The topic under discussion is the analysis of the novel and the similarly named film version Ghost World. The paper deals with the main themes revealed in both versions and the ways of their expression.
One of the main themes, which is common both for the graphic novel and for its adapted film version, is the life of teenagers in a post-graduation period. Every person at least one time in his or her life comes across the situation when it is necessary to make a choice concerning a future occupation. This period is characterized by a feeling of anxiety and uncertainty caused by changes in daily life. After graduating from school, the world is perceived in another way. Daniel Clowes has made an attempt to express all these doubts and hesitations on the example of the main characters of Ghost World.
The main characters of the novel are two girls Enid Coleslaw and Rebecca Doppelmeyer. They have just graduated from school and have their last holiday. They live in a small and rather dull provincial town. All their entertainments are TV and fashion magazines. Suffering from boredom, the girls like to gossip in a local diner named Angels and to mock its visitors (Clowes 10).
Enid has made a decision to enter a college, while Rebecca is going to become a waitress. This fact makes the girls think that sooner or later, their careless life will come to an end, and their previous relations will be damaged by adulthood. On the contrary, in the film version, Enid stays home without any plans for the future (Ghost World).
It must be admitted that emotions from watching the film version and the impressions from the novel vary greatly. At the same time, both versions have managed to express the one common idea. The girls realize the fact that everything has changed in their life, but they do not want these changes.
It goes without saying that there are a lot of differences between the versions.
First of all, the perception of the two main characters is different. In the comic novel, the leading role in the relationship between these girls belongs to Enid, while in the film version, she relies upon Rebecca. Moreover, some additional characters which have been absent in the novel are implemented. They are Seymour, who does not exist in the original version, as well as the art teacher Roberta Allsworth and the loiterer Doug. These changes have caused certain differences in perceptions of two versions. In the adapted version, the attention is focused on the relations between Seymour and Enid, rather than on the relations between the girls.
The image of Enid in the original comic version is rather negative. She is constantly playing tricks on surrounding people like Bob Skeetes or Bearded Windbreaker who have never done any harm to her. She acts in such a way just for an entertainment. She criticizes and mocks practically everybody from her surroundings. As a result Enids evil temper isolates her from her friends and causes her loneliness. At the same time, a reader has no intention to sympathize Enid. In the original version, she is represented as an impossible person.
In comparison with the novel in the adapted film version Enid is quite different. As it has been mentioned before, the leading role in their friendly relationship has been transmitted to Rebecca. However, Enid has become gentler and less cynical. At the same time, the original language of the main characters of the novel, which is typical for the teenagers, has been transmitted practically without changes into the film version. In spite of the wide usage of slang in her speech, Enid is perceived by the viewer in other way. A viewer sympathizes her.
Apart from the differences between the plots and characters, the novel and the film version use different means in order to make a specific impact on the audience. Both of them rely on visual images but they are expressed in different ways.
The most important difference between the versions lies in a color scheme. The prevailing usage of white, black and green in the novel creates its specific and even gothic atmosphere, which is absent in the adapted film version. This rather mysterious environment contradicts the bright and vivid colors of the film version.
At the same time, one of the obvious advantages of the adapted film version, which is naturally absent in comic novel, is the background music represented by a huge variety of different styles. The music sounds rather unusual, but it suits in a full manner to the film composition and serves as an additional mean of expressing the characters. The image of the newly implemented character Seymour, which is absent in the original version, would be incomplete without the music background.
At the same time, it is impossible to compare the bookish and the movie format. The means that are used in the original comic novel are designed to stimulate a readers imagination, while the visual effects of the film adapted version are intended for human senses.
Moreover, it is necessary to mention the specific features of the graphic novel that differ from the standard forms of narration. In his original version, Clowes omits generalized descriptions permitting a reader to use his own imagination and personal experience. It is difficult to say whether it has been done intentionally or such a solution has been predetermined by the format of the comic novel and the peculiarities of the genre. In such a way, in the original printed version there is a wide field for a readers imagination. It enables a reader to make its own conclusions and to create his own judgements concerning the nature of the main characters.
The ways of perception of two versions are also affected by the speed at which the action takes place. Due to the implementation of the additional characters, the speed of the adapted film version is much faster in comparison with the original.
It is possible to conclude that in spite of all the differences between the two versions the main idea of Ghost World has not changed. Two girls who have just graduated from school are trying to find their place in society. They are in an intermediate position between childhood and adulthood. They begin to realize that life is much more complicated thing that they have thought. The girls begin to understand that in order to self-actualize themselves in society it is necessary to strike a compromise with the existing reality. It is impossible to remake the world in accordance with own wishes.
Both versions of Ghost World have their strong and weak points, but in common, the comic novel and the adapted film version complement each other.
Works Cited
Clowes, Daniel. Ghost World. n.d. Web.
Ghost World. Dir. Terry Zwigoff. Perf. Thora Birch, Scarlet Johansson, Steve Buscemi, David Cross, Illeana Douglas, Brad Renfro. Capitol Films, 2001. Film.