Jaws

The original novel, Jaws, was significantly altered when it was adapted into a movie for
the purposes of adding in some drama and exciting the viewers. The novel does not have as
much drama, and adapting it exactly as it would have led to the creation of a rather boring movie.
For instance, the movie included a scene where a shark attacks and even kills Mrs. Kintner’s son.
The woman can be seen in the movie approaching Brody quite angrily, and she even slaps him
across the face (Spielberg). She accuses him of not being able to protect the island and its people,
hence failing in his mandate. The viewers gasp as they watch the moment. It is an interesting
scene that is in the movie and not in the original novel.
The changes are evident in the movie, and some of them appear in a very different way
than earlier depicted in the novel. The changes were necessary because they made the movie
cinematic and captivating. For instance, the ending of the movie has made cinematic history. The
change was, therefore, necessary because “While that ending plays into the random nature of the
shark’s overall attacks, it doesn’t sound like something that would make for an exciting or
cinematic finale” (Kaye 3). A change made it interesting for a movie ending.
Overall, the changes in the original version of the novel were necessary. They made the
movie interesting and captivating to watch. I prefer the movie because it is thrilling. While

Surname 2
Benchley was opposed to the changes and was even thrown out of the production team for
opposing Spielberg, I think that the novel was missing some spark that had to be added to the
movie to make it memorable.

Surname 3

Work Cited

Kaye, Don. “How Jaws Went from Bestselling Book to Blockbuster Movie,” Den of Geek.
https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/how-jaws-went-from-best-selling-book-to-
blockbustermovie/ Accessed 9 April 2022
Spielberg, Steven. Jaws. Universal Pictures, 1975.