Friday, March 30, 2007

Question Two for "Cat in the Rain"

How would the story, “Cat in the Rain,” change if it were told by the American wife in the first person point of view? Give an example of one part of the story where she, herself, might present the facts in a different way.
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4 comments:

Michelle said...

Hemingway narrates the story of Cat in the Rain in the third person point of view. The narrator just tells the story objectively. He does not show his opinion and does not judge anybody in the story. However, if this story were told by the American wife in the first person point of view, the story would be told in an obviously subjective way and would be filled with judgment to the husband. From the angle of the wife, her husband does not care her at all and he should be responsible for all the unhappiness between them. For example, the paragraph of the wife “went over and sat in front of mirror…” would be rewritten as following:
I was angry immediately. George didn’t care me at all. Even the book was more important than me. I couldn’t bear his ignorance at all. I couldn’t live in this stupid way any more. Then I went over and sat in front of the mirror of the dressing table. I pretended to looking myself with the hand glass. I just wanted to attract his attention to me. But he seemed to be absorbed in his book. I studied my profile from one side to the other and thought about how to get his attention. Finally, when I saw the back of my head and my neck, I decided to break the unbearable silence.

Note: I am sorry Brad. I cannot finish this question just in 75 words. I tried my best to cut the words. However, I failed. I am sorry to give you more reading. But I think I have to use 200 words to explain my opinion. I hope you don’t mind. Thank you!

April 1, 2007 at 2:09 AM
Valentina said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
April 1, 2007 at 7:02 PM
Valentina said...

If the story were told by the American wife in the first person point of view, all the readers would sympathize for her.

I didn’t get the cat, but I wanted it so much. If I got the kitty I would find one comfort to ease my loneliness and not to feel so deserted. I stood at the window and looked outside. It was raining and getting dark. My hands pressed against the glass as if I could dissolve it and become a part of the world of entertainment. “Something was wrong with my husband,” I thought, “we could be in the theatre right now or somewhere else to have fun, but we were stuck at the hotel.” I glanced at him; he was still reading the book. I sensed he was annoyed with my demanding attention, and he was glad that I have seen the Italian sights but not touched them, smelled but not tasted. It was like a way to punish me for being unloved.

April 3, 2007 at 7:59 AM
Lien said...

If the story, "Cat in the Rain" were told by the American wife in the first person point of view, it would be real to a reader. If The first person narrator were the American wife, she would shows and her responds and ideas directly from her mind, so a reader can perceive clearly. For example of the paragraph when the American girl just see a cat, I stood at the window looking out and felt sorry for a damp cat was crouched under one of the dripping green tables. I said in an eager voice to my husband that I would go down to get that poor kitty. I wanted to take her in and warm her up. My husband put the book away and crept out and offered to get it. However,I prepered to get a cat by myself, because I saw George was passionated in reading his book in the warm fleecy bed.

April 3, 2007 at 6:25 PM

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