Hossein Aliakbari Harehdasht

This thesis is a comparative study of Upton Sinclair’s novel, Oil! (1927) and its film adaptation, There Will Be Blood (2007), written for the screen and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. One of the most acclaimed American movies ever is There Will Be Blood (2007), written for the screen and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, which is loosely based on Upton Sinclair’s 45th fiction work, Oil! (1927). This thesis is a comparative study of Oil! (1927) and its film adaptation, There Will Be Blood. In the postmodern era, not fidelity, but the creativity matters the most, and the significance of the changes are spotlighted in an adaptation. Based on the amount of changes that screenwriters make, adaptation is classified into three categories of transposition, commentary and analogy. Besides, in the matter of narratology, Gerard Genette introduces “focalization,” which is a more flexible notion instead of the classic “point of view.” In comparing Oil! and Blood, and as the most important change, the protagonist shifts from Bunny (H.W. in the film) to his Dad, and the story is focalized through Daniel Plainview, which sets many other changes in themes and plot. For instance, by focusing on Daniel’s character, the theme of “alienation” and “greed” are remarkably colored in the movie, and by putting Bunny in the shade, there is no more quest for socialism. Moreover, while the novel candidly supports socialism and tries to subvert capitalism, the film puts religion and capitalism against each other by removing Paul Watkins from the story and highlighting Eli Watkins’s role. Based on these various changes, this adaptation can be called an analogy (in Geoffrey Wagner’s word) or borrowing (as Dudley Andrew calls it).