Fried Green Tomatoes

4 Pages 1110 Words

Compare & Contrast: Deaths in “Fried Green Tomatoes”
“Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe” by Fannie Flagg is a wonderfully written book that blends an on-going drama of a small town. But the movie that portrays this book is different in many ways. One aspect of the novel that is portrayed differently in the movie is the deaths of Buddy, Ruth and Frank Bennet. Although the incidents in the movie go hand-in-hand with the novel, the events that lead to the deaths of these characters differ in description.
Both the book and the movie differ greatly but eventually lead to the same fateful outcome in the movie. Buddy is seen to be flirting with Ruth, who has come to visit and happens to be attending Leona’s wedding. Buddy, Ruth and Idgie calmly take a stroll through a running river to a spot over the railroad tracks. While kissing Buddy, Ruth’s hat is blown away down to the tracks. Buddy politely goes after it to impress Ruth. After finally catching it, he suddenly realizes that his foot is caught in the rails when he hears the oncoming train. He frantically tries to free him self but is unsuccessful and is killed.
In the novel too, Buddy is killed in a train accident, but the description leading up to his death differs from the movie. Instead of a wedding Buddy is attending a church picnic. After the picnic the Threadgoode boys all get together and go to the train station to say their good-byes to a group leaving town. Buddy starts flirting around with Marie Miller. As she begins to leave Buddy stops on the rail road tracks and looks back to Marie and tips his hat and gives a big smile in respect. He never hears the coming train behind him. He is instantly killed. Ruth was never there and Idgie had been playing ball in Troutville.
The second death which occurs involves Ruth Jamison. Ruth is portrayed in the movie as a perfect match for the character in the book but the events leading to her ...