Adaptation Blog - "Everyday Use"

POINT OF VIEW

If I were to make one of our short stories into a film, I would choose "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker and make it a suspenseful movie. One of the most significant changes would be changing the point of view. In the original work, Mama tells the story giving her own personal thoughts and feelings about situations with her children. In the film version, Maggie would be narrating the story. In the original, Maggie never says much to Mama or Dee. In the film, the viewer will get to hear what Maggie is actually thinking during her sister's visit. For a film, Mama's consistent support of her daughters even when she disagrees would not keep the audience interested. When the audience hears Maggie's views, jealousy, and feelings of insufficiency, they will sympathize more with her character and find a basis to relate with her on.

PLOT

The beginning of the film would begin the same, with Mama and Maggie waiting outside for Dee to come home for a visit. We first see Mama's face, joyful at the fact her daughter Dee was coming home to see her. Then we see Maggie's face: bitter, hard, and cold. As she silently waits beside her mother, her thoughts narrate to the audience, beginning with the statement, "I will never forgive her for that day." She goes on to describe the day their house caught on fire and she was severely burned while a flashback appears on the screen of Mama carrying her out of the house. The camera then zooms into Maggie's eyes which make eye contact to Dee standing beside the tree. Dee's face is seen next with an expressionless stare. Maggie continues to narrate how she knew in her heart she started that fire out of her jealousy for the attention Mama always gave to Maggie instead of her. Dee finally arrives and the story continues very similarly to the story, the only difference being that Maggie continues expressing her thoughts about Dee and also how she resents Mama for not believing that Dee started that fire. Maggie keeps her mouth shut around Dee and Mama for the duration of Dee's visit. As everyone goes to sleep at night, Maggie is the last one awake and she uses this quiet time to think of ways to finally get revenge. She comes up with many ideas, but can never quite carry out her plan. This only angers her more and she hates herself for not being able to stick with her plans. One day when Dee demands the quilts from Mama, Maggie loses it when her mother gives in to Dee and hands over the blankets that were supposed to be Maggie's. That night, Maggie decides she will do to her sister what she had done to her a few years ago. When Dee goes to sleep that night, she uses the quilts to keep her warm. Maggie walks into her room and sets fire to the quilt and runs outside to stand by a tree in the front yard. Maggie watches while her house becomes engulfed in flames with the same emotionless stare Dee had years before. Suddenly a figure runs outside the house. Maggie expects it to be Mama, but it was really Dee. Maggie panics and cries out to Dee if she has seen Mama. She says she is still in her room, so Maggie runs into the house to save her. As she enters the burning house, Mama pulls into the driveway and runs to Dee to ask what was going on. Dee said someone must have left the oven on. Maggie still believes Dee that Mama is in the house so she continues her search. Mama then asks where Maggie is, but at that moment the burning house collapses. The camera then looks to Dee where she is standing with a disturbing smirk.

CHARACTERIZATION

Mama remains pretty much the same in the film as she did in the story. The changes are in Dee and Maggie. The main thing that changes is the relationship between these two sisters. The story did not show much hate and revenge between the girls. They just merely did not speak much in the original version. The characterization is more dramatic and unrealistic compared to the story. Dee is out to get Maggie when in the story that is not necessarily true. Maggie also is not portrayed as revengeful in the story while she is in the film.

SETTING

I would change nothing about the setting of "Everyday Use." The location on farmland spread out in the country seems ideal. For revenge to occur, it would not be beneficial to have neighbors witnessing the events that take place. I would keep the same time period as well because for the initial fire, an investigation would not have been done in that time to determine what caused the fire, which helps to make Mama not believe her daughters when they discuss what started each fire.

THEME

The original themes of the story deal with the meaning of heritage and the barrier education can make between individuals. Education has little to do with the film. The meaning of heritage is still relevant in the film because Dee continues to view her family as those who "oppress" her. However, there is less stress placed on this theme because the main storyline of the film has to do with the tenseness between Dee and Maggie. Their suspenseful struggle mainly deals instead with themes of jealously and what individuals may do to get revenge. The overall point of the story is mainly for entertainment purposes for those who enjoy suspenseful films. There is not an extremely important message to be relayed to the audience. The story provides a more substantial message and is less for entertainment purposes.

Film Blog - Smooth Talk

PLOT

In regards to plot, Smooth Talk maintained a highly similar storyline. It seems most every event that happened in "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" also happened in the movie. Connie is still a 15 year old girl who is out running around with boys and lying to her parents. However, the movie version was far less ominous and troublesome. Her encounter with Arnold the first time at the diner only lasted a mere 2 or 3 seconds and seemed fairly insignificant, while in the story, it describes this encounter for about half the page. Had I watched the movie without reading the story, I would not have even paid attention to Arnold pointing at Connie. The biggest change in plot was the ending. Connie does not fight as hard to stay at home while Arnold tries to get her to go for a ride. She actually approaches the car while in the story she stays behind the screen door. In the movie she also did not scream into the phone and have a breakdown. She only cries for a short time then makes her way over to Arnold's car, in no way distraught as Connie's character was in the story. She also returns to her house afterwards, while the story ends with Connie walking toward the car. The movie made it far less ambiguous and troublesome. She returns home and apologizes to her family and hugs and dances with her sister, indicating that she went through a life change and would change her foolish ways. In the story, Connie breaks down and is forced to go with Arnold and the story stops there. The movie basically seemed like a sugarcoated version of Oates' story.

POINT OF VIEW

The point of view of the movie is fairly similar to that of the short story. There is no character directly telling the story, but the focus does remain on Connie. The major difference was that the film does not reveal the background of Connie and her relationships with her family. Those facts had to be revealed in a different approach by verbal communication between characters and witnessing how they behaved toward one another. The movie also made Connie out to be more of a victim of her family's harassment. The mother seemed more harsh in the movie than in the story, like in the beginning of the film when she says to Connie, "I look in your eyes and all I see are a bunch of trashy daydreams." There was also a point in the movie when Connie sits at the kitchen table and listens to her mom talk on the phone. When the mother sees her come in, she stares unblinkingly to Connie and speaks into the phone, "June is just wonderful. June is an angel. Not like this one here..." Connie is far more victimized and it made me feel more sympathy for her here than I did while reading the story.

CHARACTERIZATION

The characterization of the movie was similar in regards to Connie and her mother, but the father was very different. He was actually nice to Connie and seemed to be a foil of her mother. He took her for a drive and gave her a long lecture about being careful. In the story, the father said nothing to Connie and ignored her along with the rest of the family. He worked all day and only came home to eat. Having a steady father-figure diminishes my reasoning behind Connie's rebellion. In the story I assumed that a big part of Connie hanging around with boys was because of this lack of a father figure in her family. The movie provides her with a father though which makes it harder to assume the same reasoning behind Connie's acting out.

SETTING

The setting of "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" was never stated in the story; however, it could be assumed it took place in the 50's or early 60's based on clues like the transistor radios and the fact it was written in the mid 60's. The film, however, does give a more specific location of some place near San Francisco. In the opening scene Connie and her friends are at the beach and come home passing the Golden Gate Bridge. The year it takes place also seems to be different. The way they dress looks to be more 70's and 80's style clothing than 50's or 60's, but they never say exactly what year it is. Overall, I do not believe the setting had much effect on the purpose of the story and film. The change in setting of the two versions did not change how I viewed the message.

THEME

The theme of the film and the story remained relatively consistent. A foolish young girl learns that she is not fully ready to become an adult and she is unprepared for the consequences that independence brings. The only difference is that the movie creates more of an epiphany for Connie. Unlike the story, Connie is brought home after being taken away by Arnold Friend. Upon her return she embraces her family members and apologizes to them. This ties in a second theme to the movie that the story did not contain regarding the importance of family and coming back to one's roots.

"You're Ugly, Too"

This story seems to just be one big characterization. I have gone back and forth between how I feel about Zoe, but in the end, I believe I overall feel somewhat sorry for her. She seems very depressed throughout the story about not being married. "'I'm not married? Oh, my God,' said Zoe. 'I forgot to get married,'" (355). Her sarcasm seems to be a cover for her sadness over not having a husband in her life. When Evan tells her that she is getting married, Zoe is unresponsive out of her sadness over not being married or engaged herself.

"'I was hoping you'd be my maid of honor,' said Evan, waiting. 'Aren't you happy for me?'

'Yes,' said Zoe, and she began to tell Evan a story..." (362).

She quickly changed the subject to avoid the conversation and bury her feelings. Even though I do feel sympathy for Zoe, I think she needs to be mature enough to be an adult and handle things differently. Being bitter does nothing to help the situation, and she was honestly just making it far worse.

Style of "Popular Mechanics"

This short story was written in what seemed like a rather informal style. The most obvious informality was that it lacked quotation marks around the husband and wife's statements. There was also a common pattern present. Each line switched between the husband and the wife yelling at each other and arguing.

"I want the baby, he said.

Are you crazy?

No, but I want the baby. I'll get someone to come by for his things.

You're not touching the baby, she said," (344, handout).

This back and forth arguing coincided with the couple's "tug of war". Their yelling back and forth was similar to their tugging back and forth of the baby in the end.

Oxymoron in "The Drunkard"

The father in "The Drunkard" seems to be a very strange character. Most people do not view funerals as he did: "It was an excellent funeral from Father's point of view. He had it all well studied before we set off after the hearse in the afternoon sunlight," (345). What kind of person gets excited over funerals? He was literally studying what he was witnessing before the funeral and becoming overjoyed at how "excellent" it would be. To me, that just seems sick if you find personal enjoyment out of the mournful loss of another's loved one. In the beginning of the story, the boy states that "it was a terrible blow to father when Mr. Dooley died," (342). I have no respect for alcoholics so I felt zero sympathy for the father at all. Even if he did experience a rough time, drinking was no way to solve it. He should have sought out his loved ones for real help, not a drink to help him forget.

Point of View of "The Lottery"

The point of view of "The Lottery" is 3rd person omniscient. The story is told by an indifferent narrator. The reader gets bits of information about many different individuals from the town, without any interference of opinions from the narrator. Because of this, the ending came to me as a surprise. While the narrator does use foreshadowing techniques to suggest at the disturbing ending, the indifferent attitude made me rather surprised at the end. "Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones," (264). This point of view helps to enhance the overall theme as well. The narrator giving no opinion about the lottery, is similar to how the town gives no question to the lottery tradition and blindly follows along.

Short Story Blog - "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

PLOT

Joyce Carol Oates effectively presents the plot of "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" to the reader with help of foreshadowing techniques and attention to detail. Early on in the story, I knew that the main character Connie would get into some kind of trouble because of the detailed description of which Oates gave. She made sure to inform the reader to foreshadow an ominous danger of some sort. "Sometimes they did go shopping or to a movie, but sometimes they went across the highway, ducking fast across the busy road, to a drive-in restaurant where older kids hung out..." (251). "She spent three hours with [Eddie], at the restaurant where they ate... and then down an alley..." (252). We learn here that Connie is not honest about what she does in her free time and she has a reputation for spending lots of time with strange boys. This foreshadowed a potentially dangerous encounter later in the story, which also kept me consumed in the plot. The most obvious detail in the plot that foreshadowed at the later plot was the description of Connie's first encounter with Arnold Friend at the diner. "He stared at her and then his lips widened into a grin... He wagged a finger and said, 'Gonna get you baby,'" (251). Arnold's mannerisms and statements are just simply creepy. I knew this character would not go away for long.

POINT OF VIEW

This story is told in third person point of view. Connie is the main character in which the narrator knows everything about. This was the best point of view to use for this story. If first person had been used, many details about Connie would have been left out, as she the character would find them unnecessary to reveal. As a result, many of the foreshadowing events would not be indicative of anything at all because the reader would be lacking the knowledge of the kind of danger Connie puts herself in. Because of the unknown narrator, the reader knows that "Everything about her had two sides to it," (250), which indicates far more about the upcoming plot than would a first person story.

CHARACTERIZATION

Connie is the protagonist of the story. Oates gives pages of descriptive information about her. "She was fifteen and she had a nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors... to make sure her [face] was alright," (249). She shows much rebellion and anger towards her family as a result of her vanity, which ultimately causes her to put herself in harms way. Her actions of being where she is not supposed to be show her naivety and her lack of awareness for how the world actually is around her. She is solely aware of her beauty, her love of music, and her love of fun. She never weighs the consequences of her actions, but rather moves on with her life in the same careless pattern. She finally gets her wake up call when Arnold Friend shows up at her door, but by that time it may have been too late.

Connie's mother was a stock character in this story. As the mother she "noticed everything and knew everything," (249), which drove her daughter mad. Most mothers are presented in this way when a story is told from more of the child's point of view. However despite her habits and ideas of Connie, she remains the one true stable character in her daughter's life. "Their father was away at work most of the time and when he came home... he didn't bother talking much to them," (250). Without a father or a sister that she could get along with, Connie only had her mother and obviously regarded her as a stable parental figure, as in the last scene, it is her mother that Connie shouts out to for help. "She began to scream into the phone, into the roaring. She cried out, she cried for her mother," (265).

SETTING

This story does not come outright and state the exact location or time period in which Connie lives. The only locations we see are Connie's home, the shopping plaza in town, and the drive-in diner. These places indicate a possible small town setting. It would have to be small in order for Arnold to have found out so much about Connie in such a short period of time after seeing her that first night at the diner. "'But I know what it is. I know your name and all about you, lots of things,' Arnold said. 'I took special interest in you, such a pretty girl, and found out all about you-like I know your parents and sister are gone somewheres and I know where and hoe long they're going to be gone...'" (257). The time period is also not given exactly, but it can be inferred based on at least one essential detail. "He lifted his friend's arm and showed her the little transistor radio the boy was holding," (255). According to PBS (http://www.pbs.org/transistor/background1/events/tradio.html), the first transistor radio was made in 1954. This leads me to believe that it is likely that this story took place in the 50's or early 60's when these radios were most popular. The small town atmosphere and the time period ultimately play a role in Connie's lack of awareness about the world. She was sheltered in her small town and a situation like her's with Arnold Friend was not a common event that was discussed during that time. Things were usually kept "hush-hush" so to speak, which made Connie far more unaware of danger than she would have been living in today's world.

THEME

I believe the theme of this story has a lot to do with a search for independence. Connie choosing to rebel enforces her desire to be free and do what she wants and go wherever she wants. She meets up where "the older kids hung out," (251), and wants to be accepted as an adult, or rather older than she is. What is ultimately learned in the end is that Connie was not near ready for complete independence at all. When put to the test, Connie was "so sick with fear that she could do nothing but listen to it - the telephone was clammy and very heavy and her fingers groped down to the dial but were too weak to touch it. She began to scream into the phone, she cried for her mother" (265). Of course it was understandable why Connie would be so frightened, but because she was still a child lacking a readiness for independence, her fear paralyzed her thoughts making her indecisive. She called for help from her mother, as a young child would. Once she received no help, she did nothing for herself. She merely let herself fall into Arnold's trap. "She put her hand against the screen. She watched herself push the door slowly open as if she was back safe somewhere in the other doorway, watching this body and this head of long hair moving out into the sunlight where Arnold Friend waited.," (266).

Sympathy for Miss Brill

"Miss Brill" was a very sad short story in my opinion. I really much sympathy for Brill's character throughout the entire story. Her only excitement in life was each Sunday when she got to wear her fur and purchasing her "Sunday treat" of honeycake. "If there was an almond it was like carrying home a tiny present..." (186). I find it very sad that these were the only things in her day that kept her going, kept her happy with life. At the end when she is made fun of, she goes home and cries while putting her fur away. This is when my heart reached out to her character the most. She had no one and nothing but her fur and Sunday routine. And now even that has been put to rest. I believe most of my sympathy came from personally knowing older women who, like Miss Brill, do not really have anyone or anything of significance to look forward to. If any of the individuals I know that are similar to Miss Brill overheard someone making fun of them, they would be crushed and would have a hard time ever fully recovering from what was said.

Frame Story in "Once Upon a Time"

"Once Upon a Time" begins with a story about the author herself and her unwillingness to write stories for children. This eventually leads her into telling another story about a family afraid of intruders. I was very confused at first what the point of the first story was and how both stories were tied in with one another. However, I believe the second story serves to prove Gordimer's stance on children's books. She refuses to write them because of the possible implications they could have on a child's actions. The boy in the second story "pretended to be the Prince who braves the terrible thicket of thorns to enter the palace and kiss the Sleeping Beauty back to life," (236), which caused him to get tangled in the wire fence. If it were not for this children's story, the boy would not have climbed the fence and become trapped in it. It's possible Gordimer refuses to write a children's book so as to not cause kids to do something dangerous.

Rhetorical Questions in "A Worn Path"

Phoenix travels far from her home to get to town through many woods and fields. As she travels she frequently talks to herself and to the noises or sights she sees on her journey. For example, she spots a buzzard in the field and asks, "Who you watching?" (225). Talking to herself seems to comfort her as she makes such a long journey alone. It also seems to help her feel less lonely and more powerful against these creatures she comes into contact with. Her thoughts are always focused on just getting through to the next step on her path while trying to prevent anything from inhibiting that. I felt a lot of sympathy for Phoenix. Despite her age, she continues to make trip after trip to town to help her grandson without any help from others.

Internal Conflict in "Eveline"

This short story all has to do with an internal conflict the main character is facing. The story begins with Eveline sitting at the window thinking and weighing her options. She seems somewhat torn between her past and future, as she recalls memories from her past life and then begins to think of Frank. "She had consented to go away, to leave her home. Was that wise? She tried to weigh each side of the question," (219). I feel that Eveline made the right decision to stay at home, and I believe that deep down, she knew all along what was best for her. Frank is only mentioned in a good solid paragraph while the rest of her past consumes the rest. Her thoughts always led back to past memories or her present life, indicating her inability to move on with her life with Frank. She belonged at home.

"Bartleby the Scrivener"

I found this story very confusing. Bartleby began as a hard working scrivener and accomplished many tasks. After some time though, he begins to refuse everything that anyone tells him to do, including eating. "...nothing stirred. I paused; then went close up to him; stooped over, and saw that his dim eyes were open; otherwise he seemed profoundly sleeping," (674). Why did he do this to himself? What made him decide not to live any longer? Bartleby must have gone through some kind of change to resort to death. I cannot seem to figure out why though. I also assumed that the other scriveners must have some symbolic meaning behind their work ethics, but I never seemed to be able to justify that while reading the story.

Foil Characters in "Everyday Use"

While reading "Everyday Use" the first thing I noticed was the difference between the sisters Dee and Maggie. "Dee wanted nice things...She was determined to stare down any disaser in her efforts... At sixteen she had a style of her own: and knew what style was," (175). Maggie on the other hand walked with "chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since that fire burned the other house to the ground," (175). "Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand... homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eying her sister with a mixture of envy and awe," (173). Dee was confident and very different from the rest of her family. Maggie was obviously more insecure and felt inferior to Dee. Had it not been for the fire and the shame it caused Maggie, it seems that they would not be as great of foils.

Dynamic Character in "Everyday Use"

The mother in "Everyday Use" was a very hard worker and did much for Dee to give her an education and hopefully help her find what she wanted. She was consistently ungrateful and displeased with her life despite her mother's hard work. Resulting from her disrespect, she pushes her mother around. The mom is the dynamic character when she finally stands up to Dee for Maggie and her own beliefs. When Dee tries to take the quilts, she tells her that she promised Maggie she could have them one day, and she did not back down. "God knows I've been saving 'em for long enough with nobody using 'em. I hope she will!" (182). This shift shows the mother finally being fed up with Dee. By standing up for Maggie, she let her daughter know that she cared. "I did something I had never done before: hugged Maggie to me... Maggie smiled... a real smile, not scared," (181).

Situational Irony in "Hunters in the Snow"

"Hunters in the Snow" came to a very unexpected end. Kenny was shot by Tub and they laid him in the truck bed to take him to the hospital. Naturally, the reader expects Kenny to be taken directly to the hospital and treated. However, we learn in the last sentence that "they had taken a different turn a long way back," (201). This was definitely not what I expected to happen. I am very curious why they chose not to take him to the hospital. These men seem to have odd relationships with one another throughout the story. None of them really seem to me like that great of friends. I do not understand what made Tub and Frank come together over Kenny being shot.

Connotation in "Interpreter of Maladies"

In "Interpreter of Maladies," interpreter takes on another connotation Mrs. Das believes that as an interpreter, Mr. Kapasi literally interprets anything, such as people's thoughts, actions, feelings, or emotions.

"'I told you because of your talents...'

'I don't understand...'

'Mr. Kapasi, don't you have anything to say? I thought that was your job...'" (163).

Mrs. Das greatly misunderstood his occupation as he actually interpreted language for a doctor and for tours in English. He did not interpret personal maladies. Kapasi interpreted language so as to prevent social maladies, or undesirable conditions created as a result of individuals not being able to understand one another.

Suspense in "A Rose for Emily"

While reading "A Rose for Emily," I remained suspenseful of what was going on with Miss Emily Grierson throughout the whole story. Suspense began in the first paragraph when the narrator states why people went to the funeral: "...the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house which no one...had seen in at least ten years," (281). This indicated Emily's lack of friends and family first of all, since no one in the neighborhood actually went to her funeral to mourn her loss. This made me wonder why she did not have any relationships with anyone since she had lived there so long. I also wanted to know why she never came out of her house. Suspense in a literary work always adds more excitement to the story. The reader anticipates certain happenings and continuously wonders what will happen next. This keeps the reader's interest and makes for a better work.

First Person Point of View in "How I Met My Husband"

"How I Met My Husband" is narrated in first person point of view by the character Edie. Through Edie's narration of the story, situational irony is created, discussed in my previous blog entry. If this story was told in third person, we would soon realize Chris' motives in life as a "player." We also would be aware of the mail carrier's thoughts as he got to know Edie. This would cause the reader to make inferences and realize that Chris would not ever write to Edie. "I'm going to write you a letter. I'll tell you where I am and maybe you can come see me..." (142). As Chris stated this, we would have been aware of his actual thoughts and know that he had no interest in a relationship with Edie.

The reader would also assume that Edie and the mailman would develop a relationship over time. I believe Edie would also be viewed far greater as a young naive girl had we known Chris's history. We would see her falling for the wrong guy instead of finding her husband, which would greatly change a reader's perception of Edie.

Situational Irony in "How I Met My Husband"

Situational irony occurs in the last paragraph of "How I Met My Husband." Edie spends the majority of the story talking about Chris the pilot, and the reader assumes that she will be with him in the end. However, this was not the case. While waiting for a letter from Chris each day, Edie waits for the mail carrier and he believes she likes him. "He said he missed me...I went out with him for two years and he asked me to marry him..." (146). I was surprised at this ending, as the whole story was built on Edie's encounter with Chris. I feel that situational irony at the end of stories always adds something to the story as a whole. It gives it a more meaningful message that one should expect the unexpected.

Imagery in "Elegy for My Father, Who is Not Dead"

This poem, along with many others in this chapter, discusses the topic of death. In this poem, imagery of the sea is used to describe the father and son's differing viewpoints of the outcome of death. Lines 18-21 state, "I see myself on deck, convinced his ship's gone down, while he's convinced I'll see him standing on the dock and waving, shouting, welcome back." The imagery of the dock and ship sailing out to sea gives the reader a better image of the distance being created between the father and son at the ship's departure, or the inevitable death. The ship sinking indicates the end of a travel, or the end of the relationship between father and son. The father sees death as a new opportunity to "travel" to another world while awaiting his son's arrival. He does not see his ship sinking, but rather arriving at a new destination.