Field of Dreams

Point of View

The main character in the movie is Ray Kinsella. He narrates the very beginning of the movie and talks about his father and how he was in the war and what his favorite baseball teams were. This is when the audience finds out about his poor relationship with his father, which is not in the short story. In the story, it sounds like he has a good relationship with his father and they shared a common love of baseball and they liked the same teams. In the movie, the audience does hear the same voice Ray hears when the other characters cannot hear the voice. The audience does get to see what Ray is going through though we do not know his exact thoughts or feelings.

Characterization

There were many new characters in the movie that were not in the short story. Ray Kinsella's wife, Annie, has a brother in the movie. He is a reminder to the audience of Ray's financial problems because he and his partners buy the note to the farm. Ray and Annie go bankrupt because of the field and he threatens them with foreclosure. In the story, when he tells Annie he has to build a baseball field she responds, "Do it, love" (pg 512). In the movie, she is hesitant and even tries to dissuade him from building the field. His daughter, Karin, is not two years old in the movie. There is another character named Terrence Mann. He is an author and Ray has to take him to a baseball game where they find out about Moonlight Graham. Shoeless Joe is not the only baseball player in the movie. In the story, Joe Jackson mentions bringing other players to the baseball field, but the story ends. In the movie, Joe brings in other teams so they can play games.

Setting

The setting in the movie was the same in the short story. It takes place in Iowa and the family own a farm. The farm house, in the story, is described as "a massive old farm home, square as a biscuit box with a sagging verandah on three sides" (pg 512). The house in the movie fit this description. it was an old white farm house with a big wrap around porch. In the movie, Ray Kinsella travels to Boston to meet Terrence Mann and the to Minnesota to meet Moonlight Graham. He does not travel to these places in the story.

Plot

The plot in the movie was also similar to the plot in the book. The movie had to add different scenes to make the movie an appropriate length. The main character hears a voice telling him, "If you build it, he will come." In the story, he immediately receives a vision of a baseball field and decides to build the field. In the movie, he does not know what it means and the voice repeats itself a few times and Ray struggles to decipher its meaning. The added characters in the movie contribute to the changes of the plot. Ray has to meet Terrence Mann and Moonlight Graham. These characters are not in the story. Ray also gets two additional messages from the voice. The second message was "Ease his pain" and the third was "Go the distance." Ray's father comes back to play baseball in the movie. He was the catcher for the team. Ray does not meet his father in the story.

Theme

The theme in the movie differs from the theme of the story. The theme of the movie emphasizes believing in something. Ray builds the baseball field and believes Shoeless Joe will play on the field. He and his family can watch the games but Annie's brother cannot see the players. He did not believe it was possible and thought that Ray was crazy. There was another theme about the bond between father and son. In the movie, Ray had a bad relationship with his father. He left home when he was about 17 and he never went back. His father had wanted to play catch with him when he was younger but he refused. He later regretted his actions and he was sorry. At the end of the movie, he plays catch with his father. The importance of family is also a theme in the movie, though it is not as strong as it is in the story. Ray loves his family, but Annie does not always support him when he needed her full support.