Nightjohn Film Analysis

In the movie Nightjohn directed by Charles Burnett their were many differences than the

book Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen. The differences are minimal and sometimes would not even be

noticed. Most movies would be very boring if they would be the same as the book. In the book

all the characters are different than they are in the movie. One character is Mrs.Waller the wife of

Clel Waller. Mrs. Waller is a lot more kind in the movie than in the book. Also in the movie Mrs.

Waller is shown more. In the next paragraphs I will talk about the similarities and differences

from the book Nightjohn and the movie Nightjohn.

The main difference from the book and the movie are the characters like Mr. Clel Waller.

Mr. Waller is more of a jerk in the movie

Waller’s little son.

In the book there are many other differences like Sarny getting sold at the end of the

movie. In the book Nightjohn was bought for 1000 dollars and in the movie Nightjohn was

bought for 50 dollars. Their are many similarities in the book like Delie known as mammy. In the

book and movie mammy takes care of Sarny. Also in the book and movie Sarny learns letters

from Nightjohn.

I liked both the movie Nightjohn and the book Nightjohn. I liked the movie more because

the movie more action. By action I mean there was more going on like Mr. Waller going into the

church with his rifle. Also the little things that caught my attention like when Sarny screamed

after Nightjohn lost his finger and when Mr. Waller made Mrs. Waller slap Sarny. In the book

their was less things going on, their was less descriptions, and it was not as specific.

I liked the movie more than the book because in the movie you can see how the

characters looked. In the movie you can see the kind of person each character is like if they were

nice or mean. Also in the movie you could see the pain in a slave’s face after they were whipped

or if the got their finger cut