Popular image different than original literary works

[snopes]

What instances can you think that demonstrate the phenomenon of the popular image of the plot/characters/theme from a literary work being substantially different from the original?

Some examples of what I'm thinking of (and it's been quite a while since I read the original works, so feel free to correct me if I get the details wrong):

The popular image of Frankenstein (or, more accurately, the creature created by Victor Frankenstein), largely formed through the 1931 Boris Karloff film, is that of a hulking, unthinking, non-speaking monster with a defective brain who goes around killing people indiscriminately. In the Mary Shelley original, however, he's a rational and intelligent being who speaks (and narrates a substantial portion of the book) and doesn't kill indiscriminately -- he's dismayed and angry that he is not accepted because of his hideous physical appearance, so he deliberately sets out to track down and kill the man who gave him life.

Also, we use the term "Uncle Tom" to describe a black person who is habitually (and/or excessively) deferential or servile to whites, the term deriving from the titular character of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." But in the original book, although Uncle Tom is somewhat deferential to his white masters, he ultimately endures repeated beatings rather than carry out Simon Legree's orders to beat another slave himself, and he is eventually beaten to death by Legree's overseers (Quimbo and Sambo) for refusing to reveal the location where other slaves are hiding.

- snopes

[Lainie]

Mark Twain's Ugly American was not obnoxious, although the story did include a character who was an obnoxious American.

Originally Posted by Lainie

Mark Twain's Ugly American

"Burdick and Lederer's Ugly American." (Or did I miss a joke about authorship always eventually being attributed to Twain or Churchill?)

[Tantei Kid]

There's always Dorothy who was 10 at the most in Wizard of Oz. They were even going to get Shirley Temple to play her, but studio deals fell through and everyone thinks of Dorothy as older now.


ETA: And don't get me started abut how the munchkins weren't suicidal in the book.

[Brad from Georgia]

King Arthur and his knights are invariably depicted as though they lived around the year 1300 instead of 600.

[unbroken]

Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights is often represented as some kind of romantic hero, when he was actually a pretty horrendous person and certainly an unsympathetic character.

[Artemis]

The Little Mermaid. People unfamiliar with the original Hans Christian Andersen story think of a cute mermaid with fish friends, dabbling around in the world of humans before finally getting to become one. The original one was so much darker and more intense...and had an incredibly depressing ending.

[Fiver]

Originally Posted by unbroken

Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights is often represented as some kind of romantic hero, when he was actually a pretty horrendous person and certainly an unsympathetic character.

Heh. I've never actually heard that one. It's weird that anyone would see him that way. I guess it's the same type that see Hannibal Lector as a dark/romantic hero.

[unbroken]

Originally Posted by Fiver

Heh. I've never actually heard that one. It's weird that anyone would see him that way. I guess it's the same type that see Hannibal Lector as a dark/romantic hero.

Yeah I was trying to think of an example but I couldn't come up with anything.. I just know that that was the impression I had of him before i read the book, and I must have got it from somewhere! I think it might be an idea propagated by people who haven't actually read the book.

[Artemis]

I see what you mean about Wuthering Heights and Heathcliff. I always thought of him as the ultimate romantic hero.

I still sort of see him that way...but more in the way that some women really like that bad boy, asshole type behavior.

[Morrigan]

The Phantom of the Opera as being sympathetic and a romantic hero. Far cry from being an obsessed 50 year old who kills people.

Morrigan

[Brad from Georgia]

If you want to go Western, the Earp brothers were not particularly admirable, though Wyatt and the bunch are generally portrayed as heroic. Davy Crockett did not die heroically defending the Alamo, apparently, but was executed by firing squad after the capture. Annie Oakley wasn't quite as good a sharpshooter as she's always portrayed to be--in the act she used a rifle loaded with cartridges that actually contained shotgun pellets, which had a wide spread and enabled her to hit the flying clay pigeons more often.

[The Goof]

"Wyatt Earp is a lier and a thief." My Greatgrandfather a contemporary of Wyatt Earp.

Originally Posted by Morrigan

The Phantom of the Opera as being sympathetic and a romantic hero. Far cry from being an obsessed 50 year old who kills people.

Morrigan

Actually, I see no dichotemy(sp?) between the original work and the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in how the Phantom is portrayed. In both cases, he's a deformed and lonely genius, driven insane by how he's been treated and how he's been forced to live.

SPOILER ALERT!
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The Webber musical doesn't have as dark a tone as the novel, but in both cases he eventually realizes that if he truly loves Christine, he has to let her go.

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The difference is that the novel is an early example of crime noir, similar to Sherlock Holmes, while the musical is a dark romance.

[Tootsie Plunkette]

King Mongkut of Siam was a sexy young monarch greatly influenced for the better by his childrens' governess Anna Leonowens.

King Mongkut was about 60 years old when Mrs. Anna Owens arrived at court to teach English to some of his children. He may not have even met her while she was there. And her books about her experiences were mostly fabrications.

[DaGuyWitBluGlasses]

People seem to think Romeo and Juliet is a love story (i wonder where the first reference of love, in the modern sense, applying to it appeared?)

[Fiver]

Originally Posted by Tootsie Plunkette

King Mongkut of Siam was a sexy young monarch greatly influenced for the better by his childrens' governess Anna Leonowens.

But isn't that how he's portrayed in The King and I?

[Drama Queen Of Mars]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Dracula. I always pictured him as a Bella Lugosi type figure. Middle-aged and attractive with black hair. Boy was I in for a shock when I first read the book where he is described as "a tall old man" with "a long white moustache". There went my twisted vampire fantasies....

I must admit that I am one of those who still sees Hannibal Lecter as the dark/romantic hero as Fiver put it even having read the books...

Drama ~...but I am a bit of a freak like that.~ Queen

[Morrigan]

Originally Posted by euthiecop

Actually, I see no dichotemy(sp?) between the original work and the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in how the Phantom is portrayed. In both cases, he's a deformed and lonely genius, driven insane by how he's been treated and how he's been forced to live.

SPOILER ALERT!
SPOILER ALERT!
SPOILER ALERT!
SPOILER ALERT!

The Webber musical doesn't have as dark a tone as the novel, but in both cases he eventually realizes that if he truly loves Christine, he has to let her go.

END SPOILER!
END SPOILER!
END SPOILER!
END SPOILER!

The difference is that the novel is an early example of crime noir, similar to Sherlock Holmes, while the musical is a dark romance.

But if you read "Phantom," it portrays the Phantom exactly as I said-sympathetic and romantic, which in GL's book, he definately wasn't.

Who said I was referring to ALW's musical?

Morrigan

[Amigone201]

Mr. Hyde is described as looking ordinary, like any other man, but there's something creepy about him.

This is a bit extreme.