A Civil Action Compare and Contrast Paper

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------------------------------------------------- A Civil action essay By Keith Howard Mr. Devenuto Business & Personal Law Mr. Devenuto Business & Personal Law Keith Howard Mr. Devenuto A Civil Action Essay The novel “A Civil Action”, by Jonathan Harr, and the movie, directed by Steven Zaillian, had many similarities and differences. A major difference from the book was when the workers from the tannery said that they would dump the waste in the back of the building. Another major difference would be that in the book Jan Schlichtmann retired at the end but in the movie he said that he would do it again even after losing, and he also changed from the ambulance-chasing lawyer to a hero too quickly. The change was not explained in the movie as well as in the book. One major similarity that took place and helped the movie develop was shown in the meeting with Jan Schlichtmann and the man from the tannery, Mr. Riley. Another thing that was similar and really helped portray the movie was showing Mr. Facher. with his taped briefcase and how he seems to wear inexpensive suits. In the book it said that when they would dump the waste in the back of the building that nothing would grow there. They showed that the back of the tannery was thick with vegetation but if so many chemicals are being dumped there then how could the plants survive. This decayed the chance of seriousness that the movie needed in order to develop the same feeling as in the book. At the end, Jan Schlichtmann said that he would do it again in the movie but I do not think that that was an accurate projection of any person’s reaction. One of the main difficulties of the film was the problematic manner in which this change of heart is explained. There are a few scenes where Travolta gazes out over the polluted areas in question

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