Category: Midterm Essay (Page 2 of 3)

Rumana Shakur

English 2400

October 21st, 2020

Midterm Essay (First Draft)

Warning: Do NOT EAT Tita’s cooking

“Like water for chocolate” is an excellent sentimental story of an impossible passionate love during the Revolution in Mexico. The romance is trailed by the sweet smell of the kitchen secrets and cooking, with a creative mind and innovativeness. The story is that of Tita De La Garza, the most youthful of all little girls in Mother Elena’s home. As per the family tradition she is to watch after her mom till the day she dies, and subsequently can’t wed any men. Tita discovers comfort in cooking, and soon the kitchen turns into her reality, influencing each feeling she encounters to the individuals who taste her food. Almost as if she were casting spells on her food that only affects certain people. 

While the plot of the film version of “Like water for chocolate”(1992) is a Traditional transition to Laura Esquivel’s text version of “Like water for chocolate”(1989), there are a lot of similarities and differences. These differences and similarities give the readers and viewers different perspectives. For example, in the film it starts off with showing us Tita’s father’s death and why he had a heart attack which they showed a bit later on in the film. However in the text it starts with Tita’s very dramatic birth. In the film Tita’s birth was humorized compared to the text that states, where she came into the world in a “great tide of tears” which also symbolized Tita’s lifelong sadness that was awaiting her. The opening to the film and text were different, the tone and mood in the film and text were also very different. 

(There will be more detailed paragraphs with evidence)

In conclusion, people have different views and imagination. Every scene can not be imagined exactly the same by everyone. There are bound to be some differences. The mood and tone in a text or film can also drastically change the feel of a piece, which in “Like water for chocolate” did. The film had me getting mad and triggered at Pedro, Mama Elena and Rosaura. Sometimes accusing Tita of murder since her food seemed to have caused the deaths. But in the book it’s more personal, I’m more understanding of Tita and her feelings and the way she even cooks however in the movies the aspect of cooking was not even close to the sensation. 

Alicia Bajana

English 2400

October 20, 2020

“It Had to Be Murder” vs Rear Window

“It Had to Be Murder” by Cornell Woolrich (1942) is a suspenseful and mysterious story about a man named Hal Jeffries, a temporarily disabled man, who spies on his neighbors as his past time but becomes involved in a murder investigation. Rear Window is the film adaptation of “It Had to Be Murder”. “It had to be Murder” by Cornell Woolrich (1942) vs. Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954) is a Traditional Translation between the text and the film. Both works have similarities and differences that change the readers’ perspective and gives a new feel and appreciation to the short story.

One similarity is the murder of Mrs. Thorwald. This is the main plot of the story which puts intensity in the text and the film.  One difference is the accomplices of Jeffries in the investigation. In the text, he is portrayed as a single mid-age man with no family and comes around to take care of Jeffries. Unlike the film, they portray 2 accomplices which are Lisa and Stella. Lisa is the love interest of Jeffries which develops into a relationship towards the course of the investigation. Stella is the other accomplice but also has a close bond with Jeffries as a mother figure due to her age and her ways of taking care of Jeffries like a son. This similarity is important between the text and film because it is the core of the story. In the text, the reader is able to feel the build-up of the suspense when Jeffries sends Mr. Thorwald the letter and Jeffries is able to see how his reaction proved his hypothesis about Mrs. Thorwald’s death. In the film, the viewer is able to see and feel the suspense building up through camera angles, the diegetic sounds of the surroundings, and the focal point of Mr. Thorwald’s face when reading the letter.

The second similarity is the temporary disability of Jeffries that brought him to spy on his neighbors and later on be a key point in the discovery of Mrs. Thorwald’s body. The second difference is the neighborhood layout. This similarity is extremely important to the reader and view because it is the reason as to how the whole story happens. It’s due to his inability to walk that tracked him into spying on his neighbors and discovering the horrifying truth about a killing. The difference important because for the reader it’s an imagery effect when the reader is imagining how everything looks as if they were Jeffries. In the text, the layout is described differently with more distance between each building and super spacious but, in the film, Jeffries can see straight into Thorwald’s entire apartment. All the apartment buildings are facing each other like a box with a multitude of people leaving in each apartment. The view not only sees the layout but is able to compare it to the real lifestyle of a New Yorker.

The third similarity is Jeffries’s friend detective, Boyne, who helps Jeffries in the whole investigation. The third difference is the profession of Jeffries. In the text, he never mentioned his work or who he worked for but in the film, he shows and expresses his profession as a Photographer. This similarity was crucial in the text and film because it put all the pieces of the puzzle together and gave the plot meaning. Therefore, the differences were just as crucial to the film by giving a new feel to the scene. This new feeling of terror from Jeffries to the quick thinking raised the bar on the ending scenes. Jeffries not only used his photography tools to spy on Thorwald and also gather evidence but also used them to save his life at the ending scene when Thorwald came after him to kill him. This scene was suspenseful and terrifying due to the use of darkness, silence, focal points on Thorwald’s eyes, and camera angles when Jeffries dropped from his window.

In conclusion, while the film is traditional and follows the short story faithfully; there are important differences and liberties that the film takes that is not part of the short story, which includes; changes in characters, added characters, and gender changes, and changes in lifestyles. These differences stand out in the film and change the short story in different ways. The text and film have taught me how important it is for the producer to stay true to the text because the minimal adjustment can change the whole feeling and narrative of the story. Lastly, the lesson I learned from the text/film is to be aware of my surroundings because the enemy can be closer than you think and we don’t know who can be watching.

Mehriniso Muhammadieva

CST 2400

10/20/2020

First Draft-Midterm Essay

Laura Esquirel’s, Like Water for Chocolate, is almost like a modern-day Romeo and Juliet that are filled with appetizing recipes. This novel was published in 1983 and has become one of the valued parts of American literature. The novel’s publicity and fame then brought this movie to life on February 17, 1993, by Alfonso Arau. While the novel, Like Water for Chocolate, is similar to Alfonso Arau’s film version; there are also some distinguishable differences. The use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound makes this translation literal, according to Linda Cahir’s definition. In order to provide this, I will explore the narrators’ description of the scenes. Second, I will use the film’s use of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds to show actions. Lastly, I will discuss what the film has that the book does not. 

The main novel begins with Tita, the main character, coming to life in the kitchen and filling the floor with the tide of tears; maybe because she knew that she would be denied marriage to her loved one. Tita is a character of talent and full of romance; Tita’s life is fully controlled by Mama Elena; what she does, whom she talks to, and whom she marries. However, Tita’s future is set up right after she was born to not get married and her task is to simply take care of Mama Elene for the rest of her life. We also have the older sisters of Tita; Rosaura and Gertrudis, Rosaura ends up marrying Tita’s lover and has his children, Esperanza and Roberto. Gertrudis is the first rebel of the De La Garza family, wanting to escape the securities of home, she is overwhelmed by her lustful passion. She ends up running away with a soldier bare naked and ends up becoming the chief. We also have Nacha, she is an important person to Tita, basically her mother figure. Nacha is the one that takes care of Tita from birth, she is always three when Tita is in need of help; her death becomes Tita’s great grief. We have Chencha, Tita’s best friend and companion throughout the film and the movie. Lastly, we have Pedro, Tita’s lover, and Rosaura’s husband. Pedro marries Rosaura to get close to Tita, as a result, Tita suffers tremendously; she becomes an insomniac, where she wastes her nights kneading it. 

When looking at the similarities and differences between the movie and the film one can barely find the differences because one, the movie goes by really fast. Second, Arau did a good job of recapturing Esquirel’s words/imaginations that it is almost impossible to see the difference. One of the similarities in the diegetic sound that is used both in the novel and the film. Throughout the novel, we have Tita telling the readers how she is feeling, and also we have communication between the characters in the novel. Arue does the same thing with the film, we have characters talking to each other and the sounds that are made in the kitchen, the ranch, we also have Tita’s voice as she speaks her mind to us only. That sound is the only thing the other characters do get to hear both in the film and the novel. One small difference we have is the beginning of the film where we see the death of Tita’s father, while in the novel we are automatically in the scene of Mama Elena giving birth to Tita. Another difference would be the death of Mama Elena in the novel. We have Mama Elena die of poisoning herself with massive doses of ipecac. While in the movie we have her die right when the revolutionaries attack the ranch and throw Mama Elena off to a cliff.

The most youthful girl in her family, the talented chef Tita is forbidden to wed her love, Pedro. Since custom directs that Tita must think about her mom, Pedro marries her more established sister, Rosaura. The circumstance makes a lot of strain on the family, and Tita’s ground-breaking feelings start to surface in fantastical manners through her cooking. As the years finish, surprising conditions test the suffering affection for Pedro and Tita. While the plot of the film version of “Like Water or Chocolate,” directed by Alfonso Arau is very similar to Laura Esquivel text version, the film lost an integral part of the book, the sensual aspect of the cooking and love, making this translation traditional, according to Linda Cahir’s definition. To prove this, I will first compare the scenes between Tita and Pedro and the sign that is displayed at the beginning of the film. Second, I will explore Tita’s cooking because it deals with her emotions. Lastly, I will discuss what the film loses and gains by leaving out scenes.

Close to the start of the novel Rosaura and Pedro are to be married. This bombshell Tita especially as she adores Pedro. While she is making the cake for the wedding she starts to cry into the cake hitter. Since she was feeling yearning and misfortune, those feelings moved into the cake. Consequently, when the visitors at the wedding started to eat the cake, they also started to feel yearning and misfortune, some even became ill. Nacha, another house cook, who ate the cake, felt such aching and loss of her darling that she passed on.

The pictures in the film relate near the entertaining inclination the book gives us, giving us a high point on the visitors and long shots, demonstrating to us on the whole how everybody was crying. That night Nacha bites the dust and breaks Tita’s world. Later on, Pedro gives Tita roses, and she chooses to make quail in rose. The enthusiasm trickled from her to the dish and made Gertrudis the more established sister consider wicked considerations. The smell stirring from her ranges to an officer Juan, who was Gertrudis dream, the second is depicted mystically: “A pink clod floated toward him, wrapped itself around him…naked as she was, luminous, glowing with energy… without slowing his gallop, so as not to waste a moment, he leaned over, put his arm around her waist, and lifted her onto the horse in front of him, face to face” (pg 55-56). The film draws an incredible equal here, the image is foggy a little as though it is a fantasy, and without precedent for the film, which is faintly lit and inadequately lit, the image is splendid, with a streaming development of the two as they vanish. One of the most huge minutes in the book is when Tita conveys Rosauras child Roberto, the thing she cherished the most. In the film notwithstanding, the entire period of dealing with Roberto in the kitchen and taking care of him is brief, which is exceptionally befuddling for later scenes. As mother Elena faculties that Pedro and Tita may take part in an extramarital entanglement going on, she sends them to one of her family members in the United States.

Throughout the book and film, Tita seems to have character development. When preparing the food Mama Elena and they find out that Roberto died, she stands up for herself and yells at Mama Elena saying it is her fault. This is the first sign that Tita wants to get away from her family but more specifically, Mama Elena. Mama Elena is blocking Tita from being redeemed by not letting her marry because she has to be the one to take care of her.  When Mama Elena dies, in a way Tita is free.  

While reading “It Had to Be Murder” and watching the film version “The Rear window” I noticed a couple of similarities and differences. In this essay I will touch base on the use of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds throughout the film version and also the differences in the characters versus in the written story. Although there were some differences between the film and the written version, both were also very similar in plot which I believe the film “The Rear Window” was a traditional translation to “It had to be murder”. I intend to prove these points further along by comparing and contrasting both versions of the story.

The written story “It Had to Be Murder” was greatly written by Cornell Woolrich in 1942. His story was very descriptive and suspenseful in a way where you can almost envision what’s happening. He describes the neighbor’s houses from top to bottom that if you have a vivid imagination you could probably draw out exactly what he described. The story is about a man named Jefferies who’s confined to his home due to a leg injury and in his free time he’s what we like to call a peeping Tom. During his peeping Tom activities, he accidentally discovers what seems to be a murder happening from one of his neighbors named Mr. Thorwald and becomes a detective with the help of his helper Sam to prove what he has witnessed. “It Had to be Murder” was written from Jefferies point of view, we as the reader was able to explore his thoughts, whereas in the film we are looking from the outside in. We are viewing the film from different point of views and not just one.

“Rear Window” which is the film version of “It Had to Be Murder” was filmed in 1954, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes. As stated, the plot of this version is very similar to Woolrich’s version but more detailed which most film versions of stories are. In “Rear Window” the differences I noticed were the character layout. In this version I learned more about Jefferies than in the story. Jefferies who was an obvious peeping Tom was also a photographer.

Him being a photographer explained why he was so keen to being in front of his window so often and analyzing the scenery before him. We also got a glance of his extensive love life in the film. In Woolrich’s version there was very little detail about Jefferies life. The most we knew was that he was home due to an injury and he had what seemed to be a helper named Sam who came in to assist him with household things. “Rear Window” gave us more background information about Jefferies which helped us an audience understand the story a little a better. Lisa who was Jefferies girlfriend also played a major role in the film. She seemed to play not only his companion but also an investigator of the supposed murder. Lisa was very invested in this murder and actively assisted Jefferies in proving Mr. Thorwald killed his wife. In Woolrich’s version Sam was Jefferies right hand man with the murder, there was no evidence that Jefferies had a girlfriend in “It Had to Be Murder”. Not only was Lisa of help, Jefferies also had help from Stella who acted as his helper in the film version.

The “Rear Window” really gave us a sense of suspense with the use of the diegetic sounds. Diegetic sound is any sound that emanates from the story. Diegetic sound is anything from a voice inside the characters head or music coming from an instrument or radio. Non-diegetic sound also called nonliteral sound. Non-diegetic sound could be a narration or voice over or sound effects for a more dramatic effect. The use of non-diegetic sound was very minimum in this film. Throughout the film we hear only sounds that actually occur in the film’s world. For instance, we could hear cars passing by and sirens here and there. Interesting enough we heard the sounds the way Jeff hears them. Conversations in other apartments were heavily muted while we were able to still here the outside noises. This technique keeps us in Jeff’s point of view. Same as when he uses the camara to see from a distance or when he was looking through the camera to see the pictures of the flowers the camera view was as if we were looking through Jefferies eyes as well.

Riya Chopra 

Professor Scanlan/ENG 2400

“Rear Window” vs. “It Had To Be Murder”

The movie “Rear Window” directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is the visual recreation of Cornell Woolrich’s 1942 short story “It Had to Be Murder”. Here we see the encompassing impact of betrayal of one spouse to the other and how the mere curiosity of a neighbor turned into a full investigation of a possible murder. With a mix of romance and mystery, there’s quite the story being illustrated between a few partners in crime and a man who was caught by chance.

The movie and the story have quite the few similarities and differences ranging from the characters included to the visualization of it all. While the plot of “Rear Window” is similar to Cornell Woolrich’s short story “It Had To Be Murder,” the use of camera movements and angles makes this tanslation radical, according to Linda Cahir’s definition. In order to prove this I will first analyze the use of Jefferies “camera lens,” exploring the use of point of view shots within the film and how this illustrates Jefferies’ investigation. Secondly, I will observe the scenes in which Jefferies observes his neighborhood with the use of pan and tilt shots. Lastly, I will discuss how the importance of close up shots in the film are fundamental in building Jeffries individual character as well as Lisa’s. 

In Woolrich’s short story “It Had To Be Murder,” does not place any emphasis on what profession Jeffries is involved in, which essentially gives a very vague look into his character overall. We know that he is very intuitive and bases his investigation off his habit and practice of observation, through this he is even able to gather the evidence he needs. However in the movies, his camera lens and his profession play a fundamental part in making sure that his case is solved as efficiently and correctly as possible. His camera lens is his way of getting around as he is bound to a wheelchair himself. We witness a P.O.V shot every time Jefferies looks into his lens. It is as he is looking through his lens that he notices the first few unfortunate interactions between Mr. Thornwald and Mrs. Thorwald, this camera movement in essence is composed of point of view shots. Jefferies looks through his lens to observe both characters, something we don’t see in the written story, the animosity between both characters and how Mrs.Thorwald seems to make fun of Mr.Thorwald compared to his obvious dissatisfaction of her humor. We see Jefferies smiling at her behavior and Hitchcock uses this capturing of the characters reactions through P.O.V shots. Hitchcock uses a lot of these shots on characters’ faces, so we as the audience,  know what we should be thinking and feeling with the characters themselves. 

From the beginning of the film we see Jefferies studying his neighborhood down below. Throughout,  it is shown how Jefferries views his neighborhood and how exactly he observes his surroundings. This may be due to pure habit, curiosity or even due to his profession as a photographer. A pan shot moves the camera from side to side on a horizontal axis, providing the sense of looking left to right. We see a variety of pan shots within the movies from when Jefferies observes his neighborhood to the scene where Lisa delivers the letter to Mr.Thorwald and the end of the film where everyone has a happy ending to their own story. These pan shots help us follow the major points in the story, giving us a sense of actually being within the film which in reality would be one of the major differences between the movie and the short story. The pan movement is used when moving from character to character, such as when Lisa and Jefferies are speaking throughout the film. For the duration of the film the camera movement is at a fairly medium pace and only quickens towards the end of the film where we see Thorwald and Jefferies in a physical fight. This quickening of the camera movement builds the suspense and makes it easier to capture the intensity of the scene itself, we as the audience are at the edge of our seats.

The short story does not give any insight into Jefferies’ love life, whereas the film introduces a whole new character named Lisa. Lisa is Jefferies accomplice and his main object of affection and we see the development of their relationship through a variety of close up shots. Hitchcock uses this concept of close ups shots of the characters to show what they are thinking, in this situation to show exactly how Jefferies feels about Lisa. Compared to the beginning of their interaction where Jefferies’ face was almost filmed with curiosity and amusement we see that he himself was not attached to Lisa as a possible love interest. However, as their investigation goes forward so does their love and interest in each other, the investigation is their love language. In one particular scene in the film, we see Lisa deliver the letter that Jefferies had written to Mr. Thorwald’s apartment and we see the fear visible in Jefferies’ face as he is not only scared for her life but her being able to successfully escape.When she rushes back to Jefferies’ apartment we see the camera closing up on Jefferies face gives her this vivid look of admiration. It seems his eyes were glowing in a way that expressed his likingless towards her and how her being able to accomplish such a daring task just made her a woman to desire. We see here that he loves her, as he smiles looking at her and admiring her courage, a clear and definite difference from the story. When a camera is closer to a character than it normally is, it draws attention to whatever is in the frame and here we see the love language between both characters.

Radical translations provide a more wider outlook onto the basic plot of stories, and we see such in cinematic version. Hitchcock’s adaptation establishes a more intricate representation of scenes and the individual characters. 

“The rear window”

written stories can be translated into films/movies which can be projected the same way it was written in eh book/novel or completely different and most of the time it stays the same but extra details are added sometimes to make it easy to understand or to call the watchers attention, at least that’s what Linda chair tries to explain through the three types of translation (literal, Radical, Traditional). One of these types of translations can be seen in the 1954 film the rear window by Alfred Hitchcock who shows us the traditional translation of the 1942  story the rear window by Cornell Woolrich, who tell us the history of a man who after broking his leg start to watch his neighbors through the rear window of his apartment and start to image things because of his boredom creating the idea that his neighbor Mr. Thorwald had killed his wife.

     Since the plot of the film the rear window is similar to the short story it had to be a murder, the use of the same plot, setting, and extra details make the translation traditional, according to Linda’s Chair definitions. The film the rear window is a traditional translation because of three major reasons first the short story and the film share the same plot, second, the film talks more about the protagonist’s personal life, and Lastly the different point of view/narrative between the film and the short story.

    The film and the story share the same plot meaning that they both share the same main events, in the film in and in the short story the plot develops when Hal Jefferies(the protagonist) sees through his rear window that his neighbor acting weird which lead him to believe that his MR. Thorwald, his neighbor had killed his wife. Although the film and the short history share the same plot the are some differences between this two, one difference is that there are two new characters that are added in the film, Stela who is a nurse who takes the role of Sam(a character in the written story) and Jefferies’s girlfriend Lisa, another difference is that in the story Jefferies only focus on what Mr. Thorwald is doing, while in the film does not only focus on the neighbors but also in the other neighbors and Jefferies personal life.

Another difference between the film the rear window and the story it had to be a murder is that the film gives us more details of Jefferies’s personal life.in the film, we can see that Jefferies has a girlfriend and that he works as a cartographer for a newspaper which is not mentioned in the written story.

Vanessa Mendoza

English 2400/Section O552

First Draft Midterm Essay

After reading “Like Water for Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel published in 1989 and watching the film directed by Alfonoso Arau released in 1993 we can compare them according to Linda Cahir’s definition of translation. The book “Like Water for Chocolate” is a love story between two characters: Tita and Pedro whom despite their love are not able to marry. According to Linda Cahir, literature to film translations can be literal, traditional, or radical. What type of translation would the book and the film fall under? 

The plot of the film version “Like Water for Chocolate” is identical to Laura Esquivel’s text version besides some minor details. The focal point remains on Tita and Pedro in the film just like in the book through the use of shots and camera movement. In addition, the use of narration in both the film and the book makes the translation almost identical. But there are missing scenes that are in the book but not present in the film. For these reasons, the translation of the book to the film is traditional. The overall plot and setting of the book is maintained throughout the book besides some minor details. The translation is not literal because the details from the book are not maintained as closely as possible being that there are missing scenes. It is not a radical translation either since the plot is not reshaped to an extreme. 

In order to prove that the translation between the book and the film is traditional  I will explore the sound that is present in the film. Second, I will compare the scene where Tita makes the quail dinner with the rose Pedro gives her. Third, I will analyze when Dr.John asks for Tita’s hand in marriage.

To start off I will be analyzing the use of sound in the film compared to book. In the book, there is no mention of music. The only thing that the reader really hears is the narrator of the story and the dialogue that takes place between the characters. With the addition of the dialogue between the characters in the film instead of limiting itself to the narration, the viewer gets more insight of the story and characters just like in the book version. Similarly in the film we get to hear the narrator telling the story. In the book, we also get to know a lot about the recipes that are cooked, ingredients, steps, etc. Whereas, in the film we don’t really find out much about them. We do get to see some of the recipes but not as much as the ones mentioned in the book. Whereas, the recipes seem to be a big part of the book and not as much in the film, the plot is not changed and the reader/viewer is still able to concentrate on the main focus: the love story. 

Many of the scenes in the film are similar to those in the book but with some differences. One example is the quail dinner. In the book, the reader is told that Tita gets a rose from Pedro and contrary to Mama Elena’s order to throw it out she keeps it and makes dinner using it. While eating, the one who seems to be affected by this dinner is Tita’s sister Gertrudis. The film is able to capture this scene almost precisely besides the fact that when everyone is eating the dinner Tita cooked, the film shows shots of everyone being affected by the dinner, not just Gertrudis. Everyone in the table including Mama Elena seems to start feeling a bit weird. This is a detail that differs from the book but has no real effect on the story, therefore making it a traditional translation.

In the book, we read about the scene where Dr.John asks for Tita’s hand in marriage. In the film, we briefly see this scene but it is able to capture the essence of the text. The lighting of the room is dark which correlates with the mood of the scene. Tita agrees to marry John but she never says she loves him, even when she kissed John previously she said it wasn’t the same as kissing Pedro. The somber lighting helps portray the mood of the scene where there is a lot of mixed emotions on Tita’s end. In this scene, the camera also focuses on Tita when she gets the ring and stares at it keeping her as the focal point. This lighting also helps to add to the tension and doubt that is felt during this scene.

All in all, the essence of the text version “Like Water for Chocolate”, is maintained throughout the film. There are missing details in the film but this does not interfere with the overall plot of the story. The narration, the lighting, the camera movement all contribute to recreating the scenes from the book as closely as possible focusing on the love story.