It was indeed in the book.
However, in the book it was a fully formed storyline and far deeper characterization.
The book, essentially, is about how Willie Keith grows up and becomes a man. The two things that cause him to do this are: his relationship with May and his service on the Caine. (In the book, he's never sent to another ship after the court-martial. He returns to the Caine, spends the rest of the war aboard her, saves the ship during a kamikaze attack at Okinawa and is named her final captain before it's decommissioned and sent to the boneyard.)
It follows Willie from his meeting with May in late 1941, through his service on the Caine and his return from the war in the autumn of 1945. May is a major character in the book. She's doubtless the most important non-naval character who spurs Willie's development.
Willie's father is in the book's early chapters. He dies of a melanoma soon after Willie leaves for the Pacific. At one point he visits Willie at midshipman's school. Willie -who's distracted by his relationship with May- tells his father all about her. (He'd not told his family about her yet.) His father actually approves of her. He says that in his opinion, both May and the Navy are having a positive influence on Willie and he'd like to meet her someday.
I agree in the film it was really a needless subplot. But in the book, it was one of the two main narratives of the story.
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vinidici
9 years ago
Well at least the "Willie's love life" scenes are kept to a minimum. I had no problem with them because the whole story is seen through Willie's eyes. His personal life is part of the story and it has some effect on his perceptions and growth in his Naval life.
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