This blog is all about relationships and their hardships. My E-zine contains "The Chaser" Analysis, my editorial "The Problem" and a poetry page containing three poems sharing the common theme of relationships and love.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
"The Chaser" Analysis
There are always strengths and weaknesses to a story, whether it is displayed in text format or as a visual presentation. John Collier’s “The Chaser” was a short story which was also adapted as an on screen for an episode of “The Twilight Zone”. Each version has numerous strengths and weaknesses.
“The Chaser” by John Collier is a fictitious story of a young man, Alan Austen, who is head-over-heels in love with a woman named Diana who wants nothing to do with him. His character is well defined as a nervous, timid man. Both the characters of Alan and the old man are both well defined; the old man is determined and informative and Alan is unconfident and desperate. Collier uses language that is easy to understand and an interesting dialogue between the two characters. The old man refers to a potion he has made as “spot remover” he describes the concoction as “colourless as water, almost tasteless, quite imperceptible in coffee, milk, wine, or any other beverage. It is also quite imperceptible to any known method of autopsy.” This is a strong, well-used metaphor for poison. Collier fully conveys the meaning of the metaphor in this quote which makes understanding what the “spot remover” is substantially easier for the audience. He also foreshadows future events in the story when the old man tells Alan that after buying the love potion “customers come back later in life, when they are rather better off, and want more expensive things”; the expensive potion that the old man described to Alan was the “spot remover.” The ending of “The Chaser” can be described as a cliff-hanger; it ends abruptly as Alan exits the shop and does not go into greater detail of the proceeding events, therefore drawing the audience’s attention in and making them want more of a story. However, there are quite a few weaknesses to this story. The plot is too brief and ends much too quickly, leaving the reader unsatisfied. The language can be confusing to one who is not fully acquainted to metaphors. Collier did not leave room for character development in this story; the characters stay static and do not change for either the better or the worse. Therefore, the story is slightly under-developed, leaving out some interesting details.
Likewise, The Twilight Zone adaption of “The Chaser” connotes the same story and plot. However, through visual presentation there are more details added. The audience can see how the main character, in this case Roger, interacts with the other characters around him. The plot is clearer and has a well defined direction. The director of the show developed the characters further, showing changes in Roger and Lila’s attitudes towards each other, and added in some comedy relief when Lila becomes fully enamoured with Roger and starts acting foolishly. The details of the plot were fully presented and developed; the plot had a strong introduction, body and ending. The ending of the show was slightly anti-climactic but showed a full resolution to the storyline when Roger decided not to poison Lila and to live with her as he initially intended her to be when he gave her the love potion. On the contrary, the show displayed a few weaknesses. The story moved quite quickly and the language was slightly bland and uninteresting. The characters and details of the plot were not as similar to the original text and the end was anti-climactic, ending without an interesting resolution.
In conclusion, both “The Chaser” and The Twilight Zone’s adaption had many strengths and weaknesses when it came to the various areas of the storyline. Both were superb examples of the difference between text and visual formats of a story.
“The Chaser” by John Collier is a fictitious story of a young man, Alan Austen, who is head-over-heels in love with a woman named Diana who wants nothing to do with him. His character is well defined as a nervous, timid man. Both the characters of Alan and the old man are both well defined; the old man is determined and informative and Alan is unconfident and desperate. Collier uses language that is easy to understand and an interesting dialogue between the two characters. The old man refers to a potion he has made as “spot remover” he describes the concoction as “colourless as water, almost tasteless, quite imperceptible in coffee, milk, wine, or any other beverage. It is also quite imperceptible to any known method of autopsy.” This is a strong, well-used metaphor for poison. Collier fully conveys the meaning of the metaphor in this quote which makes understanding what the “spot remover” is substantially easier for the audience. He also foreshadows future events in the story when the old man tells Alan that after buying the love potion “customers come back later in life, when they are rather better off, and want more expensive things”; the expensive potion that the old man described to Alan was the “spot remover.” The ending of “The Chaser” can be described as a cliff-hanger; it ends abruptly as Alan exits the shop and does not go into greater detail of the proceeding events, therefore drawing the audience’s attention in and making them want more of a story. However, there are quite a few weaknesses to this story. The plot is too brief and ends much too quickly, leaving the reader unsatisfied. The language can be confusing to one who is not fully acquainted to metaphors. Collier did not leave room for character development in this story; the characters stay static and do not change for either the better or the worse. Therefore, the story is slightly under-developed, leaving out some interesting details.
Likewise, The Twilight Zone adaption of “The Chaser” connotes the same story and plot. However, through visual presentation there are more details added. The audience can see how the main character, in this case Roger, interacts with the other characters around him. The plot is clearer and has a well defined direction. The director of the show developed the characters further, showing changes in Roger and Lila’s attitudes towards each other, and added in some comedy relief when Lila becomes fully enamoured with Roger and starts acting foolishly. The details of the plot were fully presented and developed; the plot had a strong introduction, body and ending. The ending of the show was slightly anti-climactic but showed a full resolution to the storyline when Roger decided not to poison Lila and to live with her as he initially intended her to be when he gave her the love potion. On the contrary, the show displayed a few weaknesses. The story moved quite quickly and the language was slightly bland and uninteresting. The characters and details of the plot were not as similar to the original text and the end was anti-climactic, ending without an interesting resolution.
In conclusion, both “The Chaser” and The Twilight Zone’s adaption had many strengths and weaknesses when it came to the various areas of the storyline. Both were superb examples of the difference between text and visual formats of a story.
The Problem:
Recently, there have been reports that the rate of divorce is on the rise. The general cause of this unfortunate statistic is seen in the media, politics and on our favourite TV shows. Infidelity, greed, selfish behaviour and incompetence are usually to blame on dysfunctional relationships and torn families all over the world. The most noticed examples of these disasters are seen in celebrity relationships, most recently the Tiger Woods and Jesse James scandals where infidelity and lies are the center of the destructive behaviour that ended their marriages to their wives. The effects of divorce on a family can be devastating. Not only does it affect the marriage of the parents but it can hurt the chances of their children’s future relationships being functional and healthy.
There are simple solutions to this problem that can be summarized in one word: commitment. If you cannot commit to a relationship then do not enter a relationship at all. This will save a relationship and family from heartbreak, scandal and emotional pain. If a man or woman has committed infidelity while in a relationship, they shouldn’t carry on by lying and sneaking around but they should remember the commitment they had made by entering the relationship and sever ties with the destructive behaviour. It’s as simple as confessing to their partner that they had broken their commitment or if they do not wish to be in their current “committed” relationship, going separate ways with their partner. If people just stayed committed to their partner, the problem would be ultimately resolved.
There are simple solutions to this problem that can be summarized in one word: commitment. If you cannot commit to a relationship then do not enter a relationship at all. This will save a relationship and family from heartbreak, scandal and emotional pain. If a man or woman has committed infidelity while in a relationship, they shouldn’t carry on by lying and sneaking around but they should remember the commitment they had made by entering the relationship and sever ties with the destructive behaviour. It’s as simple as confessing to their partner that they had broken their commitment or if they do not wish to be in their current “committed” relationship, going separate ways with their partner. If people just stayed committed to their partner, the problem would be ultimately resolved.
Poetry!
Sonnet XVIII
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
-William Shakespeare
"Desire"
in my dreams
I hold my lovers
next to me all at once
and ask them
what was it I desired?
my hands are full
of their heads
like bunches of cut roses
blond hair, brown hair, red, black,
their eyes are pools of bewilderment
staring up at me
from the bouquet
what was it I desired?
I ask again
was it your bodies?
did I hope by draping
your flesh over me
I could escape
boredom
loneliness
gray hairs shooting
towards me
from the future
like thin arrows?
did I think I could escape,
by taking your breath
into my mouth,
did I think I could escape
the responsibility
of breathing?
what did I desire in you?
sex
knowledge?
power?
love?
did I expect the clouds to
crack
and blue moths to fly out of the stars?
did I expect a voice
to call to me
saying
"Here at last is the answer."
what
I yell at them
shaking my lovers
what did I desire in you?
their ears fall off like petals
they shed their faces
in a pile at my feet
their bewildered eyes
pucker and close
centers of fallen flowers
the last face
floats down
circling in the darkness
at my feet
what did I desire in you? I whisper
the stems of their bodies
dry in my hands
-- Mary Mackey
"Of Relationships"
Lovers love love
Ever consuming love
Hearts love,
Minds love,
Bodies love.
Love is all you need...
... Eternal confusing love
-Sarah-Marie Olsen
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