Thursday, September 18, 2008
The Accident
In this poem, a neighbor visits a husband and wife’s house. Her son had been in the hospital overnight after being hit by a van. She proceeds to the kitchen table and takes a seat. The wife questions, “How man times had they eaten together?” after the neighbor says, “Yes” to the husband without him asking. The husband seems a little shaky while cooking breakfast. Maybe is there an affair going on and he’s nervous because both women are in the same room? Maybe he’s scared something will be said.
A Doll's House
After reading “A Doll’s House” and watching some of the opening act of film, I noticed some differences and similarities between Torvald. In the movie, Torvald seemed to be a lot different than my first impression. My first impression was that Torvald was a man whom did not have a lot of money but would give it all to his wife if she begged him enough.
From reading the first act, I did not expect Torvald to be dressed how he was in the opening scene in the film. This was due to Torvald and Nora both mentioning money problems in the past. Torvald quotes, “Still, you know, we can’t spend money recklessly.” The book tells us that he just got promoted to a manager, so I did not think that they would have accumulated a lot of money. In the film, Torvald looked like a man of wealth. This is due to his clothing, which looked very high class.
A second difference that I recognized was where Torvald started in the book compared to the movie. In the book, he is in another room. When his wife gets home, he calls out, “IS that my little lark twittering out there?” Nora replies, “Yes it is”, and asks him to see what has bought. Torvald replies back by saying, “Don’t disturb me”, before coming out. In the short film, Torvald and Nora are both together in the same room during the conversation and Torvald never mentions the line, “Don’t disturb me.” Nora and Torvald also didn’t happen to move around the room or into other rooms as much as they had in the book.
A similarity that I noticed between the “book’s Torvald” and the “movie Torvald”, was how much love he had for his wife. The first thing he says to his wife was, “Is that my little lark twittering out there?” He also says things like, “When did my little squirrel come home?” In the movie, Torvald likes holding his wife, hugging her, and he is very cheerful around her. Whether you read the first act or watch the beginning of the film, you will be able to witness how much Torvald loves and appreciates his wife.
In both the film and the book, you can notice a second similarity about Torvald. He gives into Nora too easily. In this similarity, there is also a difference. The difference is how willing Torvald is of giving Nora the money. In the movie, Torvald is almost “tossing” Nora the money. He gives it to her with pride and joy and it does not faze him. He says a few things about saving, “just-in-case”, but it doesn’t stop him from giving her all the money she wants. In the book, Torvald still hands Nora the money, but seems a little less willing and tries to get his point across about how she needs to save. In the book Torvald calls Nora a “spendthrift”. He also says to her, “But you can’t save anything” and a few other words before giving in to her and handing her the money. Either way Nora gets the best of Torvald and gets him to give into her and hand over the money.
After reading the book and watching the opening act of the movie, you can compare and contrast the two versions of Torvald. I think that the movie director and the author were both on the “same page” on what kind of a character Torvald was. Besides a few limited differences, they were both very alike in how he treats his wife and how easy it is for Nora to get him to “hand over the money”. The only differences that I recognized between the two versions of Torvald were what I thought of him in my first impression and what I saw in the movie. My first impression is not the same as someone else’s first impression, so it could have been me who made the differences. If I was to compare the text of the book to what I saw in the short film I would not have been able to find too many differences between the two. This is excluding where Torvald was located in the beginning of the story. At that, it could have been a director’s choice not to have Torvald in another room. Whether you watch the movie or read the book you will be witnessing the same character.
From reading the first act, I did not expect Torvald to be dressed how he was in the opening scene in the film. This was due to Torvald and Nora both mentioning money problems in the past. Torvald quotes, “Still, you know, we can’t spend money recklessly.” The book tells us that he just got promoted to a manager, so I did not think that they would have accumulated a lot of money. In the film, Torvald looked like a man of wealth. This is due to his clothing, which looked very high class.
A second difference that I recognized was where Torvald started in the book compared to the movie. In the book, he is in another room. When his wife gets home, he calls out, “IS that my little lark twittering out there?” Nora replies, “Yes it is”, and asks him to see what has bought. Torvald replies back by saying, “Don’t disturb me”, before coming out. In the short film, Torvald and Nora are both together in the same room during the conversation and Torvald never mentions the line, “Don’t disturb me.” Nora and Torvald also didn’t happen to move around the room or into other rooms as much as they had in the book.
A similarity that I noticed between the “book’s Torvald” and the “movie Torvald”, was how much love he had for his wife. The first thing he says to his wife was, “Is that my little lark twittering out there?” He also says things like, “When did my little squirrel come home?” In the movie, Torvald likes holding his wife, hugging her, and he is very cheerful around her. Whether you read the first act or watch the beginning of the film, you will be able to witness how much Torvald loves and appreciates his wife.
In both the film and the book, you can notice a second similarity about Torvald. He gives into Nora too easily. In this similarity, there is also a difference. The difference is how willing Torvald is of giving Nora the money. In the movie, Torvald is almost “tossing” Nora the money. He gives it to her with pride and joy and it does not faze him. He says a few things about saving, “just-in-case”, but it doesn’t stop him from giving her all the money she wants. In the book, Torvald still hands Nora the money, but seems a little less willing and tries to get his point across about how she needs to save. In the book Torvald calls Nora a “spendthrift”. He also says to her, “But you can’t save anything” and a few other words before giving in to her and handing her the money. Either way Nora gets the best of Torvald and gets him to give into her and hand over the money.
After reading the book and watching the opening act of the movie, you can compare and contrast the two versions of Torvald. I think that the movie director and the author were both on the “same page” on what kind of a character Torvald was. Besides a few limited differences, they were both very alike in how he treats his wife and how easy it is for Nora to get him to “hand over the money”. The only differences that I recognized between the two versions of Torvald were what I thought of him in my first impression and what I saw in the movie. My first impression is not the same as someone else’s first impression, so it could have been me who made the differences. If I was to compare the text of the book to what I saw in the short film I would not have been able to find too many differences between the two. This is excluding where Torvald was located in the beginning of the story. At that, it could have been a director’s choice not to have Torvald in another room. Whether you watch the movie or read the book you will be witnessing the same character.
Monday, September 15, 2008
The Way I See Ted Berrigan
In the poem “Red Shift,” Ted Berrigan suggests that even after becoming a poet he will not be happy without his love. He shows us through the words of… “Never leave me”…“never escape me”…“American poison”…“Alone”…and “Unhappy”.
In the First stanza, he tells us a little about what he is doing at the moment. He tells us that it is 8:08 p.m. on a February night. Some people suppress themselves by drinking alcohol or smoking, which he tells us that he is doing through the words of, “I drink some American poison liquid…” and “smoke to have some character and to lean in.” He also mentions Allen and Frank, which are two authors he looked up to.
Ted Berrigan changes his tone in the second stanza, when he starts to mention things from twenty years ago. Here he tells us about a man smoking, “…looking at the smiling attentive woman”. The man he mentions is himself when he had first talked with the woman, whom has made him depressed. He questions, “Who would have thought that I’d be here…,” meaning that he never would have thought this would happen to him.
In the third stanza, Ted Berrigan brings up another moment from the past which took place in 1961. He mentions a boy as well as a pretty nineteen-year old girl. The nineteen-year old girl is his love, while the boy is himself. This must have been their first sighting. He also mentions a painter which he, “…would never and will never leave alone…” until they both, “…vanish into the thin air…”, or die. The painter could have been the reason why his love left him. She could have had an affair with the painter, which could be the reason why he will never trust him again.
In stanza four he says some things out of depression. He mentions how the air, “…will never leave me, not for sex, nor politics, nor even for stupid permanent estrangement…”. These might have been some of the reasons why his wife left him. The words “…not for sex…” tie into the possibility of an affair with the painter. He brings up the song, “California Dreaming”, and mentions “…I won’t do that…”.
He goes back to talking about current information in the fifth stanza. Here, Ted tells us that he is fourty-three years old and questions, “When will I die?” He then states, “I will never die, I will live to be 110…”.
He then has a sixth stanza which he uses to send messages to his former love. We can prove this because he uses words such as, “you” and “your”, repetitively with most of his statements. He says that he will never go away and, “…you will never escape from me...,” which is telling his former love that she will never get away or forget about him. Through the words of, “Who lives only to nag.” he tells her that he is going to continue to nag her. He tells her that, “I came into your life to change it…,” most likely for the better and, “it did so and now nothing will ever change that…”. He probably says this to make her regret her mistake. He’s trying to make her feel bad and show her that he was just trying to make her happy when they were together.
Ted Berrigan finishes the poem by stating again that he is in an, “Alone and crowded, unhappy fate”. This shows us that he still is not and will not get over his former love. He says “I slip softly into the air...,” meaning that now he feels invisible. Berrigan feels like he is nonexistent and he feels like he has nobody left. Berrigan compares himself to a costume, meaning he feels like he is not the same person. Throughout the poem, “Red Shift,” Ted Berrigan shows us that he will not be happy without his former love.
In the First stanza, he tells us a little about what he is doing at the moment. He tells us that it is 8:08 p.m. on a February night. Some people suppress themselves by drinking alcohol or smoking, which he tells us that he is doing through the words of, “I drink some American poison liquid…” and “smoke to have some character and to lean in.” He also mentions Allen and Frank, which are two authors he looked up to.
Ted Berrigan changes his tone in the second stanza, when he starts to mention things from twenty years ago. Here he tells us about a man smoking, “…looking at the smiling attentive woman”. The man he mentions is himself when he had first talked with the woman, whom has made him depressed. He questions, “Who would have thought that I’d be here…,” meaning that he never would have thought this would happen to him.
In the third stanza, Ted Berrigan brings up another moment from the past which took place in 1961. He mentions a boy as well as a pretty nineteen-year old girl. The nineteen-year old girl is his love, while the boy is himself. This must have been their first sighting. He also mentions a painter which he, “…would never and will never leave alone…” until they both, “…vanish into the thin air…”, or die. The painter could have been the reason why his love left him. She could have had an affair with the painter, which could be the reason why he will never trust him again.
In stanza four he says some things out of depression. He mentions how the air, “…will never leave me, not for sex, nor politics, nor even for stupid permanent estrangement…”. These might have been some of the reasons why his wife left him. The words “…not for sex…” tie into the possibility of an affair with the painter. He brings up the song, “California Dreaming”, and mentions “…I won’t do that…”.
He goes back to talking about current information in the fifth stanza. Here, Ted tells us that he is fourty-three years old and questions, “When will I die?” He then states, “I will never die, I will live to be 110…”.
He then has a sixth stanza which he uses to send messages to his former love. We can prove this because he uses words such as, “you” and “your”, repetitively with most of his statements. He says that he will never go away and, “…you will never escape from me...,” which is telling his former love that she will never get away or forget about him. Through the words of, “Who lives only to nag.” he tells her that he is going to continue to nag her. He tells her that, “I came into your life to change it…,” most likely for the better and, “it did so and now nothing will ever change that…”. He probably says this to make her regret her mistake. He’s trying to make her feel bad and show her that he was just trying to make her happy when they were together.
Ted Berrigan finishes the poem by stating again that he is in an, “Alone and crowded, unhappy fate”. This shows us that he still is not and will not get over his former love. He says “I slip softly into the air...,” meaning that now he feels invisible. Berrigan feels like he is nonexistent and he feels like he has nobody left. Berrigan compares himself to a costume, meaning he feels like he is not the same person. Throughout the poem, “Red Shift,” Ted Berrigan shows us that he will not be happy without his former love.
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