James Joyce's wrote "The Dead" to portray certain elements of human nature and human characteristics. The main characteristic in Joyce's novel was death. Not only did he use physical death of humans in his story, but he also introduced the idea of emotional death happening before actual physical death. John Huston had to try and incorporate these important symbols into his film which was based on Joyce's original story. This was not a very easy task to accomplish. He triumphed in certain character portrayals and scene additions but he also bitterly failed at others. That is why John Huston's version of The Dead is a mediocre portrayal of Joyce's original work.
In the story "The Dead" the entire plot is based around the main character: Gabriel. Readers learn different aspects of the story through the eyes of Gabriel, which gives them a very narrow view of the true plot. Gabriel's views only offer one side of what is going on, the side of a "west briton" who does not exactly fit in with the other characters in the novel. That is why in John Huston's version of The Dead he splits the emphasis up between three characters. He does this so the viewer would be able to see what is going on in the mind of other characters as well. Plus, it ads more drama to the plot to see what is going on through the eyes of a drunk, and a woman who is going through emotional highs and lows.
In the original, Gabriel's character is supposed to be very scholarly and a highly educated man. Joyce made this known to the reader because Gabriel was described as a man who wore spectacles, and man who supported his stern ideas very strongly. Gabriel exclaims " I"m sick of my own country, sick of it!" letting everyone know how he feels about Ireland, and backs up this statement by saying that Irish is not his language. He stays strong to his ideas and who he is. This aspect of Gabriel's character does not emerge in Huston's version.