TRANSFORMATION PROCESS

I.                  Introduction

Oliver Twist is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The book has a subtitle The Parish’s Boy Progress. The story is about an orphan, Oliver Twist who suffers in workhouse and then placed in undertaker. He escapes and travels to London with barefoot where he meet Artful Dodger, leader of Juvenile Pickpockets. Unfortunately, he led to criminal trainer Fagin such as cheating and stealing. The book shows the cruel treatment of many orphans in London during the Dickensian era.

The book call the public’s attention to various criminal activities, such as child labour, the recruitment of children as criminal, and the existence of street children. Dickens mocks the hypocrisies at that time through his writing such as novel, dark humors, and serious theme with sarcasm or satire. Oliver Twist has been transformed into film, drama, and has highly successful musical play in Academy Award at 1968. Actually, this novel published monthly began in February 1837 and continued until April 1839 (Sparknotes.com)

Novel is one of fiction literary work. Novel is one of imaginative work that discuss about delineation of the real life of human life in order the reader can learn new experiences in their real life.

Novel is fiction literary work. Novel is one of literary work that has characteristics such as creative, imaginative that discuss about the problems of human life according to complex problems with any conflict, so that the reader can catch new experiences about life. Novel can reveal something freely; present something more detail and showing more complex problem (Nurgiyantoro, 1995:11).

According to Bluestone (Eneste, 1991:18), film is the combination from any kind of arts, such as music, fine art, drama, and photograph elements. Film is a collective work (producer, script writer, director, camera man, recording team, actor, etc) (Eneste, 1991). So, film is an audio visual medium, using sound and image to contribute.

Transformation from novel to film is one of the common literary works. The writer of the novel and the readers of the novel, however, face many differences in the film as the result of transformation process. According to Eneste, ecranization is the transformation from novel into film. The transformation cause many changes. In other word, ecranization is a transformation processes that bringing an omission, addition, and even the various changes. These differences are also found at both novel and Oliver Twist film. The novel written by Charles Dickens while the film produced by Roman Polanski. Those are the object of material in this research paper. The appropriate theory for this analysis use ecranization analysis with transformation approach. The research found between novel and film has decreasing story in the film Oliver Twist by Roman Polanski. The evidence showed that the story begins with Oliver Twist’s mother deliver the baby (Oliver Twist), his mother died when she delivered Oliver. Oliver become an orphan child and work in parish farm, but in the film, the story begins when Oliver had brought by Mr.Bumble to workhouse. Three problems which are discussed in this paper are; (1) the omission of the story from novel into film (2) the addition of the story from novel into film and (3) what the changes between novel and film. These problems of this research paper will analyze with ecranization theory. The result of this research paper indicates that between novel and film, there are some reduction of story and increment of story in novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.

II.               Research Methodology

This research uses qualitative research, because the data of this research uses utterances from the source with descriptive approaches. A descriptive approach is method that describes image carefully about personal, language condition, indication, or group. Besides, collecting data has possibility to be a key about what we will discuss. This research describes and explains the transformation from novel into film Oliver Twist. The data of this research are from utterances and narrations in the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens and film Oliver Twist. Whereas the source data in this research are novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens and film Oliver Twist directory by Roman Polanski. Oliver Twist novel published monthly since 1837 until 1839: first book edition published in the November, 1838 which has 641 pages. The publisher was divided into serial version and book version. The publisher of the serial version was published by Bentley’s Misellany, and the publisher of the book version was Richard Bentley. Oliver Twist directory by Roman Polanski, produced by A Roman Polanski Film at 2005 with duration about two hours and ten minutes.

III.           Discussion

This research will discuss about events that occur between novel and film. Oliver Twist novel by Charles Dickens divided into 52 chapters. Oliver Twist film directory by Roman Polanski has a same title for the film production and the duration of film for about two hours. The transformation from literary work such novel into film certainly shows many changes, such as omission, addition, and changes. Those transformations, such as omission, addition, and changes occurred when the literary work such novel transform into film. The purpose of those transformations in order to attracts the audiences and gets the profit from the film sales. In other word, the transformation from novel into film has a commercial affect for film production itself; not only a film, but also trade it. This paper will discuss those changes.

a)                      Omission

One of step in transformation process from literary work into film is omission. Omission is reduction or deduction of story elements in the literary work of transformation process. The omission occurs on literary work elements, such as plot, characters, setting, and atmosphere Eneste (1991:61). With omission process, not all the thing that reveals in the novel can find in the film.

A.1. Plot

The omission from novel into film is in the opening of film. The opening of the story in the film is different from novel version. The story in the novel begin with the process of Oliver’s birth and his mother died when she born Oliver and told about Oliver’s life in workhouse, how the treat toward Oliver and other children in the workhouse, how the greedy landlord of the workhouse “Mrs. Mann” just save the money for herself and sometime she letting them die, but in the beginning of Oliver’s film did not show about the parent of Oliver. The beginning of Oliver’s film started when he was brought by Mr. Bumble from workhouse and moved to parish farm. At that time, Oliver was nine years old, small and weak body. Mr. Bumble introduced Oliver to gentlemen, where Oliver was come from, his name, and Oliver will start to work in the farm.

Why the story about Oliver’s birth not appears in the film version? because the story about Oliver’s birth is not important to show in the film and also the duration will too long in the film.

A.2. Characters

Another omission occurred that there are some characters, who did not mention in the film, such as;

Agnes Fleming: Oliver’s mother. After falling in love with and becoming pregnant by Mr. Leeford, she chooses to die anonymously in a workhouse rather than stain her family’s reputation. A retired naval officer’s daughter, she was a beautiful, loving woman. Oliver’s face closely resembles hers.

Mr. Leeford: Oliver and Monks’s father, who dies long before the events of the novel. He was an intelligent, high-minded man whose family forced him into an unhappy marriage with a wealthy woman. He eventually separated from his wife and had an illicit love affair with Agnes Fleming. He intended to flee the country with Agnes but died before he could do so.

Old Sally: An elderly pauper who serves as the nurse at Oliver’s birth. Old Sally steals Agnes’s gold locket, the only clue to Oliver’s identity.

Mrs. Maylie: mother of Harry Maylie and adoptive “aunt” of Rose.

Harry Maylie: Mrs. Maylie’s son. Harry is a dashing young man with grand political ambitions and career prospects, which he eventually gives up to marry Rose.

 Mrs. Mann: The superintendent of the juvenile workhouse where Oliver is raised. Mrs. Mann physically abuses and half-starves the children in her care.

Miss Rose: Agnes Fleming’s sister, raised by Mrs. Maylie after the death of Rose’s father. A beautiful, compassionate, and forgiving young woman, Rose is the novel’s model of female virtue. She establishes a loving relationship with Oliver even before it is revealed that the two are related. (sparknotes.com)

Monks: A sickly, vicious young man, prone to violent fits and teeming with inexplicable hatred. With Fagin, he schemes to give Oliver a bad reputation.

Those characters is the important character about revealing the true identity of Oliver and family, about his parent identity, and about the Oliver’s story before Oliver moved to Parish farm, but in the Oliver film not show about his parent background and the story of revealing the truth about Oliver’s identity, but those characters was omitted because in the beginning of film not tell about Oliver’s birth, so in the next of the story in the film not show about those characters who contribute in revealing Oliver’s identity.

b)          Addition

Addition (extension) is changes in transformation process from literary work into film. As in omission, addition also occurs in transformation process, such as plot, setting, characters, characterization, and atmosphere.

B.1. Characters

The addition from novel into film is addition of the character. Oliver’s novel not shows about the character that helps Oliver when Oliver has been walking to London and fainted. The character was an old woman who lives in a remote shelter. The character’s name wasn’t mentioning the exact name she is. The character found Oliver fainted in front of her house and she helped Oliver and gave Oliver some food and some drink. That woman offered Oliver to stay at her house, but Oliver preferred to continue his journey to London.

The other addition character is Dick. Dick is Oliver’s old friend in the workhouse. Dick helps Oliver when Oliver runaway from the undertaker’s house “Mr.Sowerberry” in early morning. Dick swears not to tell anyone about Oliver’s flight and gives him a warm farewell. While, in the film there is no boy named Dick who save Oliver when Oliver runaway from undertaker’s house.

Those characters need to added, because film needs to commercial and those addition characters give a new atmosphere in the film rather than in the novel.

c)        Various Changes

         The transformation from literary work such novel into film certainly shows various changes in the story. Between Oliver Twist novel and film also has the changes.

1.      The changes showed when Oliver was slandered as a thief of handkerchief and lock in Jail, but in the film version, Oliver didn’t lock in Jail, he directly saves because of a bookseller’s witnesses. Bookseller said that two other boys committed the crime. Oliver is cleared of all charges.

2.      Another change was found in the story after Oliver robbed into Mr. Brownlow, but Sike shoots Oliver with rifle and makes Oliver bleeding in his arm, then the story continue about Mr. Bumble visits Mrs. Corney, the widowed matron of the workhouse, to deliver some wine, but in the film version, after Oliver had ordered to rob the house and bleeding in his arm, Sike and Toby runaway and Sike fell down to river and Toby brought bleeding Oliver to Fagin’s house.

3.      Another change occurred in the film version; Fagin decided to look for Monks, but Fagin couldn’t find him and try to hurry to Sike’s residence. At Sike’s residence, he finds Nancy and Nancy cries that she hopes Oliver is dead, He returns to his house to find Monks waiting for him. Monks asks why Fagin has chosen to send Oliver out on such a mission rather than make the boy into a simple pickpocket. Monks become interest to Oliver. Monks was looking for Oliver and saw him the day Oliver was arrested. While, in the novel; after Fagin take care of Oliver’s wound, he visits to Sike’s house not Monks’s house. Fagin went to Sike’s house because of Sike got a worst fever after Sike fell down to river.

4.      In the novel version, Nancy comes to Mr. Brownlow’s house to give information about Oliver’s existence, and Miss. Rose give Nancy some money, but Nancy refuses Rose’s money. Before leaving, Nancy informs Rose that she can be found on London Bridge between eleven and twelve every Sunday night, while in the film Nancy meet Mrs. Bedwig (Mr. Brownlow’s servant) and Nancy give a message to Mrs. Bedwig to tell Mr. Brownlow about there is a woman wants to tell about Oliver at Sunday midnight.

5.      In the novel version, Fagin orders Noah to follow Nancy and what is she talking about in London Bridge meeting with Mr. Brownlow and Miss. Rose. In the film version, Fagin command Arts Dodger to eavesdrop what Nancy talking about with Mr. Brownlow.

IV.             CONCLUSION

Based on the discussion about transformation Oliver Twist novel by Charles Dickens into Oliver Twist film by Roman Polanski, the result of this discussion about transformation from Oliver novel into film using ecranization cause some omission, addition, and various changes that occurred between novel version and film version. The omission occurs in plot and characters. There are a lot of omissions of some characters member in the film version. The addition occurs when there are additions of characters in the film. Finally, there are some various changes that occurs when novel transform into film. Various changes that occurs such as; a process of revealing the truth of Oliver’s true identity was clearly explain in the novel version rather than in the film version. The change of situation is often happened in the film and the characters who contribute in a certain situation were different. 
Sastra