The Truman Show

1. This statement applies to Gregor and Harold in a similar way. They both accept and carry out the life chosen for them without question. They are puppets, serving only others and never themselves. In order to even care about these characters, they must become important to us because the reason they die or are intended die is because they are useless on this Earth.

2. I think Truman lives a life of quiet desperation. Unlike Harold and Gregor, we see Truman’s struggle to find life from the very beginning of his story. He is restless, constantly trying to escape his boring life. He first escapes in small ways such as picking up a magazine every day to try and piece together the woman he’s in love with. It is only when he realizes how trapped he actually is that Truman really desperately tries to get out of this prison.

3. The conflict for Truman begins when he sees his father and tries to go to him. When this happens, two people appear out of nowhere to get him away. From here on out, Truman can’t help noticing people are constantly manipulating him into situations all to avoid the truth about his life.

4. My favorite scene in the movie is the memory of Sylvia. It’s the only time in this movie before they end that I don’t feel trapped. I feel Truman’s excitement and liberation watching as he falls in love with this girl who is the only one in the movie who tries to help him. It’s a nice break from the frustration I feel in the rest of the movie from feeling trapped.

5. I believe that Christof is more God like than Karen because Karen actually sympathizes with her creation. For Christof, he is almost detached from how much harm he is doing to Truman and more concerned with the show itself as his creation. Harold is able to personally confront Karen about his fate, whereas Truman creates his own fate by leaving the show.

6. Truman’s triumph says a lot about fate vs. free will. Some would argue that because Christof is Truman’s god, it is impossible for Truman to create his own destiny, that by having a god, Truman’s destiny is already mapped out for him. However, this shows us that humans are capable of taking their own fate into their own hands. They are capable of change if they desire it enough.

Stranger Than Fiction: Author Meeting Character

In this scene, Karen and Harold meet for the first time as author and character. This is the first time they react. In all this time, Karen has been Harold's God. She has created his world, given him thoughts and ideas, shaped his entire life and reason for living. Now though, Harold is taking his life into his own hands. As he enters Karen's apartment, the camera focuses on some aspects of it. One, the pristine, white, marble figures such as her desk and floor. We are also pointed out to many rectangular items: window panes, her desk, even the lamp has a rectangular quality. Karen's created world for Harold has been a prison. Yet the prison originates in her own home. In terms of the angles used during their conversations, Harold is seen here as very dominant and physically larger than Karen. Even when he first walks in, Karen is crouched on the floor in fear as Harold reigns over her. This is reflected again when Karen sits at her desk and Harold is standing over it, hands planted firmly on the surface, almost as if trapping his God the way she has trapped him.

1. The cleaning woman and Gregor can be seen as equals to some. Firstly, the cleaning woman is another physical representation of a bug; she does menial labor, isn’t treated with respect by those of a higher social status, and is not seen as necessary other than to perform her assigned tasks. In many ways, the Samsa family treats this woman the same way they treat Gregor and treated him before he made his metamorphosis. Both Gregor and the cleaning woman are dehumanized by this family, which I think is a noticeable commentary on the way the lower class is treated by the upper class. I don’t think the cleaning woman minds Gregor for two reasons. One, she is probably used to seeing them where she lives, and the second is that on some levels, she can relate with Gregor in terms of how she’s treated by those in a higher position of power than her.

Quotes that support this:

- “A gigantic bony cleaning woman with white hair flying around her head came in mornings and evenings to do the rough work; Gregor’s mother did all the rest, as well as all her sewing.” (pg. 93)

- “The cleaning woman was there. This old widow, whose strong and bony frame had enabled her to survive the worst a long life could offer, had no particular aversion to Gregor.” (96)

2. Nourishment is necessary nutrition that feeds the body, mind, or spirit. The difference here between the food Gregor is offered earlier, and the music his sister plays, is that this food makes it so Gregor can barely continue to live. He does not enjoy or prosper from it. It doesn’t have meaning to him other than means to survive. However, the music Grete plays for Gregor does nourish his spirit. It his Gregor’s motivation to go a job he hates to pay off debts that aren’t his- to one day fulfill his dream of sending his sister to a music conservatory. This feeds his entire reason for living. In this way, there is a significant difference between the food Gregor is served and the music he lives for. Moreover the nourishment does not come from the violin itself, but his sister. The violin is merely the medium in which she nourishes her brother. This is why the violin falling to the floor later in the story is described as noisy. The violin is only a representative of the nourishment; Grete is what sustains Gregor.

Quotes that support this:

“With his sister alone had he remained intimate, and it was a secret plan of his that she, who, unlike himself, loved music and could play the violin movingly, should be sent next year to study at Conservatory, despite the great expense that would entail and which would have to be made up in some other way.” (pg. 78)

1. I think it takes a while for Gregor to realize he cannot function as a human in the body of an insect. In this way, I think he “first learns to appreciate” his feelers as gifts for how he can live in the least harmful way as a cockroach. When he wonders to himself later if he is less sensitive now, I think he wonders that in terms of being less sensitive to pain, now that his armor has grown back and he knows how to move around and use his body to protect himself. In short, I think the turning point for Gregor is him finding ways to use his body and not let it become an obstruction. This is Gregor accepting his metamorphoses.

2. Gregor clings to the picture on the wall because he is literally clinging to his past. His sister, Grete, comes in and tries to move all his furniture, thinking it would be easier for him to crawl around the floor and walls if it were gone. Gregor likes the furniture because it reminds him of when he was normal, but he can't do anything about the fact that his sister and mother are removing it. In an attempt to do something, he climbs the wall and clings to the picture so his sister cannot remove it. Ironically, he displays obvious bug-like characteristics in order to cling to his human past.

3. Parallels:

a. The picture of the lady in furs

b. Grete’s persistence in taking care of Gregor

4. Contrasts:

a. Gregor’s father becoming the money maker now

b. Gregor’s acceptance of his new body and utilization of it such as his feelers, legs, and sticky pads.

Bus Scene: Stranger Than Fiction

The camera uses long shots as Harold and Ana first start talking. I think this is used to illustrate their awkwardness and the fact that they’re strangers with one another. Ana also is far away from Harold and remains standing to be obstinate about sitting down even though there are open seats. She clearly dislikes Harold and the long shots used literally show the distance between them. One Ana is forced into a seat by a sudden jolt of the bus, the angle goes into a medium shot when the two are on the same level for the first time. Once Harold apologizes and the two carry on with small talk, the shots stay medium and the camera switches back from Harold to Ana as they talk. The only long shot that happens after this is when Ana says thank you to Harold after he compliments her on her white teeth. The purpose of this scene is to show the first social interaction Harold has in the movie, as well as the first interaction he has with a woman. This is outside of Harold’s routine and comfort zone, so it is clear that patterns are continuing to break for him.

Interpretive Question: Stranger Than Fiction

Is it better to know when you're going to die, so you can prepare/plan ahead/make sure you complete everything you want to do before you die or would knowing the exact moment of your death make you so scared/depressed/angry that you would no longer carry the will to live?