Talk:The Bourne Identity (novel)

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Contents 1 Plot summary inaccurate 2 Double-entendre? 3 Plot hole? 4 Yacht assassination 5 The Assignment - another spin-off? 6 Any details on Treadstone training/conditioning?

[edit] Plot summary inaccurate

Okay, I just saw this movie on TV the first time last night. But it's not true to say the Damon character uses the girl as a hostage to escape the embassy. He gets out of his own accord, then pays her to drive him to Paris. She's not a hostage.

He uses her as hostage in the book. the movie is different.

Amnesia or not?
I just edited the plot summary to correct the spelling of "definitely", and after re-reading it, that sentence doesn't make sense - the head injury "definitely did not give him amnesia" - could someone familiar with the plot please confirm this wording as accurate?
--DavidJField (talk) 17:22, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Double-entendre?

Is the title "The Bourne Identity" a play on "borne identity"? This seems noteworthy if true. 149.159.92.56 04:01, 14 Feb 2005 (UTC)

According to IMDB, the name Bourne came from Ansel Bourne, a preacher in Rhode Island, the first documented case of "dissociative fugue", a condition not unlike dissociative amnesia or dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality disorder). One day in 1887 he forgot who he was, started a new life in Pennsylvania under the name Brown, and opened a convenience store. About three months later, he woke up and not only remembered his life as Bourne, but forgot all of his life as Brown... and needless to say was quite confused as to why he was in Pennsylvania.If it were a 'double-entendre', it would be a pretty lame one Kar98 01:08, 12 December 2005 (UTC)

Writers love that kind of thing. Never put it past a writer to employ a pun -- it's almost always intended, because even if the writer didn't originally notice the pun, the writer [and editors] will, you can be sure, notice it, and then must decide: leave it, or change it? Writers work with words and phrases. It's impossible to believe, in this case, that "Bourne" did not have a double meaning in Ludlum's mind. --Mooncaine 06:35, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Plot hole?

(moved question to Talk:The_Bourne_Identity_(movie))

[edit] Yacht assassination

The failed yacht assassination was part of the movie plot, not the book plot.

In the book he found his way into the ocean with gunshot wounds in a very different way. He showed up in Marseille to prevent an assassination. He was tricked into getting onto a fishing boat with the belief that he was being taken to see someone he was supposed to meet. Once the boat got out to sea there was a fight and he was seriously injured.

The assassination happened a few days later. On land.

What? I don't recall this at all. I just read the book too. From what I recall he went there to prevent the assassination on the yacht, but he failed to do so etc. The people on the fishing boat found him in the sea. I don't remember any of this trickery to get him there. I believe you're wrong. Anyone else have input here? K1Bond007 04:06, Dec 9, 2004 (UTC)

If you've got the book on hand, flip to right around the middle until you find his conversation with Lavier in the cafe. She explains the details surrounding his injury. It was 2 different fishing boats. The one he was shot on blew up, presumably by his hand. The other came along later and rescued him. Also, if you find the part where he reads the newspaper about the Leland assassination, you'll see that Leland was assassinated on the pier with a rifle fired from a building window. No yacht was involved.

Alrighty. Sounds good. I just LOL don't recall that and I don't have the book to double check. K1Bond007 18:06, Dec 9, 2004 (UTC)

It was only a couple sentences out of the whole book and not mentioned again. The only reason I remembered it is I've read the book a bunch of times. I looked it up to make sure, too.

[edit] The Assignment - another spin-off?

Has anyone noticed the plot for the film The Assignment is very similar to that of the Bourne Identity novel? One could almost venture to say its a rip-off...

Carlos the Jackal has been used in numerous films, novels etc. I would hardly call this a rip-off. One could, by the same logic, argue that the Bourne Identity was a rip off of Fleming's You Only Live Twice where James Bond develops amnesia. K1Bond007 02:22, Apr 28, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Any details on Treadstone training/conditioning?

Hello - for anyone who has read the books from cover to cover: are there ever any details given of the training techniques Bourne went through as part of the Treadstone conditioning?

Thanks

Marklagrange 21:11, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

In the books Treadstone had nothing to do with training or conditioning; Treadstone was the program to disguise Webb as Bourne-slash-Cain and trap Carlos. The training program was Medusa. Now if you are talking about movies... Blue Spider 14:31, 13 August 2007 (UTC)