 Rosenbloom 's film differed from Naylor 's novel in several key aspects . In the novel , Marty 's family is poor and economic opportunities are limited . The family 's four @-@ room homestead is ancient and has not seen remodeling in decades . In the film , the family is wealthy and there are numerous economic opportunities . The family 's two @-@ story house is a " stunning showplace of hardwoods , elegant color schemes , and tasteful appointments " . Marty makes money very quickly by doing various chores . By transforming Marty 's family from being poor to being well off , Rosenbloom makes the conflict between Marty and Judd an emotional , instead of an economic one . In the novel , Marty and his family hunt animals , while in the film , his father does not hunt . Author Timothy Morris states that " [ t ] he force of the film 's ideology is to blur all distinctions between humans and animals " . Judd is transformed from a native in the novel into an interloper in the film who holds the contrarian view that humans and animals are different , that " [ a ] <unk> were put here for us . They ain ' got no other purpose or feelin 's . " 
