads.

Not all of the questions I asked were directly related to comparing and contrasting the book and the movie, but these questions got students thinking more critically, which made their comparisons later more thoughtful.

Use the example questions below in your own compare and contrast lesson plans.  And while you're at it, teach students to ask their own meaningful questions.  

Pre-Movie Questions

• What do you think your favorite part of the movie will be, and why? • What do you think the main characters will look like/act like? • What do you think the main setting will look like? Will it be messy, small, bright, noisy, beautiful, spooky, cold, colorful, etc? • What parts of the book do you think will be cut out of the movie? • What should be added to the movie to make it better than the book? • Which do you think you will enjoy more – the book or the movie? Why? • What was your favorite scene in the book? Would you be upset if this scene was changed in the movie? • What parts of the book will be difficult to portray in the movie? For example, how should the movie portray what a character is thinking?

Post-Movie Questions

• Which did you enjoy more – the book or the movie? Why? • Did the main characters look and act like you expected? Why or why not? • Did the main setting look like you expected? Why or why not? • Think about the scenes that the movie changed so that they were different from the book. What scenes do you wish hadn’t been changed? What scenes were better because of the change? • What parts of the book did the movie leave out? What scenes were added to the movie that weren’t in the book? Were these changes good or bad, and why? • What are some other differences between the book and the movie? • What stayed the same in both the book and the movie? • Whose point of view do you agree with more - the author of the book or the director of the movie?  Why?

Want to hold students accountable while watching a movie?  Check out this No Prep Movie Vs. Book Resource.

Activity Ideas to Compare and Contrast

Apart from asking questions, there several fun, yet rigorous activities you can do with your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students to help them compare and contrast the movie.

For example:

• Have students assign a grade to the movie based on how well it stayed true to the book, and then defend the grade.
• Have students write an essay comparing and contrasting the movie and the book.
• Have students write book reviews and movie reviews.
• Have partners or groups of students list as many differences they can find.  See what group can find the most!
• Have students think about one of the scenes that wasn't included in the movie.  Then, have them draw/write about what it would have looked like if the director would have included it.
• Have students use paragraph frames to write an opinion paper explaining which was better - the book or the movie.

Principal Problems?

Some principals look down on activities like this for upper elementary students, and understandably so.  Too often, movies are used as a way to babysit students - however, this activity really can be meaningful.

This no prep resource is a great way to convince your principal that comparing and contrasting a book with its movie version can be rigorous.  They will LOVE the scaffolded compare and contrast essay and other activities.  Best of all, it can be used over and over again with ANY book that has a movie companion.

This is a great activity for the end of the year!  

Books and Movies that can be Compared and Contrasted

Below is a list of children's books that are also movies. Before showing the movies to your class, be aware of your school's policy on movies. Some of these are rated PG or PG-13 and have some language and content that you might want to fast-forward through or that might require parental consent.

Because of Winn Dixie

• The Tale of Despereaux
• The Phantom Tollbooth
• Charlotte's Web
• Wizard of Oz
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• James and the Giant Peach
• Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMN
• Where the Red Fern Grows
• Polar Express (a great option for a fun Christmas activity )
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
• The Indian in the Cupboard

Where the Wild Things Are

• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• Spookley the Square Pumpkin
• How to Train Your Dragon
• A Wrinkle in Time
• Tuck Everlasting
• Percy Jackson Series
• Harry Potter Series (your students who love Harry Potter might like some of these similar books)
• The Mouse and the Motorcycle
• The Witches

City of Ember

• Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library
• Freak the Mighty
• Flora and Ulysses
• The Bad Guys
• Maniac Magee

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Comments 178

I love to do Polar Express, Tuck Everlasting, Jumanji, The Wizard of Oz, and Charlotte’s Web (both the cartoon and regular one). I wish I could do them all in a year, but I have to pick a couple to do each year. I am doing a 4/5 split this year, so it will be harder to decide.

I love teaching Because of Winn Dixie!

I am currently teaching a Christmas carol to my 7th grade learning support students. We are going back and forth between reading the play and watching the movie. However, as far as our comparing and contrasting go, we are having more discussion than anything. This would be s fantastic resource that I could use with them right now!

Charlotte’s Web as it works great as a cross-curricular unit with life cycles in science.

My favorite novel to compare and contrast with the movie is “Hatchet”!

I love to compare and contrast The BFG. I feel that students often times enjoy the movie so much more after they have read and discussed the book. There are so many things in the book that are not in the movie and the students love to point them out.

Sarah, Plain and Tall…I’m from Kansas and I love this book because it reminds me of home and my grandparents farm. The movie was actually shot in Emporia, Kansas, where I attended college, and I actually waited on Christopher Walken at a restaurant I worked at at the time. 🙂 Great memories!

I like to compare Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” with Theodor Seuss Geisel’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. Fingers crossed! Thanks for hosting this giveaway. Teresa Special Ed Shenanigans

Polar Express would be perfect!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a good one! I also like doing Shiloh!

I loved comparing the first Harry Potter because my students loved the book and I was able to get permission to show the movie. I also do Because of Winn-Dixie and my students love that

I love to compare the movie and book: The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and The Polar Express

Wonder – It sparks great discussions and has so many great messages that benefit the students.

I just commented and realized that I hit submit too quickly. I meant to add that we like to compare Number the Stars to the Disney movie Miracle at Midnight. I accidentally mentioned the picture book The Butterfly. (Which is another great comparison)

Jumanji and Zathura, as well as Percy Jackson are all interesting to compare and contrast.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

My class loves to compare Number the Stars with the picture book The Butterfly. We also enjoy reading Island of the Blue Dolphins and then watching/comparing it to the movie.

I would love the holes package as I am planning on reading that novel in the new year

My favorite book to read and compare with the movie is the Newberry Award-winning novel The Phantom Tollbooth… such amazing fun with words, maps, adventure, and learning important lessons. Truly a timeless treasure! 🙂

My students and I love Winn Dixie! We’ll be watching the movie soon.

The Witches by Roald Dahl

Holes is my favorite!

Inside Out, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, or Sky High

I also love Matilda! Harry Potter is also a strong movie representation of the book. 🙂

Thank you so much!!

My 5th graders compare and contrast the book The Sign of the Beaver to its companion movie Keeping the Promise.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs or Horton Hears a Who!

I am a first year teacher and my 4th grade students and I have just completed reading aloud all 17 Chapters of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” – it has taken us the entire semester! I was able to get approval for us to the watch the movie the last day before winter break, and I could really use some compare/contrast activities to make the experience more meaningful (and to fill the afternoon when the movie is done!) Here’s hoping you choose a newbie to the profession! (Krista G., TMP member and 4th grade teacher in Johns Creek,GA)

We’re reading Fantastic Mr Fox at the moment, because the film is quite different it’s really interesting to see what the students can pick apart for an author’s intent and why it might be different.

Percy Jackson – The Lightning Thief! My kids love it!

I would love to compare/contrast The Giver. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I love the book! 🙂 Thank you and happy holidays!

I am an absolute Wizard of Oz fanatic! I even had a “Toto” dog and named her Ruby, after the red slippers! I always wanted to to compare and contrast with the book and movie, but couldn’t find a resource where my admin. would allow me to do it. I also love Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as well! And of course WONDER!

We’ve done To Kill a Mockingbird. I would love to do Wonder.

The Polar Express!

Thank you for all you thorough work. In my 5th grade class, we read and watch War Horse. The film adaptation is a favorite among my students. They love comparing the book and movie to see the differences. One of most talked about differences is about Joey and Albert at the end. I will not say more and spoil it! Check it out!

My favorite book to compare to the movie is The Grinch. We do the animated and the Jim Carrey version. Now, there is a new movie. We could start comparing the movies to each other!

Wonder!!!! My class LOVES the book, and they are SO excited to watch the movie! They are very similar, but my kids were mad they left a few things out, and laugh at how different the characters looked compared to what they had imagined!

compare and contrast Mr. Popper’s Penguins

Freak the Mighty and Tuck Everlasting

I love teaching Charlotte’s Web! Comparing and contrasting is one of my favorite things to do with this!

Any Narnia book with the movie version.

Tale of Desperaux and Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief.

I like to use compare and contrast of the movie and the book with either The Polar Express or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I use the old version of this movie and book rather than the Johnny Depp version which is almost identical to the book.

I’m a huge Roald Dahl fan and do at leats two of his books a year. My favourites for compare and contrast book to movie are The BFG and Charlie and the Chocolate factory. This is more about content and missed bits than plot change.

Another good one is The Tale of Despereaux – the movie is so sanitised and happified (is that a word?!) compared to the darker, and in my opinion better, book – more opportunity for critical thinking.

Winn Dixie!

Our school is showing The Polar Express to families as a fun evening activity next week. I would love to read my students the book and compare and contrast the movie and book:-)

Thanks for the awesome free resources!!!

I would love to compare “The Hate You Give!” with my class.

Wonder would be a great book/movie to compare and contrast!

Holes would be great!

We love comparing and contrasting both Where the Red Fern Grows, To Kill a Mockingbird a Mockingbird and Old Man and the Sea. I would love to do the same with Freak the Mighty or The Giver!

I love any Ronald Dahl book. Currently, we are doing BFG. Next is Matilda! 🙂

The City of Ember has been a fun one to compare movie and book. I would love to teach Because of Winn Dixie, since Kate DiCamillo is one of my favorite writers.

Swindle. I do it as a read aloud at the beginning of school, then we watch the movie.

To Kill a Mockingbird book and movie

Tuck Everlasting is a good one!

Phantom Tollbooth is one of my favorites and has been since I was younger. Although I think it’s a little too high for my current students.

Wonder is a favorite of mine.

I did Polar Express last week, and we are going to do It’s A Wonderful Life/ The Great Experience next week! 🙂

I love Holes for my 5th grade babies.

The Grinch, and The Lorax are my favorite. I am interested in looking into comparing Tale of Despeaurex

I love reading Because of Winn Dixie and we are going to watch the movie this year too! I also love the Polar Express!! I would love use your resources please!

We are just finishing Wonder and will watch the movie in a couple of weeks.

Our grade level loves to compare and contrast “The Polar Express.” We do a whole week centered around this book, then wrap up the week with a Polar Express party and the movie. Then we complete a graphic organizer to compare and contrast both of them, and write a short essay response.

Wonder! We are going to start reading that after Christmas break!

I love Because of Winn Dixie!

I love to use Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone or Chamber of Secrets with upper elementary because I’m a huge HP nerd. They take a long time to read though!

Charlotte’s Web

Right now we are reading Harry Potter (the 1st one). We will be watching the movie version to compare and contrast. 🙂

I’ve done The Grinch with classes multiple times, I was excited to do Stubby the War Dog last spring unitl I realized the movie wasn’t out yet!

Harry Potter is a fun compare and contrast.

The Worst/ Best Christmas Pageant Ever!

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe!

I want to do Ferdinand this year with my Dual Language students!

Sarah, Plain and Tall (and the series)

I use Shiloh.

Wonder. Or any Harry Potter

I’ve done Charlie and the chocolate factory as well as Charlotte’s Web. Love the activity 🙂

I love comparing and contrasting Holes.

This is such a fun activity! I’d like to try the Nutcracker, once the new movie comes out, or use an older version. I’d love to see if there is a movie for Hatchet. The Indian in the Cupboard would be fun!

We read “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” as a class novel every year in December and then watch the movie.

I have compared and contrasted Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs many times, but I would like to compare and contrast Matilda.

I like to compare/contrast Charlotte’s Web.

I like to compare/contrast “Series of Unfortunate Events”. My 4th graders love that book. We use the old movie with Jim Carey, and now with the Netflix version they are able to view it at home and come up with yet another take on the story.

Stone Fox or Polar Express!

I love comparing and contrasting the Polar Express or the Grinch with my 4th grade students.

I love to use Charlotte’s Web and Wonder.

I love your resources! I look forward to and enjoy the freebies you send! They are greatly appreciated. I would like to compare/contrast Wonder. I am currently reading the book to my students. Thank you! 🙂

I read Stelluna to my class every year, but I didn’t realize there was a movie too! I am definitely going to have to get the movie so we can compare and contrast the book vs movie. Thanks for the idea!

I love to compare and contrast The Grinch and The Lorax.

We usually compare and contrast Maniac Magee. The book is amazing, but the movie leaves out SO much of the story! Great one to prove the book is much better.

Wonder and Phantom Tollbooth

I love to compare and contrast the book/movie Wonder. Both the book and the movie are wonderful and my students enjoy both. I am doing Tuck Everlasting and The Giver this year as well.

We compare and contrast the movie The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Maniac Magee, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. My kids love finding ways the movie is different. Many of them have also promised me they will create a movie for There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom when they grow up. It is one of our favorites! 🙂

I love comparing and contrasting Because of Winn-Dixie with my students

Charlotte’s Web is fun to compare and contrast! There’s several different versions of movies to choose from – animated and non-animated.

I just started reading Because of Winn-Dixie with a fifth grader and he already saw the movie, so your compare/contrast resource is very helpful! Thank you

Each year I compare/contrast The Christmas Shoes just before Winter break. I also did Wonder last year.

I love to compare and contrast Wonder with my fifth graders!

When I taught third grade I would compare and contrast Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlotte’s Web. With my sixth graders, we compare and contrast Where the Red Fern Grows.

I love to do the movie/book comparison for HOOT. There are a lot of differences and it is a popular book with both the boys and the girls.

Book to movie– Matilda

I think The Grinch would be a great one!

The grinch is a movie and book I would like to compare/contrast

I would like to compare/contrast Wonder. Thanks for all of your resources.

I would like to compare and contrast The Best Christmas Pageant Ever! 🙂

We ha e read the Tale of Despereaux and I’d love to compare/contrast that story with the movie.

I love Charlotte’s Web!

I love compare and contrasting The Outsiders with my 6th graders, but this year I’m embarking on a new one – Percy Jackson and the Olympians – The Lightning Thief. The students are so jazzed about finishing the book and looking forward to watching the movie!!

My class reads Wizard of Oz every year. Of course, we also watch the movie. It’s the best compare & contrast! Although we did do Because if Winn Dixie last year too, because it was a Battle of Books. 😉

This is perfect! We are working on comparing and contrasting and getting ready to do Polar Express. Awesome! Choose me, choose me

Thanks for all of your resources you provide. I am interested in compare/contrast for the movie Polar Express! Thanks

This time of year I like to “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” as a compare and contrast of the book versus the movie. It has such a nice message.

Book/Movie to compare/contrast: The Grinch!!

I love doing Stuart Little! 🙂

Love Love love Charlotte’s Web to compare and contrast.

I love to compare and contrast Stone Fox with my fourth graders.

I have been comparing and contrasting movies for years. The last few years it has been harder to find the time because some administrators do not feel that showing a movie is educational. Last year I showed the movie Holes after having read the book with my fourth graders. I think I will go back to my all time favorite this year, Peter Pan (the cartoon). Many of my students have not heard of the great Disney classic movies yet alone read one.

My team teacher and I are hoping to compare and contrast the book/movie of Wonder this year in fourth grade!

I would love to use this with Wonder. 🙂

Actually, my team and I are planning to compare and contrast the Polar Express! Thank you!

Some of the book/movies I’ve done:

Hachiko Waits vs. Hachi: A Dog’s Tale Sarah, Plain & Tall Holes

Jumanji & Zathura

I have compared the books and movies for Polar Express and The BFG.

We do Wonder and we compare and contrast the book and movie! Lots of fun!

My favorite movie & book to compare & contrast is Stone Fox. There are a ton of differences between the 2 so it’s very easy to contrast for sure!

My students and I have been reading Escape from Mr Lemoncello’s Library and I just learned there is a series/movie! I’d love to use your resources!

Percy Jackson, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. We love the book.

We used Winn Dixie this year, which was a hit. We also did this last year with Wonder. We read it aloud to start the year and watched it towards the end to have a full circle ending! I’d love to try the Polar Express around this time of year as well.

I love to use Mr. Popper’s Penguins to compare and contrast a book and a movie. There students have to really listen and focus to find the similarities in the two. They always love how many differences there are and are very quick to point them out…so much so that they can hardly watch the movie for telling each other and me things like, “Hey! They didn’t do that in the book.” or “That’s not anything like how Mr. Popper acted in the book.” I love to see that they are paying attention to those details, and it helps me know how well they listened to the book as we read it in class. I would love to have additional resources to use in my classroom to make my book/movie comparison lessons more engaging. Thank you for the opportunity, and thank you for all that you do and share with educators.

I love to compare and contrast The Sign of The Beaver. It’s old but every year the students love it. The movie is different enough that it gives lots of opportunities for discussions.

I would like to try to compare and contrast the book and movie versions of Stellaluna.

I am comparing and contrasting The Westing Game book and movie the week before Christmas.

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The Grinch would be great for my fourth graders!

I want to compare and contrast Because of Winn Dixie with my students!

Because of Winn Dixie and Polar Express

Holes for sure is my favorite! What a great resource.

I would love to compare and contrast the book and movie Polar Express!

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

We have compared and contrasted the book and movie “Holes”! I also like to do “Charlotte’s Web”.

I also love reading Matilda! So many themes you can pull from that text. Around this time of year, we like to read The Grinch, discuss it in depth, then watch the classic version of the movie. Inadvertently, we are also able to make comparisons with the more recent version of The Grinch and compare both adaptations with the book.

My students and I are finishing Charlie and the chocolates factory! I would love to put this great spin on watching the movie. #12daysofChristmas

I would love any of the books/movies listed above. Especially Polar Express! One of my favorites! Thanks for everything!

I love Polar Express of course! But earlier this year we did Stone Fox with my third graders and that was so fun! They loved finding all the little differences!

Where the red fern grows is an excellent comparison but watching the movie students can really feel the emotion which in the book they may not understand some of the events that take place

My favorite book/movie to compare and contrast is “Bridge to Terabithia” by Katherine Paterson. The students get to compare and contrast events that happen in the book and not in the movie (or vice versa), but an added bonus is they get to compare and contrast the visual that they create in their minds of imaginary world Terabithia and the magical world the producers made. There are lot of points to compare that it always leads to a great discussion!

We love to compare any Roald Dahl books/movies.

My third graders have been reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and they have been loving it!! We will be finishing it next week, so the following week (right before break) we will be watching the movie! I was already planning on having my students compare and contrast the movie to the book, so this resources would definitely be a huge help!!

I would like to compare the book/movie Wonder with my kiddos.

My favorite book and movie to compare and contrast is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. My 5th graders love it!

A unit my students are doing focuses on the Nez Perce Indian tribe. We read the book, Thunder Rolling in the Mountains, and then watch the movie, I Will Cry No More Forever. I have my students do some comparing/contrasting, but I would love your resources! Thank you!

The first book we read is Mrs Frisby and the Rays of NIMH. We then compare and contrast it with the movie, the Rats of Nimh. This time of year we read A Christmas Carol together and then watch A Muppet Christmas Carol and compare. It’s a bit silly, but so fun for the last week before Christmas break. I also hope to use The Man Who Invented Christmas and do a little compare and contrast with Dickens actual life.

So I would love to compare and contrast Harry Potter, but it is such a taboo book and I don’t know that I’d even want to try it. I would also love Matilda! I’ve never thought of that one, but I saw it on the list as I was scrolling through, and thought it would sound fun!

I would love to compare and contrast “The Polar Express” movie and book. Not only is it perfect to read around the holidays, but we are actually working on comparing and contrasting right now. It is a perfect way to do something fun and interesting with the kids that will also be educational and get them in the holiday spirit.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the latest book/movie we have done this with. Back when the first Harry Potter movie came out, we did that one and it was a HUGE hit. There were so many points to compare and contrast in that set! The kids loved it!!! One student told me that reading the book was like a movie playing is his head, because the details were so well written in the book. I think I may need to recycle that one. 🙂

Thank you! Have a great day!

I am reading Because of Winn-Dixie for the first time with a class. I would love to have the movie to show them when we finish right before winter break.

I am currently reading Tale of Depereaux with my four sections of language arts classes. I would love to have some resources to help my students compare and contrast the book to the movie!

Thank you, Ms. G Heiligenstein

My latest favorite movie/book to compare/contrast is Wonder.

I just compared and contrasted The Jungle Book movie and story and then we got to watch a play of it too. The kids loved it!

I would love to compare/contrast the book and movie “Wonder” with my students. Such good themes and point of view!!

I would love to be able to compare and contrast the book and movie “Wonder”.

My all time favorite read aloud and movie to watch with my kids is Holes! I read this book as a kid probably 5 or 6 times. I love being able to share my love for this book and the movie. 🙂 It’s great for 5th and 6th grade students.

I love comparing Balto to the movie. The real story to the cartoon. I would love to have this resource to use during this unit. Happy Holidays. Debbie

My students are a little older than yours but good materials are good materials. We are currently doing 2 different book/movie projects (the students had a choice.) We are doing Wonder and The Hate U Give.

I use The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Giver with my middle school students.

I’ve been receiving your newsletter for some time now. Perhaps I originally requested your sub plans, but if so I’m afraid I’ve mislaid them. Now when I click on the button to request them, nothing happens.

Could you please send me your sub plans, maybe via email?

I emailed them to you!

My class always enjoys “Lemoney Snickett: A Series of Unfortunate Events.”

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Beowulf: Comparing the Movie and the Book

The story of Beowulf has remained a significant work for centuries not only because it is one of our first lengthy works of English, but also because of the timelessness of the themes it contains and its applicability to a modern audience, regardless of the period in which ‘modern’ is denoted. One of the major themes of the story still applicable today is the concept of honorable courage, doing the right thing for the benefit of the many even though it may mean the sacrifice of the self.

This theme is particularly brought out when Beowulf faces the dragon toward the end of the saga. Comparing this scene as it appears in the ancient poem with its portrayal in the recent film Beowulf released in 2007 reveals that while there are some significant changes made to the action as the literature is brought into a filmic context, this same theme of self-sacrifice for the greater good remains a central element. By comparing the film and the book, similarities between the two stories can be traced as well as differences which can then be analyzed as to how each strives to make this theme evident.

In both the book and the film, Beowulf’s encounter with the dragon begins with the removal of a golden cup from his hoard. While this is an unidentified and otherwise meaningless cup accidentally removed by a peasant in the book, the return of a profoundly significant cup in the film helps to establish a connection between the earlier battles with Grendel and his mother and the upcoming battle with the dragon.

In each case, Beowulf goes to face the dragon with a group of men but arrives at the dragon’s lair with only a single helper, a young kinsman in the book, and an aging friend in the film. Many of the key events of the actual battle between dragon and man remain the same as well. Beowulf is driven off by flame, is failed by his sword, and must then attack using little more than a stabbing knife. Beowulf is burned horribly by the dragon’s fire as he attempts to kill it and knows of the dragon’s certain death before he dies himself of the wounds received during the battle.

However, in the book, Beowulf is assisted in killing the dragon by his second, the young kinsman Wiglaf, without whom he would have lost the fight leaving the dragon free to continue terrorizing the people. In an attempt to encourage his other warriors to assist him in helping Beowulf, Wiglaf tells the other men, “I had far rather that the flame should enfold my flesh-frame there alongside my gold-giver – as God knows of me.

To bear our shields back to our homes would seem unfitting to me unless first, we have been able to kill the foe and defend the life of the prince of the Weather-Geats” (2650-2656). Rather than running as all of the other thanes had done, Wiglaf boldly stands beside Beowulf and rushes in to defend Beowulf when the dragon manages to get him between his jaws. In the actions of Wiglaf, the Beowulf poet demonstrates the necessity for courageous men to go out and defend the public who may or may not even know what was put at stake for the individual in doing so. Because the dragon is killed and Beowulf remains alive long enough to see the dead carcass, Wiglaf is granted kingship over Beowulf’s lands as the only man willing to stand and defend them from whatever may attack.

The film does not provide Beowulf with this helpful younger man at his side in his moment of near-failure. The epic battle between Beowulf and the dragon takes place primarily in the air, with Beowulf clinging to the dragon’s hide with the help of a sword plunged deep into the skin of the beast but otherwise causing it little damage. As a result, Wiglaf, having aged as much as his leader, can do little to help but gallop after the flying dragon and save the two women important enough to Beowulf to cut off his own arm in order to reach the dragon’s heart and kill it. In his headlong and harrowing attempt to catch up with Beowulf and the dragon, Wiglaf does demonstrate the same kind of unfailing loyalty to his lord demonstrated in the book, but Beowulf himself provides the lesson regarding honorable courage. Although he is now old, he has learned the lesson Hrothgar did not. In failing to provide the water demon with a new young hero to seduce, Beowulf dies with the hope that the wiser Wiglaf might prevail against her. He knows he is going to his death in attempting to fight the dragon, but he faces the challenge with a steady heart, knowing he is working for the greater good of his kingdom. The film ends with the water demon attempting to seduce Wiglaf, who involuntarily steps into the water but retains his suspicious glance.

While the film has managed to change the epic battle between the dragon and Beowulf to a great deal, it does so as a means of addressing one of the most glaring holes in the poem, which is a connection between the early battles of Beowulf’s younger days with his tremendous battle at the end of the poem.

In attempting to communicate with a more sophisticated and worldly audience, the filmmakers provided enough difference and depth in their few amendments to convey the same sense of courage in the face of death that was conveyed to earlier audiences who did not require the same degree of intrigue and continuity as today’s media-saturated crowd.

Works Cited

Beowulf. Michael Alexander (Trans.). New York: Penguin Classics, 1973.

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1. StudyCorgi . "Beowulf: Comparing the Movie and the Book." September 24, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/beowulf-comparing-the-movie-and-the-book/.

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5 Compare and Contrast Essay Examples (Full Text)

A compare and contrast essay selects two or more items that are critically analyzed to demonstrate their differences and similarities. Here is a template for you that provides the general structure:

A range of example essays is presented below.

Compare and Contrast Essay Examples

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(Level: University Undergraduate)

Thesis Statement: “This essay will critically examine and compare the developmental theories of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, focusing on their differing views on cognitive development in children and their influence on educational psychology, through an exploration of key concepts such as the role of culture and environment, scaffolding, equilibration, and their overall implications for educational practices..”

#2 Democracy vs Authoritarianism Essay

Thesis Statement: “The thesis of this analysis is that, despite the efficiency and control offered by authoritarian regimes, democratic systems, with their emphasis on individual freedoms, participatory governance, and social welfare, present a more balanced and ethically sound approach to governance, better aligned with the ideals of a just and progressive society.”

#3 Apples vs Oranges Essay

1190 Words | 5 Pages | 0 References

(Level: 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade)

Thesis Statement: “While apples and oranges are both popular and nutritious fruits, they differ significantly in their taste profiles, nutritional benefits, cultural symbolism, and culinary applications.”

#4 Nature vs Nurture Essay

1525 Words | 5 Pages | 11 References

(Level: High School and College)

Thesis Statement: “The purpose of this essay is to examine and elucidate the complex and interconnected roles of genetic inheritance (nature) and environmental influences (nurture) in shaping human development across various domains such as physical traits, personality, behavior, intelligence, and abilities.”

#5 Dogs vs Cats Essay

1095 Words | 5 Pages | 7 Bibliographic Sources

(Level: 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade)

Thesis Statement: “This essay explores the distinctive characteristics, emotional connections, and lifestyle considerations associated with owning dogs and cats, aiming to illuminate the unique joys and benefits each pet brings to their human companions.”

How to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay

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1. Essay Planning

First, I recommend using my compare and contrast worksheet, which acts like a Venn Diagram, walking you through the steps of comparing the similarities and differences of the concepts or items you’re comparing.

I recommend selecting 3-5 features that can be compared, as shown in the worksheet:

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Once you’ve completed the worksheet, you’re ready to start writing. Go systematically through each feature you are comparing and discuss the similarities and differences, then make an evaluative statement after showing your depth of knowledge:

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How to Write a Compare and Contrast Thesis Statement

Compare and contrast thesis statements can either:

• Remain neutral in an expository tone.
• Prosecute an argument about which of the items you’re comparing is overall best.

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Harry Potter Books and Movies Compare & Contrast Essay

One of things that make life fascinating is the diversity and variance that different people and things exhibit. These differences may be obvious or deeply disguised requiring one to take a critical look at the item in order to notice them.

In this paper, I shall set out to compare two items; J. K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” the Book and its movie adaptation. By so doing, I shall demonstrate that there do exist significant differences as well as similarities between the two items despite them appearing to be wholly similar.

A Comparative Analysis

Both the book and its film adaptation share the character set. The lead character is the hero Harry Potter, a famous wizard whose adventures are the central focus of the book and the movie. In the wizard world, Harry Potter is engaged in a prolonged fight to defeat the immensely powerful and evil wizard Lord Voldemort. Harry potter is assisted in his noble quest by his two best friends Ron and Hermione. These two characters play significant roles in the plot development of both the movie and the book.

The magical school that Harry and his friends attend so as to learn about wizardry is represented in an identical manner in both the book and the movie. The school building is a gigantic and daunting castle which is inaccessible to non-magical people. According to the book, the castle has a lake, extensive grounds and a forest.

The Movie properly depicts this as a lake can be seen as the students arrive at the school by use of a train. The imposing nature of the castle is evident and in many scenes from the movie, Harry Potter and his friends venture out into the fields and forests that are part of the school grounds.

However, the representation of one of the lead characters Hermione in the movie is not a true depiction of what she is in the book. In the book, Hermione is described as a brightest girl in the school. Her know-it-all attitude alienates her from the rest of the students.

Nothing to the book indicates that Hermione is an attractive girl and she is in fact describe as having large protruding teach and bushy brown hair. However, the movie presents Hermione as a physically attractive and likable character. This is inconsistent with the image that one builds form reading the novel.

In the book, the prisoner of Azkaban, the character Sirius Black who is Harry’s godfather, plays a minor role despite him being central to the plot of the book. His appearances in the book are relatively few considering that he is the focal point of the book.

The book instead focuses on developing the story around Sirius and therefore, despite his not being mentioned every now and then, one can sense his involvement throughout the book. In the movie, Sirius plays a more predominant role and he is afforded relatively more screen time than one would expect from the book.

The movie adaptation contains numerous omissions of events that are recorded in the book. This is to be expected considering the relatively small length of the movie compared to the size of the book. Harry Potter’s exchanges with his uncle’s family are left out and one can therefore not correctly gauge the nature of the relationship from watching the film. From the book, it is clear that Harry Potter hates staying with his relatives who despise him.

In this paper, I set out to compare two items so as to highlight their similarities and differences. From my comparison of the book “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and its movie adaptation, it is clear that there are a lot of similarities and differences between the two. Nevertheless, both the movie and the book prove to be equally entertaining despite their differences.

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IvyPanda. (2023, October 31). Harry Potter Books and Movies. https://ivypanda.com/essays/a-comparison-of-j-k-rowlings-book-harry-potter-and-the-prisoner-of-azkaban-and-its-movie-adaptation/

"Harry Potter Books and Movies." IvyPanda , 31 Oct. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/a-comparison-of-j-k-rowlings-book-harry-potter-and-the-prisoner-of-azkaban-and-its-movie-adaptation/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Harry Potter Books and Movies'. 31 October.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Harry Potter Books and Movies." October 31, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/a-comparison-of-j-k-rowlings-book-harry-potter-and-the-prisoner-of-azkaban-and-its-movie-adaptation/.

1. IvyPanda . "Harry Potter Books and Movies." October 31, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/a-comparison-of-j-k-rowlings-book-harry-potter-and-the-prisoner-of-azkaban-and-its-movie-adaptation/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Harry Potter Books and Movies." October 31, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/a-comparison-of-j-k-rowlings-book-harry-potter-and-the-prisoner-of-azkaban-and-its-movie-adaptation/.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — The Great Gatsby — “The Great Gatsby”: Comparison of The Movie and The Book

"The Great Gatsby": Comparison of The Movie and The Book

• Categories: Film Analysis The Great Gatsby

About this sample

Words: 745 |

Published: Dec 16, 2021

Words: 745 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Works Cited:

• Furuhata, Y. (2011). Beyond Boundaries: Genre, Narrative, and the Liminal Experience in Miyazaki's Spirited Away. Journal of Japanese and Korean Cinema , 3(1), 23-39.
• Lissauer, G. (2015). The Name Game: Spirited Away and the Power of Identity. In A. McMurray & R. Barton Palmer (Eds.), Dreams Rewired: Romanticism , Modernism, and the Cinema of Dreams (pp. 157-173). Amsterdam University Press.
• Matsunaga, K. (2010). Miyazaki's Spirited Away: Film of the Fantastic and Evolving Japanese Folk Symbols. Journal of Religion and Film, 14(2), 1-20.
• Penney, M. (2009). Spirited Away and the Conventions of Japanese Coming-of-Age Narratives. Japanese Studies, 29(2), 239-249.
• Rosenberg, A. (2014). Spirited Away and the Art of Surrender. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2014/06/30/spirited-away-and-the-art-of-surrender/
• Shingler, A. (2018). Spirited Away: An Interpretation of Its Symbolism. Mythlore, 36(2), 153-168.
• Stroud, S. R. (2013). Good and Evil in Miyazaki's Spirited Away. In M. J. Valdivia (Ed.), The International Handbook of Children, Media, and Culture (pp. 281-298). John Wiley & Sons.

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• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

Learning Goals

• Analyze the choices directors make in creating a movie based on a book.
• Write a critique on the film adaptation of a book.
• Identify the main events in a story.
• Compare and contrast a book and its movie adaptation

Comparing and Contrasting Book to Movie Adaptations

Overview / Description:

Students identify the main events that take place in a children's classic picture book.  Students will then compare and contrast the book to the film using specific events from both.  Students will analyze the choices the director makes in recreating the events from the book.  Lastly, students will write a movie review based on the analysis of the events.

Learning goals/objectives:

After completing this activity, students should be able to . . .

• identify the main events in a story.
• compare and contrast a book and its movie adaptation.
• analyze the choices directors make in creating a movie based on a book.
• write a critique on the film adaptation of the book.

Workplace Readiness Skill: (place an X in front of all which apply)

            X Social Skills                        X Communication

X Teamwork                        X Critical Thinking

  Attitude and Initiative        X Planning and Organization

X Professionalism                X Media Etiquette

Content Standards :( Copy and paste all relevant standards. Make sure to drill all the way down to the performance indicator level, as that will be what you need to link when uploading to the WISELearn platform. )

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2 Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.3 Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.4 Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.5 Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.6 Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.7 Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.9 Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.
• KC1.a: Plan and employ effective research strategies.
•  KC1.a.9.m: Demonstrate and practice using an inquiry-based process that involves asking questions, investigating the answers, and developing new understandings for personal or academic learning activities.
• KC1.b: Evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility, and relevance of information, media, data or other resources.
• KC1.b.5.m: Practice and demonstrate the ability to evaluate resources for accuracy, perspective, credibility, and relevance while distinguishing between fact and opinion in the research.
• KC1.b.6.m: Recognize the importance of leveraging multiple viewpoints in decision-making and implementation.
• KC2.a: Produce creative artifacts.
• KC2.a.3.m: Explore, select, and utilize multiple sources of curated information to produce creative artifacts for multiple audiences demonstrating meaningful connections or conclusions.

Materials: (link all necessary handouts, videos, additional resources )

Book vs. Movie Graphic Organizer

Movie Review Sample

Several copies of The Polar Express  by Chris Van Allsburg

The Polar Express  movie (2004)

Compare/Contrast Essay Outline (many online) - intro, body 1 similarities, body 2 differences, conclusion

LEARNING ACTIVITY

Describe each step of the learning activity including strategies that will be used to meet the learning objective.

T=Teacher Focus Lesson

WG=Whole Group

SM=Small Group

I=Independent

State approx. amount of time for each task

Assessment : What evidence will you collect of student learning?  Link assessment tools here.

• Each step allows for a check for understanding.
• Main events of the story.
• How events are depicted in the book and the movie.
• Analysis of the director’s choices.
• Review (Compare/Contrast Essay)
• Essay rubric (not included with lesson)

Wrap-Up:

Revisit objectives through questioning.  Students may respond in a discussion or through writing.

Extension Activity:

Students choose a book and movie adaptation of the book to repeat the process with.  This will allow for students to demonstrate they can analyze director’s craft independently.  There are many list of book to movie adaptations for children online.  

OER Commons License : Go to the OER Commons at https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/  and follow the steps under “Choose a License.” Once your OER Commons license has been created you can cut and paste the license directly into this lesson template.

ATTACHMENTS  Link additional resources not previously linked above. Go back and create bookmarks from the Materials section to these resources.

Wisconsin Standards for English Language Arts

Learning Domain: Reading for Literature

Standard: Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)

Standard: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

Standard: Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

Standard: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.

Standard: Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot.

Standard: Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.

Standard: Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story, drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live version of the text, including contrasting what they “see” and “hear” when reading the text to what they perceive when they listen or watch.

Standard: Compare and contrast texts in different forms or genres (e.g., stories and poems; historical novels and fantasy stories) in terms of their approaches to similar themes and topics.

Learning Domain: Writing

Standard: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)

Standard: Apply grade 6 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Compare and contrast texts in different forms or genres [e.g., stories and poems; historical novels and fantasy stories]in terms of their approaches to similar themes and topics”).

Wisconsin Standards for Information and Technology Literacy

Learning Domain: Knowledge Constructor

Standard: Demonstrate and practice using an inquiry-based process that involves asking questions, investigating the answers, and developing new understandings for personal or academic learning activities.

Standard: Practice and demonstrate the ability to evaluate resources for accuracy, perspective, credibility, and relevance while distinguishing between fact and opinion in the research.

Standard: Recognize the importance of leveraging multiple viewpoints in decision-making and implementation.

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On Politics

Three questions about politics and the campus protests.

The encampments present a new wrinkle in a year already knotted by war abroad and domestic discord.

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By Jess Bidgood

The pro-Palestinian student encampments protesting the war in Gaza swept across the country this week, and with them, dramatic imagery of arrests and crackdowns from New York to Texas to Southern California.

Soon, the comparison to another protest-filled election year inevitably arose. Is 2024 going to morph into something that feels like 1968?

That year, protests at Columbia University exploded amid a nationwide movement against the Vietnam War, one that involved violent clashes as police moved in on protesters at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago that summer. Democrats, who had been deeply divided over the war, ultimately lost the election to President Nixon.

There are many differences between then and now, and it is much too soon to know whether the campus protests happening now will come to feel like what happened that seismic year. But the bubbling up of protest activity across college campuses half a year before a presidential election has made 2024 — a year already knotted by war overseas and deep domestic political division — that much more complicated. It’s another question mark in a political season already full of them.

Here are three questions about the politics of this moment — questions that my colleagues and I will continue to explore in the coming weeks and months.

Do the protests represent a broad disaffection that will hurt Democrats?

The students demonstrating on college campuses across the nation are a physical embodiment of the way that the Democratic base has been divided by the war in Gaza. They have drawn renewed attention to the disappointment many young and progressive voters feel about the Biden administration’s support of Israel in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. (While largely peaceful, the protests have also been criticized for some demonstrators’ use of antisemitic language.)

“So much of our youth and so much of our community is rejecting so much of the status quo,” said Kaia Shah, 23, a researcher and recent graduate of U.C.L.A., who spoke with me by phone from the protest encampment outside Royce Hall, which she joined at 4 a.m. on Thursday.

But the demonstrators’ demands, Shah said, aren’t about politics. The students are urging U.C.L.A. to divest from corporations that are profiting from the conflict in Gaza.

“Our focus has nothing to do with the election,” Shah said. “That is really irrelevant to us and our overall cause of achieving a permanent cease-fire.”

Some progressive organizers — and even the demonstrators themselves — say the campus protests are nevertheless a warning sign for President Biden, who this week condemned the antisemitism that has surfaced in some of the protests, but also condemned “those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.”

“A lot of people don’t see a difference, truly, between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, and that has led to a lot of disillusionment,” Sherif Ibrahim, a graduate student in film at Columbia and a participant in the encampment, told my colleague Charles Homans. “Of course, Trump is a horrible, horrific human being who is not any better than Biden. But I think it’s that the Democratic Party does so much to tap into our hope, and consistently disappoints.”

Democrats have pointed to polling data that suggests students like Shah and Ibrahim aren’t representative of a majority of young voters, a group the Biden campaign is targeting with an array of initiatives. A poll by the Institute of Politics at Harvard University found that Gaza ranked fairly low on young voters’ list of top issues. Many Democrats believe that when confronted with a choice between Biden and Trump, young voters and those upset over Gaza will choose Biden.

Representative Barbara Lee of California said elected leaders should be listening to young voters.

“Young people’s voices will be heard,” she said, “both now and in November.”

How are Republicans trying to use the protests to their advantage?

When President Trump’s trial in New York opened last week, a cast of right-wing provocateurs showed up outside to seek attention and protest the proceedings. But after the protests at Columbia erupted, something interesting happened: Some of those Republican figures, including Laura Loomer, headed uptown to join the demonstrations outside the university gates.

They aren’t the only ones who have sought to seize on the protests, slamming them as an image of chaos and a font of antisemitism. This week, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Representative Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, who has made a point of grilling university leaders about antisemitism , visited Columbia. Johnson urged the university’s president, Nemat Shafik, to resign.

Shafik had been under fire from students and faculty for her decision to send police officers to clear a protest encampment last week . But Johnson’s visit also served as a reminder of how Republican maneuvers on the issue can backfire, and how politics are already shaping the reaction on campus.

On Friday, the Columbia University Senate rebuked the university’s president but stopped short of a more severe censure vote. My colleague Stephanie Saul, who covers higher education, reported earlier in the day that members worried a censure would essentially hand a win to the congressional Republicans who have castigated her.

“We shouldn’t be bullied by someone in Congress,” said Carol Garber, a professor of behavioral sciences and a member of the senate.

Where does it go from here?

Representative Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York, sees some parallels between the demonstrations of today and those of 1968, when he was a Columbia student.

“I think they’re quite similar,” Nadler said. “They were massive demonstrations.” He noted that he was not among the students who occupied several Columbia buildings that year.

But, he added, “there’s also a great difference politically.”

The antiwar demonstrations of 1968, which were driven in part by opposition to the draft, grew far larger than the current protests have, becoming an inescapable part of American life. And they culminated in the enormous protests at the Democratic convention in Chicago. Many Democrats are steeling themselves for this year’s convention, which will be held in the same city.

“There are going to be protests if the war’s still going on, which I’m afraid it will be,” Nadler said.

Protests are not uncommon at conventions, and Democratic officials with the convention say they are working to “keep the city secure while respecting rights to peacefully protest.”

“The freedom to make your voice heard is fundamental to American democracy and has been a fixture of political conventions and events for decades,” said Matt Hill, a spokesman for the Democratic National Convention.

It’s not yet clear how long the protest encampments will endure with the end of the school year approaching, although some demonstrators say they plan to stay for the long haul. The next test for Biden and college campuses may come next month, when he gives a series of commencement addresses.

The view from the ground in Austin

One of the campuses that saw dramatic arrests of pro-Palestinian student protesters this week was the University of Texas at Austin, where 57 people were arrested on Wednesday (charges against them have since been dropped ). I talked to my colleague J. David Goodman , who reports on Texas, about what took place. Our conversation was edited for length and clarity.

Can you tell me a little bit about how the confrontation unfolded?

This was not an encampment that had been established for a while. Instead, it seems the university decided they needed to act proactively to stop an encampment from forming.

The arrests were chaotic enough that members of the press were right in the middle of surges by the police, causing the crowd to behave in unpredictable ways. The university claimed outside agitators had come in, and that they moved swiftly to stop this thing from establishing itself, but some faculty members still have deep concerns about what happened. (Later, the university said 26 of those arrested were not affiliated with the university.)

The campus is steps from the Republican-dominated State Capitol, so you have Republican state leaders kind of bristling at the stuff that they see happening in the Democratic-led capital city, and taking action. They’ve said that it was at the request of the university president, but at the direction of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, that the state police went in.

What’s the political advantage for Abbott in cracking down the way he did?

We’ve already seen Republicans around the country cheering Abbott’s actions. Now, I also think it benefits him politically in Texas — it creates a favorable contrast for him with the schools in New York. It sort of shows that Texas is different, and that he stands for law and order.

Since the protest was cleared, how have student demonstrators reacted?

The next day there had been an unrelated protest scheduled at the same spot. Those organizers welcomed in the pro-Palestinian organizers and other students and faculty who were upset at what had happened on campus. That gathering was, by all accounts, much larger than the one that the police had come in to break up the day before. The police hung back, and students abided their directive that activity end at 10 p.m.

Some members of the faculty are still trying to get answers about what happened on Wednesday, and it’s their sense that the university went too far. People are pretty upset on campus. And this is all happening right at the end of the year — the last day of classes is Monday.

Jess Bidgood is a managing correspondent for The Times and writes the On Politics newsletter, a guide to the 2024 election and beyond. More about Jess Bidgood