Short Story Adaptation

Plot

If I was adapting "The Lottery" into a full-length film, I would add a few conflicts before Tessie's murder. The movie would begin with the end of the previous stoning and would focus specifically on Tessie's reaction to the stoning. This would effectively emphasize her hypocritical reaction to her own stoning. I would also include scenes in the homes of several village families. This would set the stage for the lottery and the effect that it has on each different family. Other than that, a film version could be exactly the same as the short story and still be entertaining, so I would not change anything that has already been written.

Point of View

In an adaptation, I would keep the third person omniscient narrator, but I would make the narrator more of a spy or a nosy neighbor. The narrator would be able to take the audience into the homes of each family. This change would allow the audience to feel closer to the villagers and identify with their families. By doing so, the audience would be more engaged in the movie. The ultimate goal is to make the movie exciting and interesting for an audience, and giving the narrator more of a free reign would create that excitement and evoke a stronger response from the audience.

Characterization

The way that the narrator has characterized Tessie and all the other characters is a combination for direct and indirect characterization. I would definitely keep that, but I would focus more on characterizing Tessie indirectly. Adding a relationship with the daughter she attempts to throw under the bus would be a good way to emphasize the desperation which accompanies the lottery. It would highlight the aspect of Tessie which allows her to try to betray her daughter. I would keep the same style of characterization, but I would expand on it and give the audience a better insight into the villagers', specifically Tessie's, lives. Just like the point of view, an expansion of the characterization would make Tessie's stoning more emotional for the audience.

Setting

I would keep the setting the same. A small village seems to be an appropriate setting for a story like "The Lottery." I would have the story set in the early 1900s. An audience seeing the movie today would find a story such as this unbelievable if it was set in the present day, so it needs to be set in a somewhat distant time period. That would also make a relative lack of technology more sensible. It would make it easier to set a potentially barbaric story without making it completely, obviously barbaric.

Theme

I'd keep the same theme in a movie as in the short story. The theme in the short story is that a bad occurrence is okay, even necessary, until it hits close to home. For this story to become an exciting movie, keeping this theme would be the best choice. It's crazy enough that an audience would be almost uncomfortable, but it would become somewhat believable. Tessie would be seen at the previous stoning seeming almost sad but not quite regretful. Tessie at the next lottery, however, would still lose it when she finds out that she has to die. Showing both would effectively support the theme and make the audience walk away from the film wondering how and why a society would have a lottery.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: The Longest Movie Ever Made

Plot

The movie was disappointingly different from the story. The entire plot is wrong besides Benjamin's reverse aging. In the movie, the events are drawn out so that the viewer can see every part of Benjamin's life and get a better sense of who he is and how certain events have affected him. The reversal of his aging issue puts a new spin on the story by making him more conscious of his reversed aging. Hildegarde has a problem with Benjamin getting younger in the story, but here it is Benjamin who sees a problem although he has a child in both cases. That reversal makes Benjamin a more believable character because he is concerned about raising his daughter the way any father would be. Personally, I hate it when movies differ from the storyline presented in the book, but the differences in plot here gives the movie more substance and made it more entertaining than the story.

Point of View

The movie has a few different points of view. Caroline reads the story, but it's Benjamin's story, so it's a first person point of view. Caroline serves the same purpose that Tim O'Brien's daughter served in The Things They Carried. They both clarify and interpret information for the audience so that the story is more credible. The fact that the story is Benjamin's first-hand account makes him more real to the audience and evokes feelings of empathy. When Daisy takes over the story, it is as if Benjamin's story continues, but the helplessness which grows in him becomes apparent because he can no longer tell his own story. The first-person account of the movie is much more appealing than the story because hearing a story first-hand is more reliable and more exciting.

Characterization

Benjamin is indirectly characterized, but he is also directly characterized. He has many relationships throughout the movie, but the most important ones are those with Queenie, Daisy and his father. Benjamin's relationship with Queenie makes him look like an obedient son who just wants to please his mother and occasionally messes up. This relationship is endearing, and it makes the audience start to like Benjamin. His relationship with Daisy characterizes him as caring but also as a typical guy. He makes mistakes, but everyone does that. What truly matters to her is that he cares. Benjamin's relationship with his father characterizes him as forgiving and understanding. His father reveals his identity, and Benjamin accepts him even though he has a right to be angry. Each of these qualities is endearing and provides plenty of character for Benjamin, but he also characterizes himself and directly tells us that he doesn't mind being different. All of this evidence makes Benjamin seem like a real, complex person who could really exist.

Setting

The movie is set several years later than the story, and that brings new conflicts like WWII into the picture. Really nothing about the setting is the same between the story and the movie, so everything except the most basic plot line is different. The Louisiana location makes me think of the Creole culture in New Orleans and the popularity of cultural practices and "hocus pocus," for lack of a better term. That makes Benjamin's condition seem more reasonable, as does the clock that ticks backwards. The primary reason for the change in setting is to create more conflict in Benjamin's life because that's just more interesting. He wouldn't have conflicts with women the way that he does if the movie was set in the late 1800s like the story is.

Theme

There are multiple major themes in the movie. Queenie presents the idea that being different is okay. Benjamin frequently tells people when he's only a few years old that he's different, but he knows it's not a bad thing because Queenie makes sure he knows that. Benjamin presents the strongest theme which is the idea that nothing lasts forever. He watches so many people come and go in the nursing home, and every single one of his relationships ends at some point. He knows that every aspect of his life will change or fade, so he makes the most of it while he can.

You're Ugly, Too

Zoe is a humorous character for sure. She's incredibly eccentric, and her oddities make her seem nerdy beyond belief. It's ironic that she "wondered how she looked" at the end because she doesn't seem to care before then. She doesn't really react to Earl until she nearly pushes him off a roof. Is it weird for him to be freaked out? Of course not, but Zoe seems to think it's weird. She's just a weird person. Personally, I don't like her as a character. She doesn't make sense to me, and I hate that. I just don't understand her.

"The Drunkard"

This story is in the humor and irony category which is more than fitting. I mean, how entertaining would it be to see a kid walking/staggering down a street in a drunken stupor with his father? When he starts yelling obscenities, the humor of the piece is apparent. My favorite part of the story is the end when his mother calls him her "brave little man." It's funny and ironic because most mothers wouldn't be proud of their young sons for finishing off their father's beer. His mother has a good reason, though. Having an alcoholic husband/father makes the boy's act heroic in the eyes of his mother. I think it's strange that she fails to see the potential for her son to become a drunkard like his father. The fact that he's finishing a beer at a young age should be disturbing if nothing else for his mother.

"The Lottery"

I think I'll go for the fourth question on this one too. The original box used for the ritual has been replaced, but it supposedly contains pieces of the original box. The replacement of the box represents the loss of the rituals meaning for the community. They don't do it because they believe it makes a difference anymore. They do it because that's what they've always done. The pieces of the original box and leftover pieces of the ritual represent the little meaning that the ritual actually has for the people. Old Man Warner is really the only person in the community who cares about the ritual for what it's supposed to be. He demonstrates the knowledge of the true meaning when he says "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon." He seems frustrated because no one else realizes the importance of the lottery. He seems to think it's a noble cause for which Tessie dies.

"Popular Mechanics"

I'll go with question four for this one. The reader never learns in the story why the couple is splitting up, but I assume that he cheated on her. When she says "You can't even look me in the face, can you?" it seems like he should be feeling guilt. It really doesn't matter why he's leaving, though, because the focus of the story is on the way the couple treats the baby. The reason for the split has no impact on the treatment of their child. They act like little kids fighting over a toy. It's like they're too concerned with being angry with each other to notice that they're fighting over a human being that they could easily injure if they're not careful. Based on their reactions, it wouldn't matter if the problem or reason was different. They'd still be fighting over the baby because they're irresponsible parents.