The Birds Movie Vs Book

The Birds, the novella version, is a more accurate and symbolic representation of how society was feeling at the time it was written than the film version that came after it. The novella is a story about a family in rural England that must deal with a methodical attack from various species of birds. The latter film version was a loosely inspired American take on the same bird hysteria as the novella. However, in the movie version, a sea side town must deal with an unexpected bird attack. This is complicated by the fact that many townspeople do not take this threat seriously at first. In both the novella and film version of The Birds there is a clear reference to social and political turmoil that is representative of the time period they

First of all, the movie is set in San Francisco and Bodega Bay, California. Through information relayed in the movie the bird attacks primarily are contained to Bodega Bay and the surrounding area. The audience knows this to be true because that is what the radio news station states when Mitch checks for information on the car radio towards the end of the movie. Thus, this particular component is ineffective because the attacks are too localized. It does not give the audience the sense that this is a problem on a larger scale. Since Hitchcock is making a criticism on American society it would be more effective if more parts of the country were being attacked rather than just this little sea side town. Moreover, Hitchcock also uses mood in his film to help create a sense of suspense and fear. He makes of point of setting a mood that is also at times annoying or frustrating when other people, like the sheriff and other Bodega Bay residents, dismiss the attacks as not that serious towards the beginning of the movie. For example, Mrs. Brenner tries to tell the sheriff that the birds attacked the children at Cathy’s birthday party as well as killed a farmer in the bedroom of his house, however, the sheriff does not believe her. Similarly, Melanie tries to tell the café patrons and workers that the

For example, the setting is reflective of the English citizens feeling of isolation in this time period. The backdrop of the story is a rural farm landscape that gives the feeling of vast space and loneliness. The opening scene of the story is described as “the far end of the peninsula, where the sea surrounded the farmland on either side” (du Maurier 1). This literally shows how they are both physically and metaphorically separated from everything else. This adds to the sense of being left to their own devices and abandoned. It makes the reader feel like defenseless, alone, and doomed: they seem to be the last people on earth – and perhaps they are! Therefore, the setting of the novella more accurately displays how the society felt during this time period than the more urban setting of San Francisco and Bodega Bay in the film version. Also, the novella’s use of mood and how it relates to the setting is more effective than the film. The story’s gloomy, and at times terrifying, mood is seen throughout the novella. For example, both the description of the weather and the birds give the reader these feelings. One instance of this is when Nat leaves his cottage to get supplies from the Trigg’s farm. It says about the birds, “They waited and watched. Nat saw them on the hedgerows, on the