Jonathan Wroblewski

Lit 141

Prof. Sides, Section DF

Written Stories Always Tell a Different Story than Film

Are books always better than the movies they get turned into? I would argue that,

in many cases, that is true; for the novella “The Body” by Stephen King, and its film

adaptation “Stand By Me” that statement certainly holds true. But why is the text better

than the film? Text represents a story in a completely different fashion than a film. There

are no boundaries in text; in film, there is always some sort of limitation. Imaginations

create a world in text, but a movie tells us how that world acts. Oftentimes that conflicts

with a personal view, overall lessening the experience. The subtleties presented by text

are often poorly represented visually, thus creating an almost entirely different story. A

very well written movie with slightly sub par acting will change the nuances in character

development, thus changing the dynamics of story. “The Body” and “Stand By Me” are

no exception to this. The differences in storytelling create two different stories; the

novella is a manifestation of the changes we all go through at some point in our lives, and

the depressing details of some who are worse off than others, but the movie is a story of a

group of friends who go out on an adventure to have fun.

Through the text we are given a story of four young boys who embark on a quest

to find the dead body of Ray Brower, a boy of about the same age as the four boys. In

almost every group, people have certain roles to fulfill, and the group portrayed in The

Body is no different. There is Gordie, generally seen as the most intelligent of the group;
the other boys look to him for answers. Then there is Chris, the peacemaker of the group,

and Teddy, the comic relief of the group. Finally there is Vern, the loner of the group.

The text very clearly defines these boys, and shows several examples of their

roles. For instance, when Teddy foolishly attempts to dodge a train, Gordie tears him

away. A fight ensues, and Chris—who is repeatedly shown as the peacemaker—resolves

the situation (King 333-34). Another clear example is given when Milo, the dump owner,

makes fun of Teddy’s dad. Milo calls Teddy’s father a loony, amongst other things, which

tears Teddy apart emotionally. Eventually he breaks down and cries, and Chris comforts

him. He says that Milo knows nothing about his father, or storming the beaches at

Normandy. He further explains that what Teddy and his father share is something no one

but them can understand, and what others think simply does not matter (King 351-53). In

contrast, the movie depicts therapy by committee; all of the boys console Teddy, which

takes away from Chris’s unique qualities.

The novella centers mainly around two characters, Gordie and Chris. The first

example showcasing the closeness of the two boys comes when Chris shows Gordie the

pistol that he brings along on the journey through the woods (King 328). Their

relationship is further detailed when Chris criticizes Gordie’s parents (King 381).

Criticizing another person’s parents is unacceptable, unless the criticizer comes from a

place of special importance—not just anyone would be allowed to say what Chris says

about Gordie’s parents and get away with it. By middle school, Chris and Gordie begin to

drift away from Vern and Teddy who became “just two more faces in the halls,” and that

is something that happens to us all at some point in our lives (King 432). Many

friendships come, and many pass, only a special few survive. Chris and Gordie’s
friendship continued well beyond middle school; Chris enrolled in college courses with

Gordie, and Gordie tutored him all the way through high school. The bonds forged on the

journey to find Ray Brower lasted a lifetime for the two, and even though they went their

separate ways during college, they never forgot each other. Eventually, all three of the

boys not name Gordie died in tragic circumstances, but only when Chris died was Gordie

truly affected (King 434).

The movie does not illustrate the propinquity of Gordie and Chris very well at all.

It attempts to do so, but fails miserably. To begin with, the first signification of a special

bond between Gordie and Chris was stripped from the movie: the knowledge of the gun

is shared by all four of the boys. One can only wonder why such a significant part of the

story is changed. Two of the boys, Teddy and Vern, do not die in the movie, though they

do drift apart. I suppose the time constraints put on films is partially responsible for that

being left out, but this subtly affects the story. Again, Gordie mourning only Chris’s death

signifies a particular bond shared by Chris and Gordie that was simply not present with

the other boys. The movie feebly attempts to showcase this relationship through certain

lighting effects; the two are generally shown in a darker light than when Teddy and Vern

are on screen with them, which is meant to depict a more somber disposition. The film’s

soundtrack also plays a role in showcasing Gordie and Chris’s relationship by playing

cheery pop tunes of the time when focused on Vern and Teddy, and ceasing to play them

when focusing on Chris and Gordie. All that left me with an empty feeling about the

characters. To me, it seemed that there were four boys who were all pretty good friends,

but I do not believe that was Stephen King’s intention. One more inadequate attempt is

given at the end of the movie when Gordie (narrating the film) tells the audience that he
and Chris did, indeed, drift away from Vern and Teddy; it severely lacks the impact

created by the text though.

Beyond the group interactions, the text portrays an omen of bad luck throughout

the story. Both formats show the boys in the junkyard flipping coins, and all four flips

coming up tails What the movie does not show—which Gordie later attributes partial

blame to the others’ deaths to—is that the second flip came up three tails and one heads,

the lone heads flip being Gordie, suggesting that the three boys were cursed (King 340).

For some reason or another, everyone seems to be out to get these boys. Gordie, due to

the coin flip, has to go to the market to get food and drinks for everyone; Mr. Dusset

attempts to shortchange Gordie multiple times. The first time he leaves his thumb on the

meat scale, attempting to artificially raise the price of the beef. The second time he

improperly adds the prices of the items with the same intentions (King 343-44). These

two key elements being left out of the film adaptation change the complexion of the story.

This is not a lighthearted journey that these boys embarked on: they are going to see a

dead body. Not much is gloomier than the thought of a life cut short like Ray Brower’s,

and the circumstances that surrounded it made it more depressing.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is Gordie’s dead brother Denny. One may

overlook the character of Denny because he is not alive, but he plays an important role in

Gordie’s life. He is the older brother, the standard by which Gordie is measured. Their

parents saw Denny as a miracle from God, because their mother was not supposed to be

able to bear children. It would seem that Gordie would be an equal (if not greater)

miracle, but such is not the case. By the time Gordie came along, Denny was ten years

old, and Gordie was more of an unwanted burden than another miracle (King 309-11).
The two brothers were not close—they certainly shared no special bonds—but the movie

portrays them that way. The reason Denny is an important character in the book is

because he is the reason that Gordie’s parents ignore him: he is the reason Gordie’s life at

home is filled with emptiness. The movie characterizes them as close, loving brothers;

Denny takes an active role in his Gordie’s life, and when he dies, Gordie and his parents

are deeply saddened by this. In the novella, Denny was the golden boy, and Gordie was

the forgotten child. More than anything, Gordie hated when people compared him to his

brother; that is shown several times throughout the story. For instance, when George

Dusset tells Gordie that his brother was not a “smartass” like him, Gordie lashes out

(King 344); and at the end of the story when Ace Merrill says that Gordie should have

some of his brother’s sense, Gordie lashes out again, and specifically states the mention

of his brother as the catalyst for his anger (King 412).

Storytelling in different mediums will always be different. Nothing can be done to

change that. A written story knows no boundaries, whereas a visual interpretation of that

story is limited by several factors: allotted time, technology, acting ability, budgets, et

cetera. The problem, though impossible to avoid, often changes the intentions of a story;

“The Body” and “Stand By Me” do not escape this; they are, indeed, two very different

stories.