Thursday, December 18, 2008

Chapter 10 It;s More Than Just Rain or Snow

I think this is a topic we all probably understood before we read this chapter--we just may not have recognized it. The weather in a story or poem (or movie) definitely helps set the mood. When we read Wuthering Heights, you will see how much the weather plays a role in the plot. It acts more as a reflection of what the characters are feeling.

So what about what we've read so far? Can you think of any stories where the weather was a factor? What about in the novels you've read for your journals?

I am reading East of Eden by John Steinbeck. It takes place in a very dry part of California, and the quest for water is very important. The characters can't wait for the rain. It reminds me of their lives--for the most part they are very dry--but every once in a while something major happens (a rain storm???) and things get very interesting.

So now it's your turn. Think of a story, poem, or movie where rain or snow is factor and/or a reflection of what's going on.

17 comments:

Ash-Daddy said...

The Robert Frost "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," the narrator stops to admire the snow falling as he passes through a neighbor's yard on his way home. The poem is often interpreted to mean that the narrator is dying and "home" is his eternal home. The snow represents the weakness he's succumbing to by letting go, or dying.

Beas-Girl said...

In "holes" the kids who are digging for their punishments do not know of the purpose that tehy are actually digging to find somethign. They think it is juts punishment to dig holes all day. In the end when he gets to go home andn take "Zero" with him, it rains. This is what they ahev been waiting for and it can symbolize a whole new beginning and that there is a chnage in stor for them, which we come to find is his family suceeding in inventing anti-odor spray.

Golfin' Weasel said...

I'm not for sure, but I think in Notting Hill when the Hugh Grant had just broke up with Julia Roberts, he was walking down the street and everything convienently changed in the background to represent seasons going by, and it represented over two years of time passing by.

Austin said...

I just finished a book where snow was incredibly important. It's called Life As We Knew It by Susan B. Pfeffer. In it things happen and causes it to snow from August till May and with a dwindling supply of food and no electricity. Later their well runs dry and they have to find a water source, so they gather the snow from outside and boil it to use to cook, clean, drink, and bathe. It kinda symbolizes the cleaning power of it and the dire need of water to live.

Dianna said...

In just about anything you see or watch rain almost always means bad news. People get sad and depressed when it rains. They don't want to get out of the house. But after the rain, a rainbow comes and everybody is in a better mood and goes outside to look at the rainbow. Snow can mean two different things. It can mean having fun and going out and playing and making snowmen or it can mean dangerous things. Slick roads, accidents, etc.

Victoria said...

I had never really thought about the rain meaning more than bad weather before, but again, what he had to say makes perfect sense. An example of snow being significant is in the book The Shack. In it a huge blizzard traps the main character Mac in his home which relates to him being trapped in his own dispair and agony of his daughter's murder.

christina :) said...

Theres a song by Steven Curtis Chapman thats called "Healing Rain." This song reflects on how God can heal us.

karson said...

i never really thought about the weather meaning anything in a story really. but in just about every story the weather is always changing. it gets hot, then later it gets dark and cold. or it rains & snows.

Jessi said...

I think weather plays a very important part in a story. Like in Iron Man, Tony Stark is stranded in the desert. It is crucial that he finds water or he will die. It is dry and nothing is really happening. And then from nowhere a helicopter finds him.

Brooke said...

I definetly think that rain and snow symbolize more than just weather in any book or movie.
In the movie "A Cinderella Story" Sam Montgomery, the main character, says that "waiting for you is like waiting for rain in this drought, useless and disappointing." Throughout the whole movie it never rains and she is in love with a guy, at the very end she gets the guy and it starts pouring down rain.

Josh Barkley said...

These days weather definitly means a lot more than just your average rain or snow.
Yes, I know this is a girlie movie but in the movie 27 Dresses the girl and the guy are aruging in the car and it starts pouring down rain and then next day the guy has published everything about her being a bridesmaid a million times and never being a bride. The rain symbolizes that something bad is going to happen.

Дилан said...

A great example of using snow to create a mood is Gogol's "The Overcoat." The main character is a poor copy clerk that lives in Russia and can't even afford a nice coat to keep him warm, and it snows all the time. The snow here is used to make the world outside feel cold and unfair.

When he gets his coat, he feels protected from the cold, unfair world and even his coworkers think of him differently and accept him because of his coat.

When his coat is stolen, he is mugged and kicked into the snow of all things. Back to the cold unforgiving world. The cops won't even help him and he dies of illness, maybe because of the cold and snow.

Big_daddy_alex said...

um...in the movie pixel perfect on Disney yea i know Disney. the main girl runs out in the rain and she gets struck by lightning, in rain or snow bad things always happen.

Rachel said...

In a lot of books and movies, authors and directors use rain to make it more dramatic. In the movie Sweet Home Alabama the main character Mel falls back in love with her old love from Alabama. She goes to find him after leaving her wedding, because she finally realizes she still loves him. Its raining and she runs out to his field where she knows he works and when they kiss its starts lightening. The weather made it so much better.

Torian said...

There's actually a lot of movies, tv shows, and books where the plot is entirely based on bad weather and storms. For example, in Castaway and Gilligan's Island, the character(s) become stranded on a deserted island after a terrible storm.

JANA2 said...

like emily said, alot of books, movies, tv shows deal with weather and storms. like one of my favorite movies; twister. its about tornados and how people chase them, and how they can almost tell what theyre going to do all the time.

Kenbo! said...

Well i have just got done reading there eye's were wacthing god an it takes place in the southern states summer time when its hot an the sky s are as clear an blue as the ocean waters an that made since because god could see the best with no clouds an heat brings the worst out of most pepole an god would rather see the real you than you putting on a show