Augustine 1

Squire Augustine
Ms. Blommer
ENG 1010
25 May 2015
Self-reflective
For my essay I found this topic to exciting and yet difficult. It was an interesting way to open my
mind to the art of storytelling. As the essay reflects the forms of storytelling in film and in novels. To
show how this essay has researched the academic goal is to express how I feel in the writing process
itself. By breaking it up I was to build onto my topic and add to it more and more. I never saw how this
whole paper would be an essay, yet as I placed it together it turned into an academic paper on
storytelling. As I look over storytelling in both film and novel and also the difference between film and
novel.
To start the essay working on the annotated bibliography turned out great in my view. I was
able to find supporting sources that help to expand my knowledge but also to write about them in an
academic voice. Finding examples of the rhetoric in the sources helped to show what each author was
saying in their own words. Such as Santos work and how he uses an logical voice to demonstrate how his
view is correct and the right way.
Along with the Annotated bibliography I found the literature review also well done. As I was
then able to compare the sources together. I found the writing process in this part to be difficult at first
but soon developed how to write in academic voice to compare other views. An example from here
would be the first two sources. I found an article for why books are better than films, then found an
article on why film is better than books. Within each source I was able to pull out what the two agreed
on and disagreed on. Such as both agreed on the time difference between book and film. Yet both
disagree how the story is told.

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The biggest struggle I found myself in was the writing of the commentary and ending. This part
became difficult because I was still comparing sources yet I was now comparing my own ideas to that of
others. The writing process for this is difficult for me yet I was able to pull out my own idea of what I
thought about the subject and compare it with another source. The ending to this essay is short yet, as
in solutions and conclusions I hoped to leave an impression with my reader and to think about how
storytelling has affected them.
Over all I felt really well about my writing and tried my best to include many other view points
on the subject and to include my own personal thoughts into the writing. Writing this essay has been a
very big achievement for me personally. As this is the first biggest essay that I have attempted to put
together. I found the outcome to be exciting as this has been a goal of mine to write such a paper as
this. I can now cross off this goal for this writing. To finish with this paper, I have learned about the
writing process and in future to better stay a little more on topic. As I continue to write I hope to use
this essay as an example for the writing process. As Writing the essay in parts and bringing it all together
in the end.

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Issue exploration project: How is

a story expressed differently between film and written novels?
Annotated Bibliography
Santos, Rich. "6 Reasons The Book Is (Almost Always) Better Than The Movie." Barnes Noble
Reads. Barns & Noble, 02 Oct. 2013. Web. 19 May 2015.
In the article 6 Reasons the Book is (Almost always) Better than The Movie, Rich Santos argues
that a book will be largely superior to the movie through six causes. To start Santos first point, he
explains that a movie will be become adrift from the meaning or story of the book. Film makers will
make attempts to change the story to their personal story. Santos second point describes how the
movie does not depicted what the audience has imagined the book will appear as. The third point
examines how there is a time difference between book and movie. The Book will takes days to read
while the movie will only take an hour or two to watch. The fourth point describes the overall message
within the book is not always told through the process of the script. The script of the film will not enable
the audience to see the characters thought process. The fifth point relates to how the reader is viewed
as a detective and combines the sentences into the overall story. While within the film, the story is
informed to the audience without the audiences needing to places the pieces together. Santos last point
gives the reason that the book will always remain with the reader, nevertheless the movie will not be
able to linger with the audience.
Santos is writing for a widely known book store so writing for this gives him lots of credit for his
work. Throughout Santos gives logic to his words as well as humor to make the article exciting for the
reader. The use of logos can be seen of how he gives examples in his work. Such as movies and books a
large group of people have read. It helps to show the audience that he understands his topic and knows
how to compare the subject of book to film. His use of humor allows Santos to better connect with the

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audience. The use of words such as Thats not how I pictured it! Helps to add humor and makes the
reader offer a giggle as to this exactly how they felt about a certain book or movie.
I really like this article as it starts to show the first point of view of someone who is for books
and against movies. I would really like to include the point of view of why a book my first off be better
than a movie. Also to why it could possible offer a more entertaining story than a movie.

Stanton, Andrew. "How to Tell a Story." How to Tell a Story. TedTalks, n.d. Web. 19 May 2015.

Andrew Stanton is a film maker for Pixar Films and he talks about the art of storytelling. To start
off his talk with a story with humor about a Scotsman that build many builds and didnt get called
anything till he did something to a goat. He describes storytelling is joke telling and how it
understanding where you are going with the story and knowing the beginning to end. He describes it as
being a part of our lives and is something that diffines us as who we are. Stanton says that the art of
storytelling is to get the audience to care. He then continues to tell to his lifes story about storytelling.
His point of view is to start the story at the end then go to the start. Andrew decibes how the the lack of
information is what draws the audience into the story and why the get hooked. The audience loves the
story because they become engaged. This allows the audience to solve the puzzle to the story.
The use of his examples and metorphors gives off logos and ethos to his talk. Andrew gives
examples to certain films and movies and how this certain movies are the examples of what he wants to
talk about. He gives an example of Wall-e a movie without dialog. However it still tells a story though
pictures and sounds to tell the whole story. He also cites other film makers and actors as one being Mr.
Rogers and his quote that said there isnt anyone you couldnt love till you heard their story.

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I would like to use the words of Santon. He offers the point of view of storytelling and how it is
important to us now and the way it used. He gives the example that it is how we connect to one
another. He also gives an example of storytelling and how it affects the audience yet this is only for film.
However he does give off the example that movie john carter of mars was taken from a book and
relayed the story into a film.

Widrich, Leo. "What Storytelling Does to Our Brains." Buffer Social. Buffer Social, 12 Nov. 2012.
Web. 19 May 2015.
Leo first gives an example or rather a story of how a British man was playing card and wanted to
eat at the same time. However he could not hold his cards and eat at the same time. Inorder to eat he
had to place his cards down and take a bite of food then pick up with cards again. So the Brittish man
came up with the idea to place his meat between to silices of bread and hold in one hand while he held
his cards in the other hand. Leo then describes how we might not remember everything but we will

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remember this because it was an intersteing story that caught our eye. He continues to talk about how
storytelling has been apart of our culture for hunderds of years and how it how we connect with one
another. He helps to bring this understanding out with the example how storytelling is wired within our
brains. He says that human brains were made for storytelling because our brains start to put the puzzle
together it helps us to solve the probably before us and piece together the bigger picture of how
everything fits together.
leo uses more science to back up his reasoning of why storytelling is important. As he lists
examples of other ways it affects but mostly how it is weaved through. History. He uses a very logical
point of view in his writing. This helps to give a creditable name as someone who has done the rescreach
about the topic of storytelling and how it has affect the brain of people. Also how storytelling is a major
factor in our world today.
I would really like to use his reasoning to why it affects us and why it is important. My biggest
reason I want to use the words of Leo is to show my audience how storytelling is still apart of our world
today. Storytelling is all around us and it is with in books and films. These writers and film makers us the
art of storytelling to change our way of thinking yet both ways tend to do it differently.

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Introduction
From the dawn of time man has drawn or written down stories onto walls, or for about the past
27,000 years. Man has transcribed these stories into Books. Books that are the backbone to sharing
information or for telling a story. But within the past hundred years a new form of storytelling entered
the playing field; Movies, the
moving picture. The story that
shows the audience what is
happening as if they were there in
that present time. Humans crave
the two arts of storytelling. Yet
what happens when the two are
compared or even brought
together?
Stories are filled with

Figure 1. Indian man telling a story to children. Khare, Anshul.

"Latticework of Mental Models: Storytelling." Safal Niveshak. Safal
Niveshak, 6 May 2015. Web. 20 May 2015

uncertainty is what Filmmaker Andrew Stanton ("Toy Story," "WALL-E") describes as making a great
story. It fills the audience with wonder and a new idea of what to think. This new wonder is captivating
and shows the audience that this is important now. From the way the story is told to how it is shown. So
why is storytelling in a book or film important? Because its science.

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Storytelling for thousands of years has been key to human interaction. It is how human beings
communicate and connect to one another. As Human beings we want to take stories and relate them to
ourselves or an experience that we had, Leo Widrich, Author of The Science of Storytelling: What
Listening to a story Does to Our Brains. This is just how our brains are wired, it is how ideas and emotion
are spread. People find themselves on the edge of their seat waiting for the next line to be told. Just so
they can quickly figure out what is going on and how is it usable to them. It is that wonder and
uncertainty that catches the eye of that audience.
If storytelling is so important for people to connect with one another, does the way the story is
told affect us more? That is what this paper will explore the difference between the storytelling in a
book and the storytelling in a movie. To find what elements standout such as development of the story
itself, development of character, what does the audience see, how emotion plays a key part in the story,
and the translation between book and film.
Literature Review
Before we look into storytelling as whole lets look at the point of views between books and films
to understand why they are so different and might offer different ways of storytelling. Why do book
always seem more appealing than movies? Well this question is answered by Rich Santos, in his article 6
Reasons The Book Is (Almost Always) Better Than The Movie. Mr. Santos gives his audience the 6 reasons
of what he believes makes a Book better than a film. Santos six points as follows, is one that a film will
lose its way attempting to convert the words of text to a real moving picture. Two with in a book the
reader will be able to allow their imagination to paint the picture, however in a movie the picture is
based on what the film makers see. Three, the difference of time. A novel we be able to tell a story over
days while a film limited to a few hours. Four, a film never allows the audience to hear what the

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characters are thinking. Five, books allow a reader to piece the story together over time. Six, books can
become a lifetime companion that will always be a physical object that one can keep.
Through many other sources these points are found to be strongly agreeable. However there
are points of opposition for this article. For one, while another source of why movies are better than
books both agree there is a time difference between a book and motion picture. How that story is told
is indifferent on both sides. While Santos gives the reader the point that the reader will be able to better
picture the scene with their imagination. Jade offers the idea that at certain moments the reader is still
limited on what they can sometimes see. A movie with the special effects helps to expand the image to
show the audience the real picture.
Santos appeals to logos and ethos help to support his argument why the book is better than a
movie. The use of his logical appeal, allows the reader to easily connect with him. The use of simple
words but adding facts, supports Santos to stand out as a smart and relatable individual. Readers are
more willing to read the article if it is relatable. Then Santos use of ethos as in citing sources of books
and movies support his argument. These are common books and movies a large audience has read or
watched, such as Jaws and Brave New World.
While there are numerous of reasons why a book will be better than a movie, there are just as
many reasons of why the Film would be better. Argued by Cassandra Jade, 10 Reasons why Movies Are
Better Than Books illustrates what really develops a film to be better than a book. First, a film will have a
more attractive look than a large page of text. Following a film will have music, this music is key in
emotion and allows the audience to connect with the moving picture before them. A film will always win
the race on telling a story faster than a novel. Forth, Special effects within the moving a picture really
allow the audience see more than their imagination. Argued one of Jades strongest points, favoring an
actor of a major motion picture. Six, a movie is a social event that the audience is able to join with

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friends and family. Seven, fast combat or intense scenes. The audience would rather watch the punch
fight than to read about every little detail of the fight. Movies allows the audience to view more movies!
The trailers of movies give the audience a new sense of what to watch next. Sometimes after watching a
certain movie, a reader has to toss the book. Last of all, eating all that junk food without the worry of
spilling on the pages.
The argument made by Jade does agree with the argument made by Santos that time is
a big difference between a novel and movie. Now jade does bring in the point that motion picture is
social activity for all kinds of people. This argument is not opposed by any other source. A movie is a
group activity whereas books are harder to enjoy in a group. An argument with a strong contrasting
point is that of how the story is seen. Jade points out that sometimes a reader will not be able to picture
every detail made by the author. However the film will be able to create that scene and add in that extra
detail to make the scene more real. Jade then points out this is what makes the movie more relatable
and in a way better than a book.
Through Jades use of ethos and friendly tone, she is able to develop her argument.
Using simple diction, jade makes the text relatable to the reader as if the text is a normal conversation
between two friends. Along with being a friendly tone, Jade is able to include other examples that are
relatable such as Star Wars. A movie that a very large population of people have seen. By staying in a
boundary of ethics. Jade never straight up calls a book bad or a terrible waste of time. She instead
simply points out reasons why she believes a movie is just better.
So while these two sources are focused on what makes the book or the movie better. What
about a real story. Author known as TheGreatestFrog, there is no real name for the author (Female from
Iceland), argues why the movie Eragon was a terrible movie. She argues that the movie didnt make little
adjustments, the movie made major adjustments to the whole story. From changing the whole

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backstory how the fantasy world came to be. To the individual characters and how they are portrayed
from the book to the big screen. The biggest argument is that the Movie Eragon doesnt follow any story
line based on the book Eragon. From start to finish nothing is the same.
The Author uses a point that the back story was majorly changed and ruined the story
on the big screen. From every little detailed to how it started to how it ended. However in another
source it has a contrasting point that the movie was actually well done. The back story help to develop
the characters for the rest of the movie. Yet both sources do agree that the looks of the story stayed
relatively the same. The story was based in the woods and mountains where the movie was able to
portray that. However The Author does point that there were major changes to the movie and the
movie didnt not include certain areas and backgrounds. She also includes that certain characters were
not in the movie that were important to the original story. Or how characters in the movie were not a
certain race or creature.
To help with her argument, TheGreatestFrog uses an angry tone and logos to support her
argument. The tone of voice is help shown through her diction. Calling a key character in the story,
Galbatorix, as a bland and boring drama queen helps to support the argument that this is
not the same character portrayed in the original story. Then comparing and contrasting between

the story and film help to support her argument as she gave examples of what was changed in the movie
that doesnt relate to the book.
While many readers found the movie Eragon down right terrible, the author for the movie
review for Eragon on Imbd (Internet movie database) did not find the movie horrible at all. The author
adds that the movie was enjoyable. The acting of each character helped the story to develop. The
special effects with the movie really helped to make the movie appear real. Such as the dragon and

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magic. The timing of the movie could have been better. However an overall review was that the movie
Eragon was a great movie that was enjoyable.
Relatable to the other source this Author does agree that the timing of certain parts was off and
could have done better. However this author brings up points that the actors is what really helped to
make the movie great. The other source talks mostly about the story yet this one talks about more than
the story. It brings in subject such as special effect making the film look like it was real and happening
then and there. The way the characters looked help to make the story better as they were portrayed as
villains and heroes.
The use of pathos and ethos really helps the authors argument. As the author truly throws his
emotion in the words. As this is what he truly feels about the film. This Author has been reviewing
movies for the past nine years which helps to give him credit that he is reliable source for his review and
what he thinks of the movie. The use of his ethics as well, the author never leans too far to one side of
his argument. In his review he respectfully informs the audience of what his thoughts were on the
motion picture Eragon.
Commentary
So why does this topic even signify any importance to anyone? I believe the way the story is
expressed between a film and a book is different but not by much. As I have read article after article and
watched many Tedtalks about the art of storytelling. In speaking the way the storytelling is shown
between film and novel doesnt change by much. They both express strong feeling to the audience of who
they are talking to. So the way I see a story expressed between book and film is through the way the
audience sees the story.
As we talk about a novel and how the story is developed. We like to focus more on the characters
of the story. We see these charcter and we want to relate to them or sometimes be them. We understand

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the story more as we see these charcters. We watch for the way they act and talk amoung the other
charcters. This helps to show how a story is being expressed in visuals. For the Audience, however why I
may argue that a story is expressed through visuals of what an audience sees.
Argued by Ben in Storytelling techinques- using tone andemphasis, he says that the best
way to show our emotion is through tone in our voice. No matter what we say the way we talk and express
those words is how the story is being shown.
Tone and emphasis are so important and even when you speak at a regular volume, the
tone of your voice is the single biggest giveaway to your emotion and the emphasis you give an
individual word or phrase can completely change the message.
So while ben is focused on the tone of story, I see it as the words is what should bring the image
to life. Yes the tone is important. But not when describing a scenery, a storyteller must be able to create
the picture in the audience through film or novel. If not the story wont make sense at all to the audience.
Sheffield company helps to show the importance of visuals in our world today. They describe the
imporatance of viuals storys are importance because they appear more appealing and are easier to
understand. The visual story is faster to comprehend then a bunch of written down words. This art form
tells a whole story while it would take a whole book. The Differnce is in the visuals.
So when it comes down to the art of storytelling between book and film. The film does express a
storybetter as it includes so much more than a written novel. The novel is fun for people to read but the
film is a art form with the same format of storytelling. It develops and grows the same but one is so much
more appealing then the other.

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Solutions and Conclusions

Solution to this difference between book and film? There already is one solution out
there. This solution is so simple it over looked by many. Picture books are the solution for novels that
dont express visuals. The added picture to the written words adds to the story and helps to express it and
bring it too life for the reader. The visuals helps to show the story.
Books and films, everyone in the world has an opinion of what they like better. Has I have listed
the reasons to why the book or film might be better I have also looked into the storytelling of each.
Storytelling is a very broad subject to handle between any book or film. The rescreach is that storytelling
is an art of connecting with one another and the way be prefer to have it is their own choice. While a book
may seem more logical than a movie both can equeally give the meaning of the message to the audience.
The question being asked to the audience is how well do they see storytelling in their own lives and what
is really preferred b them to connect with other people.

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Work Cited
Santos, Rich. "6 Reasons The Book Is (Almost Always) Better Than The Movie." Barnes Noble
Reads. Barns & Noble, 02 Oct. 2013. Web. 19 May 2015.
Stanton, Andrew. "How to Tell a Story." How to Tell a Story. TedTalks, n.d. Web. 19 May 2015.
Widrich, Leo. "What Storytelling Does to Our Brains." Buffer Social. Buffer Social, 12 Nov. 2012.
Web. 19 May 2015.
TheGreatestFrog. "Is Eragon the Movie Really That Bad?" Deviant Art. Deviant Art, 13 Apr. 2013.
Web. 19 May 2015.
Plopmasterj. "Eragon Reviews & Ratings." IMDb. IMDb.com, 17 Dec. 2006. Web. 20 May 2015.

School of Filmmakers. "Film Storytelling." Storytelling for Filmmakers. 4Filmmaker, 17 May

2015. Web. 19 May 2015.

Prudchenko, Kate. "Why Is Character an Important Element in Short Stories? | The Classroom
| Synonym." The Classroom. Synonym, n.d. Web. 20 May 2015.

Khare, Anshul. "Latticework of Mental Models: Storytelling." Safal Niveshak. Safal Niveshak,
6 May 2015. Web. 20 May 2015

Ben. "Storytelling Techniques - Using Tone and Emphasis." Kidmunication. Kidmunication, 29

Feb. 2012. Web. 25 May 2015.

"The Importance of Visual Storytelling - Sheffield Company." Sheffield Company RSS.

Sheffield Company, 15 Feb. 2012. Web. 25 May 2015.