The Harder They Come

The Harder They Come

The Harder They Come was truly a revolutionary effort. Prior to this book being published their was not a great amount of West Indian literature that touched on the realities of Jamaica presented at hand within the novel. Not only did the book bring truth to light on an island thought to only be a resort, but it also spread the fire of reggae across the borders.

In Thelwell’s re-adaptation of the movie, he alludes to many background and political details in addition to the original plot. Through clarifying on the debatable adaptation, the limitations, and the versioning attributed to The Harder They Come, one analyzes the similarities between the film and novel versions of Henzell’s story.

The Harder They Come focuses on the life of the main character, Ivanhoe Martin, who grows up in the country and following the death of his grandmother, moves to the city of Kingston seeking success as a recording artist. Unfortunately, he quickly realizes the harsh reality of city life when he unsuccessfully pursues legitimate employment. Acting on advice from his mother, he finds shelter with a preacher and girl, the preacher’s protйgйe, named Elsa. However, due to an attraction to Elsa and other inappropriate behavior, the preacher eventually forces Ivan out of his home. As punishment for angrily slashing up another man’s face, a court sentences and punishes Ivan by administering a caning. Rebounding from this incident, Ivan attempts to return to a respectable life as a recording artist and living with Elsa. Nevertheless, after receiving very little money for his first recording, Ivan resorts to selling ganja and trafficking drugs. These actions cause Ivan to develop a negative reputation with the police. Although his record sales sky rocket due to his infamous popularity, the police eventually catch up to him. After a few gun battles, in which Ivan acts out his cowboy fantasies, government forces ultimately gun him down resulting in his death and the conclusion of the story.

Michael Thelwell’s recreation of this plot tells a very similar story, but with many added elements of his own. Clearly The Harder They Come exemplifies this sense of adaptation as Thelwell himself admits that the movie inspires the story. Among the many additions to the movie, Thelwell includes a lengthy introductory background describing Ivan’s youth in the country with his grandmother. While this extra improves the reader’s understanding of Ivan’s character, it still simply acts as an added chunk to the movie. This background info serves one of its primary functions by depicting Ivan’s innocence before moving to Kingston. However, one might argue that Jimmy Cliff, the actor playing Ivan, effectively displays his innocence through his actions in the film. Much of Thelwell’s other additions to the film’s dialogue consist of complex descriptions of the Jamaican city, culture, and environment. Though these prove very helpful in visualizing the scenes in Henzell’s film, the adaptation of The Harder They Come basically requires them in order to reconstruct the realities captured in the movie, making them not an addition, but a requirement. This poses the question of superiority between the two mediums in which Henzell and Thelwell present the story.

Writing easily conveys a character’s thoughts or ideas whereas film simply lacks the ability to accomplish this. For example, Ivan becomes obsessed with westerns after he sees one at Kingston’s movie theater and desires to act