Short Story/film Analysis

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Short Story/Film Analysis

Aric McDonald
Short Story/Short Film
Comm. 411-35
11:30-12:45
Spring 1997

The three short stories are similar because they all involve jealousy. This type of jealousy surrounds the main characters who are envious of the achievements or the attention that another man receives. The first story is about an old man who is taking his wife on a second honeymoon when she encounters an old suitor, creating jealousy for the husband. In the second story, the jealousy surrounds Smurch who is envious of Charles Lindbergh's fame and accolades. The jealousy in the final story is the envy of the attention that any man with fame can receive from a woman. Each person's own insecurity allows envy to control their actions and creates trouble in their lives. The three stories all have jealousy, in some it is more clear than others. Jealousy lead two of the characters to make a fool of themselves, and it cost another character his life. In the first story, Charley took his wife Lucy on a second honeymoon, or Golden Honeymoon, as it is titled. While they are in St.
Petersburg Fla., Mother was at the doctors office and began a conversation with a lady, only to discover that she is Mrs. Frank M. Hartsell, Lucy's ex-fiancee.
This made Charley uncomfortable because he had rivaled Frank for Lucy's hand in marriage. A story that began as a second honeymoon for Lucy and Charley, became a jealous contest between two men. This reminds me of the movie, Grumpy Old Men, because of the unofficial mini contests that the two men have with each other.
Comparing the film and the book, they were very similar except the sequence of events were different. In the story, The Greatest Man In The World, Smurch was jealous of the fame and accolades of Charles Lindbergh. Only some members of congress, the President, and the press knew this information. They felt it would be a disgrace to the United States if it was known to the public that this world hero was a man with poor upbringing ,bad manners, and seen as a hooligan.
Smurch was not willing to change these traits, so the few officials that knew about them, pushed him out the window saying that he fell on accident. The book and movie had some discrepancies. One was the fuel tanks. In the film,
Smurch dropped the tanks almost on top of his crowd, while in the book, he did not drop them at that site. Another contarst between them was after the landing.
In the film Smurch was carried off the plane, while in the book he was carried

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