Emma

In reading both the chapter from the novel Emma and watching the scene from the film, the movie had much more humor. In some cases directors will alter the dialogue pretty greatly from the book to the movie. This is not really the case in Emma. Almost all of the parts of the book, and also the dialogue hold true in the movie. The only real difference between the book and the film is actually seeing the scenes being played on-screen; a very crucial element. After reading this chapter in the text, I struggled to find very much humor, or even comprehend the actions of the scene at all. But after watching the film, my views had been changed totally. The way the actors portray the scene at Box Hill made it much easier to see both the humor and the awkwardness intended by Austen. You can easily miss these details when reading. When Emma takes a stab at Miss Bates’ dullness, I found myself laughing at first, but then soon after feeling sorry for Miss Bates. This is due to the acting in the film; I laughed at the initial joke, but stopped when seeing Miss Bates’ reaction. If I had to compare this type of humor with one of the quotes from our class discussion, it would be the one by Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes explains that people laugh “by the apprehension of some deformed thing in another”. This is precisely what Emma does to Miss Bates. Miss Bates is older, and is quite honestly a mundane, boring woman. Emma decides to make this apparent to everyone at Box Hill that afternoon. It is no surprise that Miss Bates is upset by Emma’s comment, which is felt in dept by the viewer when watching. Hobbes says that people use this “comparison” to “suddenly applaud themselves”. It is apparent very early on that Emma likes to be the center of attention. When arriving at Box Hill, she is having an awful time. Then as soon as Mr. Churchill begins putting the spotlight on her, she starts to enjoy herself. This was the same reason Emma made the comment to Miss Bates. Hobbes’ quote perfectly defines the type of humor shown in this portion of the novel.