Reflection on The Autobiography of Jane Pittman (novel and film)

Little and Big Differences

The film and the novel of The Autobiography of Jane Pittman share many resemblances between one another. However, numerous details that the reader enjoys in the novel are absent or altered in the film. First of all, there exists a time difference between the film and the novel because the film starts with a black girl drinking from the white fountain (which happens towards the end of the novel), and the novel starts with an introduction from the editor explaining how he convinced Miss Jane Pittman to do the interview. However, the most important thing that was present in both the film and the novel was the use of autobiographical techniques. Even though in the film and the novel, the editor or interviewer talked in some part of the film or the novel, Jane Pittman was the one who had complete control of the story.

Even though the novel isn’t based on a true life story, since Jane Pittman herself is a primary source because she is talking about things that happened through her life, it’s easier for the audience to believe everything that she says. That is why I think that the author did a good job by using autobiographical techniques and creating a plot that was told during an interview. In that way, nothing can be altered or potentially be exaggerated by other people because the interviewer was writing his story from a primary source. Also, because an autobiography is supposed to be about real things that happened to a person.

Lastly, the greatest and more important changes in the film, in my opinion, were the active and constant role that the editor had and the omission of Tee Bob’s suicide. In the novel, the editor was only present during the introduction; nonetheless, in the film, the editor took one of the lead roles. Furthermore, the film was constantly changing from present to past events; whereas in the

novel, everything was a constant flashback with no interruptions from Jane or the editor. The endings of the novel and the film differed too. The ending of the novel is when Jane wants to join the march even though Jimmy was killed. In the film, when Jane learns about Jimmy’s death, instead of going to the march, she goes to drink to the white people’s fountain.

To conclude, on a macro scale, the film summarized the novel of  The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman in an overall good method with a solid point of view because it was Jane’s point of view (a primary source). However, in a micro scale, the reader and viewer can perceive noticeable differences between both of the works.

*I'll leave you the movie below for if you ever want to watch it.