rough with his affair with Melanie. The affair is her gift to Ben- her version of showing him flesh and blood and earth. Ultimately, these two characters show Ben Du Toit (not to mention the reader) that which is important in life: not to chase after some idealistic dream, but what is real and tangible. And it is worth the struggle, because what it really comes down to is not changing the world or worrying about the trivialities, but saving ones own soul, and following ones heart in doing what one knows is right. The affair was not the only action that Palcy changed. She tends to emphasize the physically dramatic aspects of A Dry White Season more than the morally dramatic issues that the book addresses. Ben and Stanley have a different relationship in the movie, and are both appointed drastic rebellious actions that they did not have in the book- Ben slaps his boss in the face after he is fired and insulted. Stanley seeks revenge by shooting Stolz at the very end of the movie. Bens relationship with his son is very different in the film than their relationship in the novel, which carries through into the end. Ben and Stanley, in the book, are very similar. Ben relates to Stanley right away when they talk about their similar pasts. And he continues to relate to him throughout the story. The fact that they are so similar makes it all the more jolting when Ben finally comes to terms with the fact that he can never really relate to Stanleys condition. He (Ben) is white, and as hard as his life is, it is privileged in comparison with Stanleys life. In a way, Stanley is the black version of Ben. By distancing the men in the movie, Palcy is trying to show the enormous gap between blacks and whites in South Africa- her film is much more racially oriented than Brinks novel is. To Brink, the main concern here is to explore humanity, not particularly race. This realization is one that Brink must have had to come to terms with in ...
