Warners Bros. presents "The Guilty Malady"

I must thank the sitcom "Outsourced" for inspiring me to write more about the Indian culture and expand on the theme of always wanting a direct answer to problems.

PLOT

The movie would begin in the morning of the Das family's trip with Mr. Kapasi to the Sun Temple at Konarak. In the beginning, Mrs. Das will be prepping herself for the day, unconcerned with getting the children ready. She stares blankly into the mirror, seemingly zoning out. As she turns, the camera panels over her view of three kids running around and Mr. Das sitting on the bed tying his shoe. She sighs; this whole scene envelops the hopelessness Mrs. Das feels and the disconnection towards her family. The car trip will remain the same, with Mr. Kapasi taking quick glances at Mrs. Das in the review mirror, only this time she won't say "Sounds romantic" when describing his job as translator for doctors. She will say distantly, "What a brave, strong job you have Mr. Kapasi." In this way, Mr. Kapasi takes her dreamy declaration to mean more than she means (he will of course be flattered by her brave comment, as most men are). She will take a picture with the tour guide and get his address same as in the short story. When the family stops so Mr. Das can take the children past the monkeys to take pictures, Mrs. Das immediately bursts into tears, expanding on her trapped feeling. She shares her story and sits and stares at Mr. Kapasi. He awkwardly stares back. Flicking her hand at him to talk, Mr. Kapasi realizes what is happening and he explains he cannot help this "malady" because it is not a malady to feel guilt. She then takes out his address, rips it up, throws it at his face, and trips out of the car.

POINT OF VIEW

In the film adaptation of "Interpreter of Maladies," the point of view most fitted for capturing all thoughts and motivations for actions would be third person omniscient. In this way, Kapasi's longing for Mrs. Das, or any woman outside his marriage, remains a focal point. A view that focuses in on all characters allows for direct acknowledgement of the children's treating parents as siblings. Mr. Das will easily be scene as more air-headed and disconnected to the feelings of Mrs. Das, contributing to her obvious loss of interest in her family. The story will focus on the Das family and Mr. Kapasi equally, however with more attention on Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi to show the longing Mr. Kapasi has for a woman and the longing Mrs. Das has for clearing of guilty conscience.

CHARACTERIZATION

The left image reflects my view of Mr. and Mrs. Das before they had children, before she committed adultery and before they lose love. The right image depicts the disconnected nature I foresee the Das's encountering as they grow old together. As far as characterization goes, Mrs. Das will remain unpleasant to her family and pleasant in the presence of Mr. Kapasi because she wants his attention in order to ask for her remedy; Mrs. Das is the using type. Mr. Das appears always off in his own little world, like one of the children. He portrays more of a big brother for the children, like in the short story, and less of a father. Mr. Kapasi shyly watches Mrs. Das for his chance to make a move; evidently, his shyness leads to shameful feelings when Mrs. Das explains he's the age of her father. Mr. Kapasi's innocent demeanor invokes sympathy for the love he does not have and the chance he is refused.

SETTING

Naturally, altering the setting too much might distract from the longing feeling conveyed. Set in India, the Das family represents a feeling of longing for new places as the venture from the US to India. India, in all its beauty, poverty, customs, and landscape, will provide much for viewers to focus on; this ill contrast greatly with Mrs.. Das's obvious lack of interest with anything even when so much culture surrounds her. The Sun Temple presents the perfect place for Mr. Kapasi to teach Mrs. Das since he focuses on love and the temple itself is embellished with figures of love in action. Again, Mrs. Das is present at the temple, but her mind seems elsewhere, leading up to the point where she shares her story with Mr. Kapasi for more answers.

THEME

"Interpreter of Maladies" focuses on the fantasy Mr. Kapasi has of Mrs. Das, only in the movie it's based on her "brave and strong" remark. Both accounts capture the longing of the heart, whether that be for love or healing. In the short story, the slip of paper containing the tour guides address blows out of Mrs. Das's bag symbolizing the evaporation of the fantasy. Unlike the short story, the movie "The Guilty Malady" encapsulates the guilt of Mrs. Das and her adulterous acts; she holds onto the potential of Mr. Kapasi providing some remedy for this guilt. Overall, the movie will suggest the only remedy for guilty conscience is providing the truth. Because Mrs. Das cannot or will not accept this notion of Mr. Kapasi, she angrily tears up his address in front of his face. Instead of the paper blowing away, the tearing of it shows the immature nature of Mrs. Das and her inability to face the anger with herself; she executes this anger through hurting Mr. Kapasi.

Shawshank and the Fantastic Redemption for the Innocent Man

Yes, I may have altered the title, but it was out of respect for a movie which greatly captures the meaning of it's original story, "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption." The movie and novella by Stephen King go hand in hand.


POINT OF VIEW
Similarly, both the movie and short story depict Andy's story through the eyes of Red. However, the film allows a clearer picture on life at Shawshank, thus contributing to the comprehension of the overall struggle both in the prison and outside the prison. While Red narrated the story, the movie gave a more realistic overall view of life in prison: the food, the violence, the cursing, and the shady behavior. We were able to see situations where Red was not present, like Andy's court appearance and work with Warden Norton. Also, the movie portrays Brooks's struggles with having to leave prison and the structured life. We see Brooks at his grocery job trying to maintain a normal life, until the normalcy is in fact an anomaly which leads Brooks to death. A lot of focus centers around Brooks' life after prison for the effect of showing what prison does to a man.


PLOT
The plot of the movie was easier to follow, for it didn't jump around from date to date like Red's telling in the short story. The sequence of events were more consistent; therefore, the plot could better be analyzed. A few key differences occurred in the movie: Tommy Williams, while posing as Andy's ticket out of prison, was killed by Norton in the movie. This violent scene added hatred to Norton for his shady behavior; it was also a very Hollywood twist on the story that Williams was killed not transferred to another prison. Norton also shoots himself, portraying the poetic defeat of the villain. Upon Red's parole, Andy leaves the same letter under the volcanic rock, but in the movie there's a subtle change. In the box are Andy's carvings of chess pieces. To me the chess pieces symbolized the playing of a game, where Andy strategically outplayed the warden, guards, and prisoners at Shawshank. At the end of the movie, Andy and Red find each other, taking away from the ambiguous ending of the novella where "hope" is greatly focused on.

Overall, the novella and movie had few major differences.

SETTING
Consistently, the stories take place at Shawshank prison. This is important to the overall comparison of the two because it keeps both accounts of events accurate. The setting affects the audiences view of prison and the men found in it. These men have to constantly look out for themselves and their friends. The prison setting contributes to this bond of brotherhood, uniting the lowest of society to the innocent of society. Crucial that the places traveled matched up, we follow Red through his adventure to find Andy's hidden box in Buxton. Also, the time era was accurately portrayed as was the advancement of society in both accounts of "Shawshank Redemption."



CHARACTERIZATION
In the film, Andy comes off as more witty and intelligent than in the story. A major reason for this is because we see his plan taking shape. He steals Norton's clothes, is shown crawling through 5 football fields of sewage, and winds up in a stream outside the prison. Here, the rain comes down hard to add emphasis and drama to Andy's clean escape. Andy brings with him the paperwork condoning Norton's financial crimes. A difference from the book that is in the movie is Andy is clever enough to set up his own false identity and manage his account from within Shawshank. Red and Andy are still foils, bad guy shows the good guy the ropes. However, in the film there is more of a brotherhood as Red tells the story and we see his interactions with Andy. I especially liked when Red leads the audience to believe that Andy is going to hang himself, creating suspense when Andy doesn't leave his cell that morning in 1969. This shows the care Red felt for Andy.



THEME
From the movie, I took religious references to mean something. The bible held Andy's salvation tool. I first thought that Andy meant freedom lie within his cell when he said "salvation lies within;" however, I realized by the end of the story that salvation literally lie within the texts of his Bible where the rock hammer was kept. What a clever, ironic pun! This episode depicts how easily men in charge are fooled as they are masked by their own self-worth. Religion does not necessarily mean a person is good, as seen in Warden Norton. Unmistakably, both the movie and the story showed the power of freedom. Andy, the innocent man, seeks and works years for his unforeseen freedom. Brooks is granted parole, but can't handle the freedom in the real world. The movie and novella show the fast pace progression of society, and the yearning in each man's heart for freedom from feeling abused and powerless. Andy's innocence drove him forward; his imprisonment "made him a crook." Both accounts reflect on the innocent mind. Furthermore, by encapsulating all different dates and memories, the stories tell to take one day at a time working patiently and fervently to obtain what is rightly ones' own.

We're Talking Lives, Not Money.

Talk about too much strength in tradition! In "The Lottery," the village has a strange but accepted tradition of rounding the town up, picking a family name from a box, and then killing off one of those family members. Disturbing? Quite. As the story begins, one gets the impression the lottery is looked forward to every year. The lottery is placed next to "square dances, the teenage club, and the Halloween program," all of which seem fall of fun and celebration! With the children present first at the lottery, the end of the story is even more alarming; no one went against the tradition! In fact, Mrs. Hutchinson left her dishes to make it to the drawing! And then, quite as powerful as the excitement comes the tenseness of the villagers. As a general consensus, all of the villagers chase Tessie Hutchinson down, disconnected with anything but their strange, murderous tradition!

Humor Huh?

So let's talk humor! Some parts that made me snicker were picturing the father sitting at the funeral service admiring how popular Mr. Dooley was and what an "excellent funeral" he had. Also, when the boy finishes his lemonade in the pub and was then "interested to know what the contents [of father's glass] were like." In his innocence, he is disappointed in the taste of liquor, suggests that his father has obviously never tried lemonade, and goes on to finish the whole glass anyway! I pictured the women of the town tickled by the drunk little boy, an anomaly compared to the father's usual drunkenness.

More importantly, the humor presented in the story contributes to the overall irony. The title poses the idea that "the drunkard" is an older person, and from the start we are led to believe the father is the primary drunkard. However, first impressions aren't always everything! The funeral doesn't lead to the father's drunken stupor, but the surprise and irony of the young boy's drunkenness.

So, is this illness mental or physical!?

Zoe is the most layered character I've ever discovered! I loved her quirky, careless personality. She was a mix between Ms. Helbing, Juno, and my mom! Ms. Helbing because of her random tidbits of information and facts on history, Juno because of her bland, careless attitude, and my mom because of her going-nowhere conversation with Evan on the phone!
Zoe is a lonely woman, with a dull job in Illinois. The way she described the kids in the Midwest as "spacey from large quantities of meat and cheese" set the tone for her awkward thought processes and conversations. The spacey description of the kids was ironic in the sense that Zoe presents herself as quite spacey and random! Throughout the story, Zoe thinks up snippets of old conversations she's had. From these inner conversations, I felt Zoe was lonely. When she describes herself as "seeing her house, tending to it when it wets, when it cries, and when it throws up," Zoe summarizes her lonely state. She finds both loneliness and companionship by personifying her empty house.

Raymond Carver writes "Popular Mechanics" in a specific style. First, it's written without quotes to portray the couples' inner thoughts; there was not a break between unfiltered thought and angry word. Also, the length of the story was short, contributing to the abrupt ambiguous ending. The baby seemed to stand for the disposition of the couple's relationship. The woman first picks up a photograph of the baby in the father's suitcase; therefore, the argument begins between the two and the dysfunction becomes clear. They refer to him as "this baby." With their child, it was like whoever had the stronger grip of the baby was in control of the situation at hand. When at the end both were physically pulling the baby, they physically fought out their dislike for each other through their love of the child.

"Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" by Stephen King

BRILLIANT!! LONG, BUT STRONG!

POINT OF VIEW: As narrator, Red is an inmate at Shawshank recalling the story of Andy Dufresne. Red gives the details of Andy's prison experience, relating episodes of rape, solitary punishment, and boredom to that of many prisoners. Because Red is the "go-to-get-it" person, he hears almost all stories through the grapevine; this is useful when figuring out information on Andy. The story is made more powerful coming from Red's point of view for several reasons. First, he was accurately imprisoned for his crimes but still has a good heart when dealing with others in "The Shank." Second, Red tells the story of the pure joy he felt from Andy's freedom. Red clearly states that the story is "all about [him]... Andy was the part of [Red] they could never lock up, the part... that will rejoice when the gates finally open...." Through Andy's story, Red depicts his views and fears of freedom.


PLOT: First and foremost, I found myself at times immersed in the years Red, the narrator, would throw out. Like any story being told, details are forgotten and one must backtrack to get an important story in; Red did just this. Each section ends with a cliff hanger which engages the reader and propels them forward. The hints at the end of each story or section adds up to the overall surprise of Andy's escape. The phrase "happy family" was repeated throughout the whole story to add irony to the criminals imprisoned.

Throughout the story, I kept searching for that pivotal moment when the story shifted. Overall, I think there were two big shifts in the story: the first is the scene where the prisoners are tarring the roof and Andy offers his financial service to the warden. From here, Andy acquires some leniency in the prison. The next shift comes when we are startled by the realization that Andy has escaped due to the leniency from the first shift! Both hold climactic qualities.

CHARACTERIZATION: As foil characters, Red and Andy expose each others' fears, discomforts, and hopes. Andy finds a hobby within the prison, and Red's the guy who can get the material for Andy's rock hobby. Red fears life outside structured prison, while Andy evidently yearns for it. Andy is innocent; Red is guilty. Andy is uncomfortable asking for the Rita Hayworth poster for seemingly obvious reasons. More subtly, Andy is introverted as seen in his library position; he searches and acts quietly and independently. "He searched almost desperately for something to divert his restless mind." Through Andy's character, we see more of Red's character: the outgoing, talkative, go-to guy.

The story involves both direct characterization through Red's accounts of the prisoners and indirect characterization as Red's interactions with others portray his personality.

SETTING: Maine and crime seem to juxtapose each other; therefore, I was immediately struck that a quiet, forgotten state like Maine held the prison in which the story is set. Crucial that the story is told from the prison setting, Red is able to relate the confinement of prison to the broad freedom of the outside world. Since the majority of the story takes place within Shawshank, the freedom of the outside world gains power: "The window is open and the sound of the traffic floating in seems huge, esciting, and intimidating."

The mid 1900's served as the perfect time frame. During the time the men were in jail, many advancements were being made on the outside, which Red had to face once free (the music, cars, jobs, etc.). Also, this time period was not equipped with the latest technology for solving cases, contributing to Andy's imprisonment. Without Andy, Red would not have been driven to remain out of jail and free!

THEME: "Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild... And the part of you that knows it was wrong to imprison them in the first place rejoices, but still, the place wehre you live is that much more drab and empty for their departure." The revalation I took from "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" is the necessity for willpower and human influnces in our lives. Because of Andy, Red remained out of trouble while on parole. No matter how we try to stop or change it, people impact our lives. Human will-power is a strong force; some people possess the right amount not to let anyone or anything hinder them.

I also understood the affect of preparing for the worst. Because Andy was prepared with an awaiting identity and savings, he was able to move on with his life. Perhaps King indicates the need for self-reliance and preparation for whatever is to come. For as long as my education continues (which will hopefully never end!), I don't know that I'll ever be comfortable with the word "theme." There are so many avenues to take when regarding theme!