I recently rented Hamlet 2, which was very silly and a little uneven and had excessive amounts of profanity in it, but was overall quite entertaining. I know most of you haven’t yet read Hamlet, but basically, by the end of this play, EVERYONE is DEAD. In this movie, though, thanks to a time machine, Hamlet travels back in time and manages to save everyone he loves from his or her untimely demise. Silly, yes, but overall, very cool.
So, of course I’ve been obsessing over which characters I would save! Methinks I would rescue Boxer from Animal Farm, Tess from Tess of the D’urbervilles, and maybe John Proctor (The Crucible) or Ethan Frome (Ethan Frome). And definitely Lily Bart (The House of Mirth)! I think all of these characters, with the exception of John Proctor, who kind of earns most of his hardship, are such victims of fate--prisoners of circumstance, punished for things so beyond their control--and they are all such GOOD people at heart. Look at Boxer--he is so impossibly sweet and kind and trusting! It kills me every time I get to that chapter where the BAD THING happens to him! As for Tess, for those of you who like a BEYOND tragic character, this poor girl suffers so much, yet with such grace and dignity and it’s all so unjust! I just want to swoop in, wrest Boxer from evil Napoleon’s grasp and place him in a verdant pasture where he can chomp on as much fresh grass as his horse heart desires (and where I can rub his nose) and as for Tess, if I could just transport her to the 21st century, so she just wouldn’t have been used so horribly, I would be so happy! It does occur to me, though, that Boxer wouldn’t want to come with me, which is even more tragic...
Which brings us to the question of the day--if you could save any character from literature, classic or contemporary, who would it be and why?
I think that I would save Severus Snape from The Harry Potter series, because he is an interesting character and if he had lived, he could've helped harry a lot more during the last chapter of the book.
ReplyDeleteDeclan
In Miss Saigon, I would have saved Kim(just for the sake of being different), because that is one of the saddest plays I have ever seen(sniff).
ReplyDeleteTo Brandon:
ReplyDeleteWhen did you see it? I saw it a good 10 or so years ago in seats so high up we almost had altitude sickness. :) A great theatrical experience though.
We saw it probably about a year ago. But the play stood out so much, that's one of the only plays that is stuck in my head.
ReplyDeleteI have read lots of books where people die (and I have forgotten most of them :P) but the one that I really remember is when the dogs died in Where the Red Fern Grows. I would like to save them and the bully kid that gets killed by an axe. This, of course, is so I would not have had to read that part.
ReplyDeleteI think that I would save Graystripe from the Warriors series by Erin Hunter because he is very dedicated and loyal. Each time something bad happens to him, though, he is not very strong. Later, however, he will recuperate and learn from his mistakes. Graystripe also has a great leadership ability and has a very good sense of judgment within his clan. :] (I think you can figure out an answer as to why I chose a cat.)
ReplyDeleteI would probably save Fred Weasealy from the Harry Potter series. I would have also saved Fiver from Watership Down, although he might have just been faking death... I don't remember..
ReplyDeleteJohanna, when I was your age I had a stuffed rabbit named Fiver...
ReplyDeleteI would probably agree with Howard, Johanna and Declan. When I was younger I read Bridge to Terabithia and immediately hated the dying at the end. I got really worked up about that. Then again, I was 6. I get the boy had to learn to let go, but seriously. They could have at least made a sequel where they somehow reunite! Do you agree?
ReplyDeleteI would totally save the girl!!!!
ReplyDeleteI love English!!
ReplyDeleteHi Emma--While I also loved Bridge to Terabithia, I also am a sucker for a SAD ending, so I don't know if I actually would have saved Leslie. Which means I probably wouldn't save any of the characters I mentioned in the original entry above either! Except Boxer--but that's an animal thing...
ReplyDeleteHope your Monday is lovely! and I'm glad you like English!
yeah i (heart) english :D
ReplyDeleteI love your teaching Ms. Samson! Well, I'm French and read French literature a lot, so I would save this French character called Sophie. Maybe I would save Little Red Riding Hood!!
ReplyDeleteYou are talking about people dying, though sometimes it is actually worse when the actual person dies before their body does. Why don't you talk about that? That would be more interesting, I think. I am pretty sure I read a book when that happens to the main character, but I forgot the title...
ReplyDeleteFor clarification, I mean their mind.
ReplyDeleteYou mean that they are mourning over the loss of another character or depression? If that's what you mean, then I would probably agree with you in most cases. :]
ReplyDeleteNo, I mean when the person can't respond or think, but the body is still exists and is well. Like having a body, but not a mind.
ReplyDeleteThe character I would save is kind of controversial. I would save the Phantom from Phantom of the Opera, but does he die? He disappears at the end. Does that mean he died? If he didn't, what actually happened? If he does die, I would save him, but I'm not even sure if he dies.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's kind of confusing.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAnais! I love having you in class too. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd ournext story is French, so that should please you...
Howard, I totally agree with you about the loss of body before loss of mind.
When you think about it, really so many awful ways to go.
I would save Old Yeller from "Old Yeller", because it is my favorite book and ends very sadly. I found it the saddest book I have ever read, because the boy has to kill his own dog, because he has rabies.
ReplyDeleteI would have saved Cinderpelt from WARRIORS. She was killed by a badger protecting new born kits. Her apprentice had just run away with a windclan car (forbidden) and Cinderpelt knew that but she also knew that this was her fate so she was able to come back to life as one of the kits she saved named cinderkit (who eventually became to be known as Cinderheart) it was really sweet how Cinderpelt knew that she was going to die and didnt try to do anything about it. I would also try to save Whitestorm who was killed a feral cat deputy.AND i would save Mosskit who was Bluestar's kit and died of the cold... really sad :(
ReplyDeleteAND i would also save Bluestar's sister who got run over by a car
AND i would save Bluestar's mother who got killed by a medicine cat. Those are all very sad deaths. I try not to cry
sorry when i said a windclan car i meant windclan CAT
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