Raymond Wen Block B-1 Mystery Summative Writing Task

The Heart of the Mystery: Summative Writing Task

The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery. Anais Nin. In the book and film adaptations of The Hound of The Baskervilles the themes of mystery are interwoven in the plot of this story. The book and film are similar in their theme, plot and many literary devices. The book and film also have some differences in the plot because the director has to adapt the book so that it was fit to be watched as a movie. The director has made these choices because it is necessary and effective the way to adjust the book into the film. The film and the book versions of The Hound of the Baskervilles are similar and different in many ways because the director adapts the film to make it viewable for the screen. The book and film adaptations have similar themes and other literary components. The book has many themes encompassed and interwoven in the plot. First, a theme of scientific exploration and usage of forensic science is present in both books. Holmes uses many techniques from forensic science to observe and make inferences about different things. Like in the book, Holmes uses his knowledge of seventy-five perfumes, which is necessary that a criminal expert should be able to distinguish from each other. (Doyle 220). Likewise, in the movie Sherlock also identifies the perfumes and other fragrances. In the book and movie, Stapleton shows much interest to anthropology and taxonomy, and has many collections of various things he has found. In the movie he is found digging for primitive human remains, and is shown has having lots of skulls and specimens of different things he has found. Equally important, is the mood of the book, it provokes a feeling or an emotion to the reader or audience of the book and movie. Both forms of the story provoke a feeling of mystery, eeriness, and superstition with their details. In the book,

Raymond Wen Block B-1 Mystery Summative Writing Task the moor is described as being, mottled with gnarled and craggy cairns and tors (Doyle 78) the movie also depicts the moor being as desolate and barren wasteland and it shows it as damp, and almost wicked place. Even though the book and movie are similar, there are some differences between the two forms of the Hound of the Baskervilles. The relationships between different characters are also very prominent in making a strong plot. A very important relationship is the relationship between Holmes and Watson. Holmes and Watson both have a close relationship, and usually team up on the cases. But, sometimes Holmes can be secretive and not tell anything to Watson, and it makes Watson angry and he feels that, Then [Holmes] used [Watson] and yet do not trust [Watson] (Doyle 167). Identically in the movie Watson also feels betrayed by Holmes, but then understands how it all will play out. On the contrary, the book and movie are at times different from each other. The book and the movie are modified differently and have differences because the director. In the book, there is a multitude of characters included Laura Lyons, Frankland, Cartwright, etc. The author uses these extra characters to make the plot more intricate and it readers expectations are changed and it grabs the attentions of the reader. The movie didnt include many secondary characters because it would make the audience confused and not understand what was going on in the scene of the movie. The book and movie had some different plots, but at the end they had the same events happening. For an example, in the book they had not encountered Selden much until the Barrymores told about, his unhappy brother starving on the moor (Doyle 126) However in the movie, Sir Henry Baskerville encounters Selden and is attacked by him. The book also covers a variety of clues that the movie doesnt include. Like when Dr. Mortimer identified the cigar ash, and concluded that Sir Charles had evidently stood

Raymond Wen Block B-1 Mystery Summative Writing Task there for five or ten minutes. (Doyle 34) In the movie there is no mention of the cigar ash. The director makes choices to adapt the literature so that it is appropriate as a movie. The movie producers use these choices because it portrays the story from a different way from the book. The director has chosen to make some changes because it is another way to show book that is more understandable to the audience, but it does not change the plot or main story too much. The film director, David Attwood makes these changes to adapt the literature so that it was fit for the screen. In the book there are many details, like the about Dr. Mortimer or Laura Lyons. The movie is not as detailed and thorough as the book, because it can only be one to two hours long, the director can only use the most important plot details to be in the film. If he put in Laura Lyons or Frankland he could have created a very scene that would make the film longer and more unexciting. If the director had put in a lot of details into the plot of the film then the film would be much lengthier and boring. The director also uses other techniques that the book doesnt have. The director incorporated many ways to manipulate the moviegoers aspect of the film. He uses the lighting, music, background, and weather to change the watchers view. He sometimes creates dramatic music to foreshadow an event or he might dampen or raise the lighting depending on the situation. The director adapts the book so that the audience can view and understand it better. There are many similarities to the film and the book because they are essential to the movie. There are also some slight differences, because Attwood had to adapt the story so that it could be turned into a movie and so the watchers could comprehend what was happening. Attwood made these choices so that the plot of The Hound of the Baskervilles would be suitable in the movie theatre.

Raymond Wen Block B-1 Mystery Summative Writing Task Overall, Attwood successfully created a movie that accurately depicted the story of The Hound of the Baskervilles.

References
Attwood, David, dir. The Hound of the Baskervilles, British Broadcasting Corporation, 2002. DVD Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Hound of the Baskervilles. New York: Dell, 1959. Print.