Diploma thesis Portraying the lower social class in the novel The Misfortunates and the film adaptation of the same name is divided into five main parts. The first part presents an overview of Flemish and Dutch literature with an accent on contemporary Flemish literature as the literary context of the author Dimitrij Verhulst. As an essential feature of his literary expression the theory of the autobiographical novel and the literary-historical overview of the socially critical genre have been explained. In the second part there have been presented the facts from Verhulst's life that served as inspiration for his literary works as wall as his artistic oeuvre. In the third part the features of the novel The Misfortunates are presented from relevant sources and an analysis of the work was carried out with all the most important aspects, among which are the problems of alcoholism and the resulting family difficulties, then love and loyalty, transience and irreversibility, as well as (not) possibility of separating the individual from his roots. The fourth part is dedicated to the film adaptation of the literary work. It provides a theoretical basis on the screen adaptation of a written text, information on the Flemish director Felix van Groeningen and an analysis of the film with significant moments. In the fifth part there is an elaboration of the topic, after the clarification of the concept of social class. The aesthetic of the ugly proved to be an important factor in Verhulst's writing style, while it is toned down in the film. The following is a description of the aspects through which the authors depicted the lower social class in their works: alcoholism, low social status, dialect, curses and vulgarisms, attitude towards the opposite sex and the use of contrast to further emphasize a certain aspect. A comparative presentation of the same problems in two different media was carried out, taking into account the differences between them. In the conclusion, the results obtained from this work are presented.