Is Moby Dick really the better novel? Moby-Dick is a whaling epic written by Herman Melville in 1851. On its surface, Moby-Dick tells the story of an egotistical and obsessive captain and his quest to kill and conquer Moby-Dick, a white whale who has given him previous grief. However, Moby-Dick is also a critical commentary on the nature of humans and their need to master, conquer, and destroy. Moby-Dick can also be viewed as an allegory for God or for Christianity. Moby Dick has been called “the Great American Novel” due its intense use of American vernacular throughout the text.
Jaws was released in 1975 by author Peter Benchley. Jaws is considered one of the greatest films ever made due to its cinematic ingenuity and perfect blend of horror, action, suspense, drama, romance, etc., while being relatively low budgeted. Jaws tells the story of a small fictional beach resort town whose beaches are plagued by a great white shark during summertime when many tourists visit each year. Jaws is a thrilling page-turner which makes the reader question whether or not there will be another attack. Jaws was inspired by the Jersey Shore shark attacks in 1916, when numerous people were attacked and killed by a great white shark.
Many Moby Dick enthusiasts argue that Moby-Dick is one of if not the greatest novel ever written due to its depth, symbolism, and themes. Others do not agree with this sentiment and believe Moby Dick would make for a better film than a novel due to Moby-Dick’s long drawn out scenes which many find boring, unnecessary, or difficult to read. On the other hand, Jaws is often criticized as being too simplistic in comparison to Moby Dick.
For example, Moby Dick has multiple characters and Moby Dick uses Moby-Dick as a metaphor for God. Jaws only focuses on the relationship between the three main characters: Hooper, Quint, and Brody; there is no symbolism or underlying meaning presented in Jaws other than the fact that these waters are home to a large great white shark which wants to eat everyone. Moby-Dick could be considered “high literature” while Jaws is simply fun “low literature.”
Both Moby-Dick and Jaws have been adapted into film several times each, with mixed results from both critics and audiences. Moby-Dick was first adapted into film in 1956 under the name Moby Dick directed by John Huston. In this version of Moby-Dick, Captain Ahab is no longer obsessed with Moby-Dick; instead, Moby-Dick is only killed at the end of the film. Moby Dick was also adapted into a full length cartoon in 2011.
Meanwhile Jaws has been adapted four times. The first adaptation was released during the summer of 1975 and directed by Steven Spielberg. This version follows most of the source material very closely, although there are some notable differences between the book and film (in the book, Brody’s son keeps popping up on boats whereas his son never appears in the film). Jaws 2 was released in 1978 as an unnecessary sequel to Jaws despite having nothing to do with Moby Dick or great whites sharks for that matter.
However, Jaws 2 is notable for briefly mentioning Moby Dick when the mayor of Amity shows Brody a mural with Amity’s “heroes” including Quint and Ahab. Jaws 3 was released in 1983 but did not mention Moby-Dick or great whites sharks at all, making this sequel totally irrelevant to Moby Dick and Jaws itself. The fourth adaptation is called Jaws: The Revenge and is considered one of the worst films ever made — although it does briefly mention Moby-Dick.
Moby-Dick has been adapted into film more than once, but it received many mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike. Moby-Dick (1956) follows the source material quite well except that Moby Dick is not the main focus of the film, Moby-Dick is killed at the end of the film rather than Captain Ahab, and Moby-Dick inexplicably has a Russian accent. Moby Dick (2010) follows Moby-Dick even more closely except that it is done as a full length cartoon to appeal to children.
Jaws has been adapted three times which have received moderate reviews from critics and audiences alike. Jaws (1975) follows Jaws almost identically except for some minor details such as Quint’s death scene being changed from him being eaten by the shark to drowning in his oxygen tank, Brody’s son appears throughout the entire film whereas he does not appear once in Jaws novel/film counterpart, etc. Jaws 2 (1978) is a completely unnecessary sequel to Jaws despite having nothing to do with Moby Dick or sharks for that matter. Jaws 3 (1983) follows the source material very closely, however this sequel has almost nothing to do with Moby-Dick and/or great whites sharks.
Jaws: The Revenge is considered one of the worst films ever made — although it does briefly mention Moby-Dick.
In conclusion, Moby-Dick would make a better film than a novel due to Moby-Dick’s long drawn out scenes which many find boring, unnecessary, or difficult to read; whereas Jaws is often criticized as being too simplistic in comparison to Moby Dick. On the other hand, both Moby-Dick and Jaws have been adapted into film several times. Moby-Dick was first adapted in 1956 followed by Moby Dick (2010) which is an abridged version of Moby-Dick, although this film still received mixed reviews from critics and audiences despite being closer the source material.
Likewise, Jaws was first adapted in 1975 followed by Jaws 2 (1978), Jaws 3 (1983), and Jaws: The Revenge (1987). Moby-Dick has been more successful than Jaws with four adaptations compared to three for Jaws, all of which are generally considered mediocre at best.
Moby-Dick versus Jaws : Moby-Dick novel/theater adaptation would make a better film because it is shorter and Moby-Dick is more action packed than Jaws. Moby-Dick has been adapted into film several times with mixed results, meanwhile Jaws has only been adapted three times which have all received moderate reviews at best.
