Fahrenheit 451

    The graphic novel and the movie versions of Fahrenheit 451 are very similar, but also very different. Both versions of the story follow the main story line of Guy Montag, the fireman, rebelling against his society and becoming one of the "book-keepers". In both the graphic novel version and the movie Guy Montag realizes that their society is wrong and that he does not want to be apart of it anymore. He kills the captain of the firemen and runs away from the city and meets others who had done the same as him. Besides the two versions following the same plot, the author of the graphic novel, Tim Hamilton, and director of the movie, François Truffaut, had a lot of different interpretations of how they understood the story. For example, in the book version one of the main characters, Clarisse, dies very early into the book, compared to movie where she remains alive and becomes very close to Montag. Also, in the book version since Clarisse is dead, Montag goes to Professor Faber for guidance about the books, instead of listening to Clarisee and following her to the railroad tracks in the movie version. Another significant difference between the two versions is the use of the hound in the book, and then completely getting rid of it in the movie version. Since the graphic novel was directly based off of the book and the movie was somewhat different, the visual motifs used in both have similarities and differences. 

    When reading a regular novel the author must use vivid imagery to really paint a picture in the readers mind, but in a graphic novel, the author already gives you the pictures on the page. This type of multimedia literature really enhances the readers experiences by appealing to multiple senses rather than just one. In Tim Hamilton's graphic novel of Fahrenheit 451 he uses many different techniques such as visual motifs to enhance the readers perspective of the story. There were two particular visual motifs that Hamilton used that really enhanced the story: the contrast of bright colors for fire or dramatic lighting and somber colors for the gloomy, rainy days, and the depictions of the characters' faces. Throughout the story Hamilton uses the red, orange, and yellow colors to emphasize the bright fire and then quickly contrasts those bright colors with dark and dull colors to emphasize the dreariness of their society. This distinction of color really gave me a sense of what their world was like: boring. And it also displayed how a sudden flash of bright colors can be so important to that society. Another way Hamilton was able to convey the story was by the close-up portrayal of the character's faces. While reading what the characters are saying and being able to see their emotion through their facial expressions allows the reader to understand what is going on in that scene. Likewise, one visual motif that François Traffaut used to portray his understanding of the story was using the same actress to play the roles of Linda Montag and Clarisse. This technique is used to show what people in their new society look and act like compared to what the old and traditional people act like. Although all three visual motifs used by the creators are different, they are all meant to further engage the audience into the story. 

    And if I had to pick a book to memorize and essentially become the book, I think I would choose Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Although I have never read the book, I have watched the musical, and his story is so inspiring that I would not want his story to ever be forgotten.