Plot
The plot of the movie is exactly the same as the book. The movie opens up with a scene of Benjamin's mother on her deathbed giving birth. Then it goes to his father coming into the room and is embarrased that he has a son that looks like he could be his father. Both of the stories go into the woman talking about a clockmaker's son who goes to war in WWI and dies, and how the father keeps making clocks, and surpisingly the clock goes counterclockwise. And the clockmaker wishes that time would go backwords so that the events of the war can be reversed and that all the soldiers who died can return to their families.
Point of View
The movie and the book both tell the story from the same point of view. The movie tells it from a first person view from somebody else, and you get the same thing in the movie from somebody who was there the whole life of Benjamin Button. Usually the movie will have its own narrator but this time the director decided to make the point of view the same as the story. There are not too many major differences between the book and the movie, you get a sense of the story from somebody else. It is as if somebody is there and is reading something that somebody has written for them to read.
Characterization
In the movie you can see how each character interacts with each other. With the book, one would have to make up the interactions on their own, but in the movie one can see how the director takes it and how he puts it into a movie. The movie depicts how Mr. Button must have acted when he saw his newly born elderly looking baby. One can see how much he is frustrated and how embarrassed he is. The movie also shows how hard Benjamin's life was while he was interacting with everyone.
Setting
While the book does not exactly say that the setting is during the Civil War, the movie does a better job of showing it. In the movie the viewers are able to see how everybody dressed and how everybody acted around that time. In the book, the readers have to infer on their own about what time it exactly is. The movie allows the person to also get the setting of each scene. They can feel the atmosphere that must have been prestent when each of the things occured in Benjamin's life.
Theme
Identity: The movie shows how much identity is important to Benjamin. He is a man who has to travel through his life backwords and grow young as everybody ages. He must make his own identity in the world. He must show that age and looks does not make a person but how the person acts and how they treat somebody is the real identity.
Transformation: The movie depicts the theme of transformation better than book does. Here the viewers get to see how each character evolves from either an old man to a young boy or from a young boy to an old man. Here the audience can visually see how each of the ages are different only because of how they look.
Family: The movie makes it easier for the viewers to see how family is very important to Benjamin and how it affects his life. With his life the way it was in the begining, it now affects his life when he has his own family, and his own son. In the movie, the director created an easy way for the viewers to experience how difficult it really was for Benjamin to interact with his own family and how hard it was for his family to interact with him.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Plot
The plot of the story tells a story of a man, who goes through his life basically backwords. It is about a man who is born old and grows younger as he ages. The plot is of a moderate speed, telling of the stories that Benjamin experience in his life. It mentions how astounded the nurses were, when they found a new born baby look as old as anybody out there. As Ben's father first got a glimpse of his new baby boy,
"Wrapped in a voluminous white blanked, and partly crammed into one of the cribs, there sat an old man apparently about seventy years of age. His sparse hair was almost white, and from his chin dripped a long smoke-colored beard, which waved absurdly back and forth, fanned by the breeze coming in at the window. He looked up at Mr. Button with dim, faded eyes in which lurked a puzzled question." (9-10)
This made the storyline a very interesting one as it rewleased some challenges that his young man was going to have to endure.
Point of View
The point of view is very odd because it is told in a first person view fromt he narrator. You receive information about the life through somebody elses life. One would have thought that it would have been from Ben's view, but Fitzgerald decided to write it from his point of view.
"As long ago as 1860 it was the proper thing to be born at home. At present, so I am told, the high gods of medicine have decreed that the first cries of the young shall be uttered upon the anesthetic air of a hospital, preferably a fashionable one. So young Mr. and Mrs. Roger Button were fifty years ahead of style when they decided, one day in the summer of 1860, that their first baby should be born in a hospital. Whether this anachronism had any bearing upon the astonishing history I am about to set down will never be known. I shall tell you what occurred, and let you judge for yourself." (1-2) This quote is an example of how Fitzgerald uses his writing for narrating this story.
Characterization
Benjamin is the protagonist. He’s the title character, and the story revolves entirely around his life. He meets challenges but maintains his good nature throughout teh story. He’s likeable, and we find ourselves rooting for Benjamin against the odds. When he goes to Yale for school, we’re angry with the registrar for not letting him take classes. When he is returned home, weeping, in his general’s uniform, we feel sorry for him. This is a classic protagonist all the way.
There’s not a single character in the story who doesn’t make Benjamin’s life even harder than it is in the first place. His father is embarrassed by him and makes him pretend to be a baby. His wife yells at him for aging that is beyond his control. His son refuses to acknowledge him as a father. "'Am I mad?' thundered Mr. Button, his terror resolving into rage. 'Is this some ghastly hopsital joke?'". (10) THis show how much Mr. Button is upset that his new son is an elderly man.
Setting
Though it is barely mentioned in "Benjamin Button," the U.S. Civil War is right smack at the start of Benjamin’s life (from 1861-1865). While Benjamin is changing, so is the social and political world around him. Baltimore is particularly important to the story for Fitzgerald’s social stucture. As he tells us of the Buttons, "They held an enviable position, both social and financial, in ante-bellum Baltimore. They were related to This Family and to That Family, which, as every Southerner knew, entitled them to membership in that enormous peerage which largely populated the confederacy" (5). Fitzgerald sets the Buttons in a city where social status really matters and it is there that he able to make the general obsession with society, reputation, and image.
Theme
Identity: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is the story of a man who is born old and ages backwards. The story explores the way that age dictates identity; how old we are has quite a bit to do with who we are. And not just where physical appearance is concerned. By being born old, Benjamin is born not just with the body and face of an old man, but with the mind and emotions of an old man. Even though he’s a newborn, then, he enjoys the company of old men. As he gets younger physically, his personality changes accordingly: he becomes more vivacious and social.
Transformation: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" explores a particular kind of transformation: aging. The story reminds us that physical changes are necessarily accompanied by personality changes: older people tend to be less lively and more set in their ways, while younger people tend to be emotional and eager to learn. This transformation is a way for us to learn more about ourselves.
Family: We tend to think of family as the people who support us at all possible times. This is not the case in "Benjamin Button." Because Benjamin is different, his parents have difficulty accepting him for who he is. They are able to love him only in so far as he plays along with a charade of normality. Later, Benjamin encounters the same problem with his wife, and eventually, his son. Still, if they are unable to love him unconditionally, they are still there for Benjamin out of a sense of family obligation.
The plot of the story tells a story of a man, who goes through his life basically backwords. It is about a man who is born old and grows younger as he ages. The plot is of a moderate speed, telling of the stories that Benjamin experience in his life. It mentions how astounded the nurses were, when they found a new born baby look as old as anybody out there. As Ben's father first got a glimpse of his new baby boy,
"Wrapped in a voluminous white blanked, and partly crammed into one of the cribs, there sat an old man apparently about seventy years of age. His sparse hair was almost white, and from his chin dripped a long smoke-colored beard, which waved absurdly back and forth, fanned by the breeze coming in at the window. He looked up at Mr. Button with dim, faded eyes in which lurked a puzzled question." (9-10)
This made the storyline a very interesting one as it rewleased some challenges that his young man was going to have to endure.
Point of View
The point of view is very odd because it is told in a first person view fromt he narrator. You receive information about the life through somebody elses life. One would have thought that it would have been from Ben's view, but Fitzgerald decided to write it from his point of view.
"As long ago as 1860 it was the proper thing to be born at home. At present, so I am told, the high gods of medicine have decreed that the first cries of the young shall be uttered upon the anesthetic air of a hospital, preferably a fashionable one. So young Mr. and Mrs. Roger Button were fifty years ahead of style when they decided, one day in the summer of 1860, that their first baby should be born in a hospital. Whether this anachronism had any bearing upon the astonishing history I am about to set down will never be known. I shall tell you what occurred, and let you judge for yourself." (1-2) This quote is an example of how Fitzgerald uses his writing for narrating this story.
Characterization
Benjamin is the protagonist. He’s the title character, and the story revolves entirely around his life. He meets challenges but maintains his good nature throughout teh story. He’s likeable, and we find ourselves rooting for Benjamin against the odds. When he goes to Yale for school, we’re angry with the registrar for not letting him take classes. When he is returned home, weeping, in his general’s uniform, we feel sorry for him. This is a classic protagonist all the way.
There’s not a single character in the story who doesn’t make Benjamin’s life even harder than it is in the first place. His father is embarrassed by him and makes him pretend to be a baby. His wife yells at him for aging that is beyond his control. His son refuses to acknowledge him as a father. "'Am I mad?' thundered Mr. Button, his terror resolving into rage. 'Is this some ghastly hopsital joke?'". (10) THis show how much Mr. Button is upset that his new son is an elderly man.
Setting
Though it is barely mentioned in "Benjamin Button," the U.S. Civil War is right smack at the start of Benjamin’s life (from 1861-1865). While Benjamin is changing, so is the social and political world around him. Baltimore is particularly important to the story for Fitzgerald’s social stucture. As he tells us of the Buttons, "They held an enviable position, both social and financial, in ante-bellum Baltimore. They were related to This Family and to That Family, which, as every Southerner knew, entitled them to membership in that enormous peerage which largely populated the confederacy" (5). Fitzgerald sets the Buttons in a city where social status really matters and it is there that he able to make the general obsession with society, reputation, and image.
Theme
Identity: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is the story of a man who is born old and ages backwards. The story explores the way that age dictates identity; how old we are has quite a bit to do with who we are. And not just where physical appearance is concerned. By being born old, Benjamin is born not just with the body and face of an old man, but with the mind and emotions of an old man. Even though he’s a newborn, then, he enjoys the company of old men. As he gets younger physically, his personality changes accordingly: he becomes more vivacious and social.
Transformation: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" explores a particular kind of transformation: aging. The story reminds us that physical changes are necessarily accompanied by personality changes: older people tend to be less lively and more set in their ways, while younger people tend to be emotional and eager to learn. This transformation is a way for us to learn more about ourselves.
Family: We tend to think of family as the people who support us at all possible times. This is not the case in "Benjamin Button." Because Benjamin is different, his parents have difficulty accepting him for who he is. They are able to love him only in so far as he plays along with a charade of normality. Later, Benjamin encounters the same problem with his wife, and eventually, his son. Still, if they are unable to love him unconditionally, they are still there for Benjamin out of a sense of family obligation.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Sonnet 116
It is about eternal and unchanging love. The poet begins by stating he should not stand in the way of true love. Love cannot be true if it changes for any reason. Love is suppose to be constant, through any difficulties. In the 6th line, he makes a reference to love and how is like the north star to sailors, "That looks on tempests and is never shaken;/ It is the star to every wandering bark," . Love should not fade with time, but lasts forever. When in says, "Love alters with his brief hours and weeks,/ But bears it out even to the edge of doom" (lines 11-12), Shakespeare is saying that love is timeless and only death can end it.
I believe that this message is true. True love can really endure anything. You can see this all the time especially when you see men and women going over seas to fight for our country. When i was younger i had a friends, whom i fet during football, and our families were very good friends. His father was in the Army Reserves, and he was not called on to many missions. But when i was in 2nd grade, he was summoned to go to Iraq. He spent 3 years over seas. He had 4 boys and his youngest had just been born. This was very hard for their family, and the one thing that kept them going was knowing that the other person loved each other and that they were truely in love. Luckily, he came home with no harm and they are currently living happy, with their family of 6.
I believe that this message is true. True love can really endure anything. You can see this all the time especially when you see men and women going over seas to fight for our country. When i was younger i had a friends, whom i fet during football, and our families were very good friends. His father was in the Army Reserves, and he was not called on to many missions. But when i was in 2nd grade, he was summoned to go to Iraq. He spent 3 years over seas. He had 4 boys and his youngest had just been born. This was very hard for their family, and the one thing that kept them going was knowing that the other person loved each other and that they were truely in love. Luckily, he came home with no harm and they are currently living happy, with their family of 6.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Thunder Rolls!!!
The ballad that i have chosen one of the many great works by Garth Brooks, titled Thunder Rolls. This song is about a tragic accident by the man, and the sudden disaster of his relationship. Brooks tells the story of the young man, who has cheated on his wife, and then comes home to find his wife waiting for him. She then proceeds to rush out to him, because she is worried sick, and smells the perfume of someother woman. Brooks uses the lines "And the thunder rolls/And the thunder rolls," after every stanza. This shows the use of a refrain and of a burden. He uses the same chorus everytime. He does not state what the characters are thinking for feeling , he tells the story of the wife waiting for her beloved husband to return home. He also uses a strong, simple beat, and uses the line "There's a storm moving in," which has a double meaning, becuase it is raining but there is about to be a fight between him and his wife.
Artist: Garth Brooks
Song: Thunder Rolsls
Album: No Fence
Three thirty in the morning
Not a soul in sight
The city's lookin' like a ghost town
On a moonless summer night
Raindrops on the windshield
There's a storm moving in
He's heading' back from somewhere
That he never should have been
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls
Every light is burnin'
In a house across town
She's pacin' by the telephone
In her faded flannel gown
Askin' for a miracle
Hopin' she's not right
Prayin' its the weather
That's kept him out all night
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls
The thunder rolls
And the lightin' strikes
Another love grows cold
On a sleepless night
As the storm blows on
Out of control
Deep in her heart
The thunder rolls
She's waiting' by the window
When he pulls into the drive
She rushes out to hold him
Thankful he's alive
But on the wind and rain
A strange new perfume blows
And the lightnin' flashes in her eys
And he knows that she knows
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls
The thunder rolls
And the lightnin' strikes
Another love grows cold
On a sleepless night
As the storm blows on
Out of control
Deep in her heart
The thunder rolls
She runs back down the hallway
To the bedroom door
She reaches for the pistol
Kept in the dresser drawer
Tells the lady in the mirror
He won't do this again
Cause tonight will be the last time
She'll wonder where he's been
Artist: Garth Brooks
Song: Thunder Rolsls
Album: No Fence
Three thirty in the morning
Not a soul in sight
The city's lookin' like a ghost town
On a moonless summer night
Raindrops on the windshield
There's a storm moving in
He's heading' back from somewhere
That he never should have been
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls
Every light is burnin'
In a house across town
She's pacin' by the telephone
In her faded flannel gown
Askin' for a miracle
Hopin' she's not right
Prayin' its the weather
That's kept him out all night
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls
The thunder rolls
And the lightin' strikes
Another love grows cold
On a sleepless night
As the storm blows on
Out of control
Deep in her heart
The thunder rolls
She's waiting' by the window
When he pulls into the drive
She rushes out to hold him
Thankful he's alive
But on the wind and rain
A strange new perfume blows
And the lightnin' flashes in her eys
And he knows that she knows
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls
The thunder rolls
And the lightnin' strikes
Another love grows cold
On a sleepless night
As the storm blows on
Out of control
Deep in her heart
The thunder rolls
She runs back down the hallway
To the bedroom door
She reaches for the pistol
Kept in the dresser drawer
Tells the lady in the mirror
He won't do this again
Cause tonight will be the last time
She'll wonder where he's been
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Hero Blog
Literary Blog- My fictional hero is from the book Silent to the Bone, by E.L. Konigsburg. My hero's name is Conner. He does something that i wish i could do, but at the same time, I am glad that I am not in his situation. His best friend sees something happen to his younger sister, and goes silent. Branwell goes silent and Conner has to figure out why. Branwell goes to Juvenille Detention, and says sbsolutly nothing. Meanwhile, Conner has no idea what happened, and neither does anybody else. Conner comes up with a way to communicate with Branwell, and he never gives up on his friend. To me that is what a hero does, they never give up, no matter what the struggle is. This is why he is my hero.
Personal Hero- My hero is my father. He is the second youngest of 6, and his mom did not work. He had one older brother, who is the eldest. He was part of a family that did not go out to eat alot and did not have a lot luck as a family. Now that he is my father, he is a carpenter, a painter, an electrician, an engineer, a car repair man, a mehanic, a plumber and is real job is a steel salesman for Alro Steel. While my brother and I were going througha Catholic Grade School, and playing 3 sports, he worked two jobs and owned his own painting company. My dad never has time to rest, and he always found time to put his family into is schedual. He never missed any of my or my brothers games, no matter what he had planned. He gives so much for this family and expects nothing out of it. When i grow up i wish i could be half of the man that he is. I wish i could have two kids and have to pay child support for a relationship in high school. One example is that a weekend a couple weeks ago, he had a painting job that was going to take a couple of days. He travels all around Indiana for his work and leaves at 730 every morning and gets home at 5. He came home from work on Saturday at 3, and immediatly went to painting, that night I had a recreational basketball game, and he left painting early to come to my game, that was 30 minutes away, then went back to work. He got home at 11, and finished some paper work. The next morning he was up and ready for 830 mass. He is inpirational and is amazing. I love him with all of my heart.
Popular Hero- Nelson Mandela is my popular hero. Before he was arrested he was an anti-apartheid activist. He was the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe. In 1962, he was arrested for sabotage and sentenced to 27 years in prison. Upon his release he ran for presidency and won. He has then fought for a Democratic Government and has won that battle. He was won more than 250 awards including the 1993 Noble Peace Prize. He is truly a person who did not give up on his own country and that is what a hero does. They do not give up on their own people and they believe in them no matter what has occured.
Personal Hero- My hero is my father. He is the second youngest of 6, and his mom did not work. He had one older brother, who is the eldest. He was part of a family that did not go out to eat alot and did not have a lot luck as a family. Now that he is my father, he is a carpenter, a painter, an electrician, an engineer, a car repair man, a mehanic, a plumber and is real job is a steel salesman for Alro Steel. While my brother and I were going througha Catholic Grade School, and playing 3 sports, he worked two jobs and owned his own painting company. My dad never has time to rest, and he always found time to put his family into is schedual. He never missed any of my or my brothers games, no matter what he had planned. He gives so much for this family and expects nothing out of it. When i grow up i wish i could be half of the man that he is. I wish i could have two kids and have to pay child support for a relationship in high school. One example is that a weekend a couple weeks ago, he had a painting job that was going to take a couple of days. He travels all around Indiana for his work and leaves at 730 every morning and gets home at 5. He came home from work on Saturday at 3, and immediatly went to painting, that night I had a recreational basketball game, and he left painting early to come to my game, that was 30 minutes away, then went back to work. He got home at 11, and finished some paper work. The next morning he was up and ready for 830 mass. He is inpirational and is amazing. I love him with all of my heart.
Popular Hero- Nelson Mandela is my popular hero. Before he was arrested he was an anti-apartheid activist. He was the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe. In 1962, he was arrested for sabotage and sentenced to 27 years in prison. Upon his release he ran for presidency and won. He has then fought for a Democratic Government and has won that battle. He was won more than 250 awards including the 1993 Noble Peace Prize. He is truly a person who did not give up on his own country and that is what a hero does. They do not give up on their own people and they believe in them no matter what has occured.
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