"Jaws": the Movie vs the Book Trivia Quiz

Answer: Three

In the movie, Sean and Michael are fairly well-represented. The Chief plays around with them and Michael is seen playing in his small boat. In the book, Chief Brody actually has three sons. They aren't mentioned often, but one of his sons lost his cat due to a threat from the mafia.

Answer: False

Larry Vaughn flat-out refused to close the beaches after the first attack. Chief Brody fought hard to close them, but ultimately was shut down completely, and had his job threatened as a result. Both versions of Larry Vaughn wanted those beaches open!

Answer: Not much, actually

There are such slight differences in the death of little Alex in the book and the movie. In both instances, his mother begrudgingly lets him go swimming for a short time. Alex rode on his little toy and the shark saw him. He was killed by it and Mrs. Kintner slapped Chief Brody in both cases.

She was upset to hear that there had already been one attack already, yet the beaches had remained open.

Answer: True

When she was growing up, Ellen, Brody's wife, dated David Hooper. She saw his little brother, Matt, a few times. She insisted on calling the younger boy "Matthew". When they met at a tool shop in town, Matt reminded her that they'd seen each other before and he remembered her fondly.

Answer: Orca

Just like the movie, the boat the men hunted the shark on was called "Orca". Chief Brody, Hooper, and Quint used the boat every day. Hooper would throw chum out to lure the shark, while Brody mostly was just bored and read a book. Unlike the movie, the men would return home at the end of each day as opposed to staying out in the ocean at night.

Answer: Ellen was mostly unhappy

Ellen married Brody, and essentially left her old life behind. But at times she missed those days of feeling spoiled and rich. When Matt Hooper arrived, she felt that he represented the good old days. She arranged an affair with him. Hooper had a crush on her when he was younger so he didn't object much. Afterwards, Ellen dismissed Hooper and felt more at peace, for now.

Answer: Hooper objected to Quint's methods

Quint made fun of Hooper at times, much to Brody's enjoyment. But the thing Hooper objected to most of all was Quint's aggression toward sea life. Quint thought of sharks as dumb fish that were predictable. He also had the fetus of a baby dolphin and grinned while telling Hooper about it. Hooper was an ichthyologist and hated the way Quint went about his hunt.

In the movie, this is done mostly to a comedic effect, whereas in the novel, it's more of a tension-builder.

Answer: He strangled him

From the moment Brody met Hooper, he didn't like him. He sized up the younger man and unconsciously decided he would win in a fight due to experience. As the novel progressed, Hooper essentially hinted that he'd slept with Brody's wife. In a fit of rage, Brody strangled the younger man. Quint laughed at the fight.

Despite his feelings toward Hooper, Brody did want to save him when the younger man was attacked.

Answer: Just Chief Brody

In the movie, Hooper and Brody ended up surviving and swimming back to shore together; Quint got devoured by an aggressive attack by the great white shark. In the novel, Hooper never made it out of the cage alive. The great white tore him in two. Also, Quint was not killed by the shark, but rather by drowning.

His foot got tangled with the rope attached to the great white and he ended up being dragged overboard. Brody barely made it out alive in the book.

Answer: It didn't sink, it didn't float

The shark weighed several tons. When it succumbed to the shots and the harpoons the men had been shooting at it, Brody watched it. It rolled, but it didn't sink all of the way, despite its weight. It had barrels attached to it, so it was stuck in a way.

It was almost a poetic image: the massive great white sideways in the water, with the lifeless body of Quint attached to it by the rope, a few feet above it.