Books & Movies

Hello again everyone!

Blog # 5 is a little different from the others. It is more personal related, which I enjoy.

People who love reading are often disappointed by the movie versions of their favourite books. There have been many great films made from books, but usually movie versions of books never seem to satisfy the readers because it’s “just not the same.” We are all aware that Sara Gruen’s Water For Elephants is a very popular novel and film. Although I enjoyed the film, it was not nearly as good as the book, so i’m going to have to agree with the readers on this one! I find that this is the case with most novels that are turned into movies. For instance, I have read Twilight, and also watched the film. Although I am a big fan of the movie, I found the book was a lot more interesting.

I find that if you read the book first, you are presented to so many details, which broaden your imagination. Films leave little to viewers’ imaginations. When you read a book, what you’re really doing is you’re creating your own movie in your head and decide the most important parts like how the characters speak, what they look like, what their surroundings are like, etc. This process of imagining and visualizing as reader is a creative process significantly different from viewing a film. Books allow a narrative voice to carry the reader along or to fill in gaps in the readers knowledge. Movies also tend to cut out very important parts and sometimes even characters that the readers are probably looking forward to. For example, in Water for Elephants, the movie didn’t have Uncle Al, which was a main character in the novel. Instead, they kind of made August and him into one character. Although the acting in the movie was fantastic, it would have been interesting to see the two characters and how they interacted with each other.

Books also have a clearer and better explanation if or when there is a flashback moment. For instance, in Water for Elephants, whenever Jacob would flash back to his life in the nursing home, it would be clear that the setting changed from the moment you started reading. This is also another part that the movie left out, which made me a little disappointed. It would have been nice to see Jacob’s life in the old-age home, and his interactions with the different nurses, including Rosemary. Books also provide a better understanding of the history leading up to the main event. The movie started off a bit confusing. The audience didn’t know that he was a man in an old-age home until a couple minutes in when he explained himself, which also lasted only a couple minutes.

All and all, movies and books are always going to be different. People usually tend to like the book more, but I am open minded to both, meaning I won’t go into a movie automatically thinking it’s not going to be as good. I liked both the Twilight book and movie, but in this case, the book satisfied me more. Books seem to have more ideas for your imagination to work with. Don’t get me wrong, movies are also great for your imagination, but just not as much.

Anyway, hope you all have a good weekend and I look forward to reading your thoughts as well!

– Victoria M

 

Death by Landscape by Margaret Atwood

Hi everyone! I have just finished reading “Death by Landscape” and I must say, I really enjoyed it. Margaret Atwood is a very talented and clear writer. Even though this story is portrayed to be depressing at the beginning, Ms. Atwood has done a very good job focusing more on the plot of the story than the mourning of Rob, or her good friend Lucy. Any-who, moving on with the blog.

At the beginning of the story, Lois displays her art collection on the walls of her new apartment. She spends this time admiring the paintings, yet, Margaret explains that they do not fill her with peace, as paintings are usually meant to do. She says the paintings show landscapes that make her very uneasy. “Looking at them fills her with a wordless unease. Despite the fact that there are no people in them or even animals, its as if there is something, or someone, looking back out” (Atwood 336). As we can see, Lois mentions that she feels that someone is “looking back out,” which brings the readers attention to her camp experience starting when she was nine. The camp setting represents a domesticated wilderness. She is afraid of the atmosphere, but in time she does adapt to it. I believe that the symbolism in this story is the paintings. They seem to be a constant reminder of the past; a past of sadness, loss of a friend, and lack of closure.

When we read “Death by Landscape” we are able to picture the girls on their campsite and we can envision the wilderness around them, which makes it much more interesting and gives it that effect of realism. “Spindly balsam and spruce trees grow to either side, the lake is blue fragments to the left. The sun is right overhead; there are no shadows anywhere. The heat comes up at them as well as down. The forest is dry and crackly” (Atwood 344). This is an excellent example of imagery that is portrayed throughout the story. Margaret describes each scene so that the readers have a better image in their mind about where the setting takes place. This quote specifically describes the scene near the end of the story where we learn that the two girls get separated from the other campers to climb a trail that led to “Lookout Point,” which is a sleep cliff that overlooks the lake. Lois and Lucy rest on a rock very close to the edge of the cliff, which Lois is admittedly afraid of. She has a fear of heights, but Lucy, on the other hand, wants to jump off into the water. Lois stops her, and Lucy claims she needed to go pee. We learn that Lucy never returns, and Lois gets falsely accused of pushing her off out of rage. As the years go on, she mourns the the loss of her friend. We can only imagine what kind of fear that Lois has on wilderness after this incident, but we find out that it has had more of a positive impact on her life, than a negative one. She learns at the end of the story, that Lucy has been with her all along, in her house, in her paintings.

“She looks at the paintings, she looks into them. Every one of them is a picture of Lucy. You can’t see her exactly, but she’s there, in behind the pink stone island or the one behind that. In the picture of the cliff she is hidden by the clutch of fallen rocks towards the bottom, in the one of the river shore she is crouching beneath the overturned canoe. In the yellow autumn woods she is behind the tree that cannot be seen because of the other trees, over beside the blue silver of pond; but if you walked into the picture and found the tree, it would be the wrong one, because the right one would be farther on” (Atwood 348).

Throughout the story, we can clearly see how nature is presented as a negative role in Lois’ life. Her fear towards it is represented from the beginning, with her assumption that there was something more to her paintings. Atwood attempts to show the readers a symbolic perspective of the story, with describing each scene of the wilderness, and why Lois may have chose the paintings that she did. Though her walls are filled with landscape paintings, Lois’ inability to reconnect with the wilderness appears to be connected to her regrets about Lucy’s death.

Soldiers Home by Ernest Hemingway

Hi everyone!

I just finished reading “Soldiers Home” by Ernest Hemingway and I must say I was quite disappointed in the way Krebs character was portrayed. It seems as though he expects society to praise him because of the fact that he IS a soldier and that he fights for their country. Obviously we should acknowledge the fact that he is a Soldier and that he has put himself at risk for us, but he shouldn’t just do it because he wants attention. He should do it because he wants to.

I would also like to point out that I don’t really like the way this Author writes, but lets save that for another day.

Anyway, Jackson J. Benson cleverly recognizes the main theme “Blindness vs. Awareness” throughout the story. The son and mother have many conflicting encounters as the mother tries to talk to him and make him feel more at home by offering him access to the car, for example. I think that both Kerbs and his mother took turns in being the “Blind” and the “Aware” one. Hemingway writes “Krebs found that to be listened to at all he had to lie, and after he has done this twice he, too, has a reaction against the war and against talking about it” (Hemingway 273). From this quote, we can clearly see that Krebs thinks that since his stories don’t seem to cause any type of reaction upon his family, he can just lie to make it seem more exciting and interesting. This is an example of why I believe that Krebs could be the one whom is Blind. But on the other hand, I can also see why he can be a little hurt. He has served his country, whether it was for 2 months or 2 years, and he thinks that it should be rewarded. And it should be. We all can recognize the importance and bravery of the Soldiers that have sacrificed their lives for us, but we also need to recognize that these horrific events and details from war can be emotionally damaging to some people. Maybe his mother didn’t want to hear about it for a reason. Maybe she was just happy that he came home safe, and doesn’t want to think about him getting hurt or worse. Which brings me to my previous point about the mother possibly being the one “Aware”.  Although she is UNaware of the trauma that her son has gone through, she is more interested in the fact that he is safe, and at home.

I do admit that in parts of the story, the point of view can be reversed. The mother can be blind. For instance, when she says “..and he is willing for you to take the car out in the evenings,” (Hemingway 276) to Krebs, it seems as though she is talking to him like a child who needs discipline and responsibilities even though he is a grown man. But i’m sure that we can all admit that she is just happy to have her son back. Not all parents are fortunate enough to have their children safe at home and not at war risking their lives. The parents who do have this child, can be emotionally stressed because of all the horrific and traumatizing events that we, as a society, hear as outside perspectives. I should also point out the Krebs can as well be “applaud” because of the new “awareness” he has towards mankind.  After his experience with war, we can only assume that he has become used to facing these horrible events and is not ready to face any more complications in his life for the time being.

In conclusion, at first I was pessimistic about which character was “blind” and which was “aware” because of the many different conflicting idea’s that the mother and son had towards each other, but I came to the conclusion that the two characters can be seen in both perspectives. Blindness vs. Awareness was a great way of portraying the theme in “Soldiers Home,” and I definitely applaud Mr. Benson for pointing that out. It made it much easier to understand 🙂

Thanks,

– Victoria

“I Stand Here Ironing” and “The Yellow Wall-Paper”

Personally, I think “I Stand Here Ironing” is a story that has both a Feminist view and Marxist view. I think that both of these critiques have a major impact on each other in certain parts of the story. For starters, in a Feminist view, the narrator, also known as Emily’s mother, seems to find herself  abandoned when her husband and father of her child leaves her not even a year into Emily’s life. He left her a note saying that he could “no longer endure… sharing want with us.” This note was the start of a life with no father for Emily to grow up with, and less income for the family to live off of. Even though in the 1960’s women were  brought up to depend on men, the narrator quickly learns that she is fact alone. She tried to get her life back on track by finally re-marrying, but not long after, she found herself single-handedly taking care of her growing family when her new husband went off to war. Although these actions were not always intentional, she still had to bear these circumstances due to the kind of society she lived in.

As for the Marxist view on “I Stand Here Ironing”, Emily and her mother are repeatedly taken advantage of and defeated by the pressures of the capitalist system in which they live. Since Emily’s father left her mother at an early age in her life, there were no government programs to help her in raising her daughter. “I was nineteen. It was a pre-relief, pre-WPA world of depression.” (pg.182) This quote taken directly from the text, was meant to show that in the early 1930’s, where this all took place, Emily’s mother struggled with finding steady job. Although she was willing to work, she was paid poorly; which caused her to have to send her daughter to live with her husband’s family. Raising enough money to get her daughter back required long, and hard work.

When Emily gets measles, we learn that because of the society they live in, she has to be sent to a convalescent home. But once again, Emily’s mother is separated from her daughter since the family cannot afford private treatment, and has to go into an institution which doesn’t allow any contact with her family, which explains why she never received any letters from anyone. Overall, we can see that because of the society’s restrictions and social conditions, the mother-daughter relationship between these two characters is quickly worsening. They constantly get separated from one another, therefore they cannot truly understand what it is like to be a family.

As for “The Yellow Wall-Paper”, I think it has more of a Feminist view on it because we can see that the narrator’s husband is very controlling over her and her decisions. It is a story about a woman’s struggles against male-centric thinking and societal norms. John, her husband, diagnoses her as sick and convince her that he can cure her. His plan is to keep her inside and keeping her away from activities such as writing, make decisions on her own, or interacting with the outside world. John claims that her condition is improving but she knows that it is not. We learn that John is somewhat manipulative. “…John says the very worst thing I can do is to think about my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad.” (pg.) Her husband seems to be the one who can change her thoughts because of the power that males had over females in this time. The final passages of the story successfully presents a display of power and possible regain of self-confidence when the narrator stands up to her husband by locking him out of the room in which he has imprisoned her supposedly for her own good. These actions symbolize the beginning of women’s rights, and finally gaining power in the world.

The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

I just finished reading “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, and I found it quite interesting. It caught my attention from the very first paragraph which included information that you don’t expect to be in the first sentence of a short story. It stated that Mrs. Mallard had heart trouble, and that her husband had died. But this wasn’t the case. Chopin twisted the ending by telling us that Mr. Mallard had in fact not died; but as previously stated, Mrs. Mallard has heart trouble, and once she saw whom she thought was her dead husband, she instantly dies of a heart disease.

In my opinion, this story’s setting seems to be more important than the ending. In each scene, Chopin describes the setting in a way that makes Mrs. Mallard look as if she is not in fact sad, but more relieved, as horrible as it may sound. For instance, after grieving over the death of her husband, Mrs. Mallard excuses herself and heads up to her room. “There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy  armchair.” (pg. 77) Chopin uses the adjective “roomy” to describe the armchair, I believe, to symbolize the fact that she now has more space in her room because of her husband’s death. I am aware that I may sound a bit pessimistic, but as the story goes on, it seems more as if she is either over the death of her husband, or wasn’t grieving at all in the first place. “There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself.” (pg. 78) From this phrase, the readers can easily see that Mrs. Mallard is thinking more about the upcoming years, and her freedom, rather than mourning over her husband. She would finally be able to things for herself, and will never have to answer to anyone; so she thought.

I believe Chopin did a very good job of catching the reader’s attention right from the start, as all writers should do. Critics view Chopin as an author of “trick” conclusions and endings that are not what readers expect; but isn’t that the fun in reading? As a reader, I would love a trick ending to a story, that’s what makes it exciting. I do believe that the more important element of this story is the ending, but I don’t necessarily agree with the critics that see Chopin as only a “local colourist” or “creator of clever plot twists.” I see much more potential in her stories. Her style of writing may not always please her readers, but in my opinion, it caught my attention, and that’s that I most look forward to in a story.

Hello world!

Hello. My name is Victoria. I am a student at Laurentian University and I am hoping to get my degree in Psychology. I am straight out of high school and still a little nervous about the University experience. I commute here from Newmarket everyday, which is a bit of a hassle.

I love to play sports, especially soccer. I have been playing soccer since I was 5 years old.  My family loves sports as well. My dad plays and coaches a basketball team; my brothers team to be exact. It is a competitive league. My mom’s not activly in any sports, but she loves to come out and watch us play.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blogs, hope you enjoy them.

Vicmal.