Compare And Contrast A Little Princess And The Secret Garden

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The Film ‘A Little Princess’ directed by Alfonso Cuaron in 1995 and tells a story of a young girl from India, who is sent to stay at a boarding school while her father goes to fight in war, as her mother is dead. On the other hand, the novel ‘The secret Garden’ was written by Frances Hodgson Burnett in 1911 and tells a story of a spoilt ten year old girl who has to move from India to her uncle's house in England after her parents had died from a disease. Both film and novel displays the theme of independence, change and growing up throughout while also having many differences between them. The central themes between the two texts is explored in the setting, characters, plot structure and style. There are many similarities and differences which …show more content…
Both stories have got the main character as a young girl aged 10-12. Both characters are familiar with being cared for in perfect condition, so when they are exposed to the world of independence there is endless amount to learn for both girls. Cuarón’s main character, Sara is kind, loving and positive this is also Burnett’s character, Marry who is stubborn, rude and unloved. Both characters need to grow as a person and have a lot to learn. By the end of the pieces the main characters change radically into independent, caring girls who people have come to know and love. There are many characters in both storylines that need to grow up as well these include Collin and Archibald Craven who were characters in ‘The Secret Garden.’ Collin was a negative and sour boy who thinks he will die and Archibald, is afraid to see his son Colin because he reminds him too much of his dead wife. The characters from ‘ A Little Princess’ Lavinia who is a stuck up and snobby girl, which she thinks that everybody around her are her servants and Miss Minchin who is bossy to all the girls helps displays the theme of growing up. At the later stages of the stories they grow up and changed into people that would be respected by others and who are happy with the way that they have changed. Miss Minchin has a turning point when Sara says ‘I am a princess …show more content…
While both plots focus on the lives of Mary and Sara, They have very different storylines and styles of presenting the pieces. While both Mary and Sara have lost their mothers, their father as well in mary’s case, the plot line following isn’t similar. While Cuarón’s story has stories telling that relates to the plot built in, Burnett takes a different approach by keeping the story line easy to follow and in logical order. Both plot lines contain the girls growing independent with mention of the way that they are changing throughout. Both pieces have a satisfying start and ending with logical order in the middle. While Cuarón’s has a happy ending to his story where everything that was wrong goes right, Burnett goes a different way and shows that things are getting better with the use of a happy scene, which you would have never believed at the start. ‘The Secret Garden’ finished with the phrase ‘ across the lawn came the Master of Misselthwaite, and he looked as many of them had never seen him.’ This statement has shown that Colin has changed and how everyone is shocked that he can walk and that he is healthy. This addition to the plot makes it a positive and makes the story more about colin and less about Mary. Cuarón’s has a similar approach by finishing the film with both Sara and Becky Riding away in a

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