A Comparative Essay: Faulty Memory
December 3
2013
Faulty Memory Lead Them Astray:
A Comparative Essay between the novel Still Alice and the film Away From Her.
Everyone knows that life is a series of constant changes, however, most people underestimate how great an impact one change can have on not only them but also on their family and friends. Alzheimer’s is the slow, painful death of an individual`s brain. This bitter journey is shown through stories of two women living with this disease in both the novel Still Alice by Lisa Genova and the film Away From Her by Sarah Polley. In both pieces the slow deterioration of mental abilities is shown through the characters; Alice Howland and Fiona Anderson. In the novel Still Alice, Alice`s descent into obscurity is told …show more content…
through third person omniscient perspective, using imagery to expose the true battle of this disease with the unconditional love and unlimited devotion of time from her husband and three children. In contrast to Still Alice, the film Away From Her portrays the life of Fiona, a happily married retiree without children. Her story is told in objective perspective, with the use of imagery to further define her combat against dementia, and with the undying love that her husband has for her that shines through the grayest of cloudy circumstances. The writers of Still Alice and Away from Her demonstrate the perspective, imagery and supportive characters following the diagnosis of this disease. However, Still Alice portrays a more relatable, powerful, and dire representation of this degenerative disease. A new chapter in one’s life may be the new beginning of an approaching end.
You will never know what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes. In both pieces of media the writers use different perspectives to present their different versions of life with Alzheimer’s whether the emphasis be on the victim or the family caring for that victim. In Lisa Genovas’ Still Alice a third person perspective is used allowing readers to see and hear all actions involving the protagonist, Alice. By using this perspective and choice of narration it allows for the reader to understand the character and relate. This is displayed when Alice reads an old diary and we see just what she is thinking, “She read it again. It was fascinating and surreal, like reading a diary that had been hers when she was a teenager, secret and heartfelt words written by a girl she only vaguely remembered. She wished she 'd written more. Her words made her feel sad and proud, powerful and relieved."(Genova 272)
The author uses the third person perspective to develop and allow the readers to get to know the protagonist by constantly being with her, in her head, and observing her as she begins to lose her mind. This quote shows the omniscient perspective by displaying her thoughts and feeling about this diary she wrote. The readers are given time to relate and connect to Alice`s every thought and emotion making the novel that much more effective and more likely to resonate with those who read it. Polley uses an objective perspective to present her version of what life with Alzheimer’s resembles. Throughout the film we only see what actions the character takes, and we only hear the words she speaks, we do not see inside Fiona Anderson`s head and feel the pain with her, like we do in the novel Still Alice. This is illustrated when Fiona states, “I think all we can aspire to in this situation is a little bit of grace.” (Polley) In this quote Fiona, the woman with Alzheimer’s, is talking with her husband trying to convey an abstract thought. Due to her mental inconsistency it took a significant amount of time to develop and express, however, unlike Alice it did not show Fiona`s internal struggle to form the thought and plan the words to express it. Therefore overall making it a less significant line. While both pieces deal with the effects of Alzheimer’s on one’s life the use of the third person omniscient perspective in Still Alice allows the reader to enter Alice’s mind and be a part of the journey which is far more compelling than the objective perspective used in Away From Her that allows readers to simply watch the story unfold. One must look within for value, but must look beyond for perspective.
Seeing is believing but believing is seeing. In both works the writers use imagery to allow the readers and viewers to attach themselves to the characters. Lisa Genova uses imagery throughout the novel Still Alice to grant readers the opportunity to visualize a scene or thought that the protagonist has in their own heads. This is shown when,
“She liked being reminded of butterflies. She remembered being six or seven and crying over the fates of the butterflies in her yard after learning that they lived for only a few days. Her mother had comforted her and told her not to be sad for the butterflies that just because their lives were short didn 't mean they were tragic. Watching them flying in the warm sun among the daisies in their garden, her mother had said to her, see, they have a beautiful life. Alice liked remembering that.”(Genova 196)
Lisa Genova uses the imagery of the butterflies short but beautiful life to link Alice`s diminishing but graceful path of dealing with Alzheimer`s. This quotation allows readers to visually and emotionally associate this protagonist to themselves or a person that the reader knows. Sarah Polley uses imagery within the dialect spoken throughout the film. Polley creatively finds scenarios that would allow for the use of imagery for the audience to visualize in their heads, “I think I may be beginning to disappear.” (Polley)This quotation is when in the film Fiona is admitting to herself and her husband just how quickly she is losing herself. This imagery interwoven in the dialect of the film is intended to give the film an extra dimension, therefore making it more sophisticated and relatable. However, it is not as compelling because the audience is not reading the words and creating an image in their minds out of a blank canvas, instead the image is on the screen so the audience is given no creative freedom to make this character respond as they would. Therefore this makes it more difficult to connect to the character. Both works use imagery to describe their situations, however the use of imagery in Still Alice is more effective than in Away From Her because you were able to entirely enjoy and visualize the scenarios in your head, whereas with the film there was not very much room to be creative with the scenes. Keep your eyes open for once day the person you love will fade away.
The greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance.
To show readers the true descent of people suffering with the Alzheimer’s disease the writers use fictional supportive characters that aid the victims through their journeys. In both pieces of media there is an enormous amount of family support for both Alice and Fiona regardless of their circumstances. In the novel Still Alice Lisa Genova uses Alice Howland’s husband and three children to demonstrate the difficulties related to caring for someone with this disease. Though it is not in the slightest an easy task, Alice Howland’s family drops what they are doing in order to clear up their time to spend every moment with Alice. Coping with such a drastic change cannot be easy, and Alice’s daughter demonstrates how much she will always love and care for her mother no matter what: "“You 're so beautiful," said Alice.
“I 'm afraid of looking at you and not knowing who you are."
"I think that even if you don 't know who I am someday, you 'll still know that I love you."
"What if I see you, and I don 't know that you 're my daughter, and I don 't know that you love me?"
"Then, I 'll tell you that I do, and you 'll believe me.”(Genova 166)
In this quotation Alice is expressing how worried she is about forgetting everything, and her daughter is reassuring her that she will always be there for her, no matter the circumstances. This shows the great love and support that the Howland family plans on giving Alice until the very end. Similarly in the film Away From Her Fiona Anderson has an incredible amount of support and love given to her by her long time husband Grant Anderson. The film takes a different look at life with Alzheimer’s by using Fiona’s husband Grant, the protagonist, to really portray the impact of being a caregiver to your partner with the devastating mental debilitation of Alzheimer’s. We see the struggle that Grant Anderson faces as he wants to remain the only man to care for his wife, Fiona, but realizes she has found comfort without needing him. The story unravels and demonstrates the bitter conflict Grant faces as he must decide whose happiness is most important; Fiona’s or his own. Learning to let go Grant finds a friend in a woman with a similar
issue:
“I’m thinking that sometimes you just have to make the decision to be happy. Just decide. Things aren’t ever what you hoped they’d be. Not ever, for anybody. The only thing that separates one kind of person from another is there are some who stay angry about it and there are some who... accept what comes their way.” “Which kind of person are you?” “I was pretty mad about it. But now... looking at what came my way [sigh] I think I could be the other kind of person. Quite the philosopher, huh?” (Polley)
This quotation shows how regardless of the circumstances Grant must be there for Fiona, because he loves her, and she requires his love whether it is from a far or not. Caring for an Alzheimer 's patient is a situation that can utterly consume the lives and the well-being of the care-givers, just as the disease consumes its victims. While both pieces deal with the supportive characters’ aspect that comes along with having this disease, the use of multiple supportive characters in Still Alice made it overall more emotional for the reader; therefore, allowing the reader the ability to relate and feel the struggle through multiple people, not just the one character like in Away From Her. Although these journeys followed the disease, similarly as shown on the film by Frank Capra, It’s a Wonderful Life, one change has a profound effect on friends and family as we witness in each piece of media. Watching someone you love slowly fade away cannot be easy, but it is better than not watching at all.
Alzheimer’s is the devastating continuous mental deterioration that occurs suddenly to individuals that are middle or older aged people. Still Alice by Lisa Genova and Away From Her by Sarah Polley are both stories that include a female character fighting for their lives while battling this awful disease. The authors use perspectives, imagery and supportive characters to tell their stories. Though both novels showed different views of what life with Alzheimer’s is like, Still Alice was superior because the reader was able to enter the mind of the victim, the imagery used allowed to for the reader to envision what is occurring in the novel and associate it with a personal experience, and finally, the multiple supportive characters in this novel enhance the emotional roller coaster of the struggle for Alice to remain herself. Alzheimer’s is the cleverest thief, because it not only steals from the victims, but it steals the very thing the victim needs to remember what’s been stolen.
Works Cited
Genova, Lisa. Still Alice : a novel. New York: IUniverse, Inc, 2007. Print.
Away from her. Dir. Sarah Polley. Perf. Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent. Lions Gate Entertainment, 2007. Film.
It 's a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and Thomas Mitchell. RKO, 1946. Film.
2013
Faulty Memory Lead Them Astray:
A Comparative Essay between the novel Still Alice and the film Away From Her.
Everyone knows that life is a series of constant changes, however, most people underestimate how great an impact one change can have on not only them but also on their family and friends. Alzheimer’s is the slow, painful death of an individual`s brain. This bitter journey is shown through stories of two women living with this disease in both the novel Still Alice by Lisa Genova and the film Away From Her by Sarah Polley. In both pieces the slow deterioration of mental abilities is shown through the characters; Alice Howland and Fiona Anderson. In the novel Still Alice, Alice`s descent into obscurity is told …show more content…
through third person omniscient perspective, using imagery to expose the true battle of this disease with the unconditional love and unlimited devotion of time from her husband and three children. In contrast to Still Alice, the film Away From Her portrays the life of Fiona, a happily married retiree without children. Her story is told in objective perspective, with the use of imagery to further define her combat against dementia, and with the undying love that her husband has for her that shines through the grayest of cloudy circumstances. The writers of Still Alice and Away from Her demonstrate the perspective, imagery and supportive characters following the diagnosis of this disease. However, Still Alice portrays a more relatable, powerful, and dire representation of this degenerative disease. A new chapter in one’s life may be the new beginning of an approaching end.
You will never know what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes. In both pieces of media the writers use different perspectives to present their different versions of life with Alzheimer’s whether the emphasis be on the victim or the family caring for that victim. In Lisa Genovas’ Still Alice a third person perspective is used allowing readers to see and hear all actions involving the protagonist, Alice. By using this perspective and choice of narration it allows for the reader to understand the character and relate. This is displayed when Alice reads an old diary and we see just what she is thinking, “She read it again. It was fascinating and surreal, like reading a diary that had been hers when she was a teenager, secret and heartfelt words written by a girl she only vaguely remembered. She wished she 'd written more. Her words made her feel sad and proud, powerful and relieved."(Genova 272)
The author uses the third person perspective to develop and allow the readers to get to know the protagonist by constantly being with her, in her head, and observing her as she begins to lose her mind. This quote shows the omniscient perspective by displaying her thoughts and feeling about this diary she wrote. The readers are given time to relate and connect to Alice`s every thought and emotion making the novel that much more effective and more likely to resonate with those who read it. Polley uses an objective perspective to present her version of what life with Alzheimer’s resembles. Throughout the film we only see what actions the character takes, and we only hear the words she speaks, we do not see inside Fiona Anderson`s head and feel the pain with her, like we do in the novel Still Alice. This is illustrated when Fiona states, “I think all we can aspire to in this situation is a little bit of grace.” (Polley) In this quote Fiona, the woman with Alzheimer’s, is talking with her husband trying to convey an abstract thought. Due to her mental inconsistency it took a significant amount of time to develop and express, however, unlike Alice it did not show Fiona`s internal struggle to form the thought and plan the words to express it. Therefore overall making it a less significant line. While both pieces deal with the effects of Alzheimer’s on one’s life the use of the third person omniscient perspective in Still Alice allows the reader to enter Alice’s mind and be a part of the journey which is far more compelling than the objective perspective used in Away From Her that allows readers to simply watch the story unfold. One must look within for value, but must look beyond for perspective.
Seeing is believing but believing is seeing. In both works the writers use imagery to allow the readers and viewers to attach themselves to the characters. Lisa Genova uses imagery throughout the novel Still Alice to grant readers the opportunity to visualize a scene or thought that the protagonist has in their own heads. This is shown when,
“She liked being reminded of butterflies. She remembered being six or seven and crying over the fates of the butterflies in her yard after learning that they lived for only a few days. Her mother had comforted her and told her not to be sad for the butterflies that just because their lives were short didn 't mean they were tragic. Watching them flying in the warm sun among the daisies in their garden, her mother had said to her, see, they have a beautiful life. Alice liked remembering that.”(Genova 196)
Lisa Genova uses the imagery of the butterflies short but beautiful life to link Alice`s diminishing but graceful path of dealing with Alzheimer`s. This quotation allows readers to visually and emotionally associate this protagonist to themselves or a person that the reader knows. Sarah Polley uses imagery within the dialect spoken throughout the film. Polley creatively finds scenarios that would allow for the use of imagery for the audience to visualize in their heads, “I think I may be beginning to disappear.” (Polley)This quotation is when in the film Fiona is admitting to herself and her husband just how quickly she is losing herself. This imagery interwoven in the dialect of the film is intended to give the film an extra dimension, therefore making it more sophisticated and relatable. However, it is not as compelling because the audience is not reading the words and creating an image in their minds out of a blank canvas, instead the image is on the screen so the audience is given no creative freedom to make this character respond as they would. Therefore this makes it more difficult to connect to the character. Both works use imagery to describe their situations, however the use of imagery in Still Alice is more effective than in Away From Her because you were able to entirely enjoy and visualize the scenarios in your head, whereas with the film there was not very much room to be creative with the scenes. Keep your eyes open for once day the person you love will fade away.
The greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance.
To show readers the true descent of people suffering with the Alzheimer’s disease the writers use fictional supportive characters that aid the victims through their journeys. In both pieces of media there is an enormous amount of family support for both Alice and Fiona regardless of their circumstances. In the novel Still Alice Lisa Genova uses Alice Howland’s husband and three children to demonstrate the difficulties related to caring for someone with this disease. Though it is not in the slightest an easy task, Alice Howland’s family drops what they are doing in order to clear up their time to spend every moment with Alice. Coping with such a drastic change cannot be easy, and Alice’s daughter demonstrates how much she will always love and care for her mother no matter what: "“You 're so beautiful," said Alice.
“I 'm afraid of looking at you and not knowing who you are."
"I think that even if you don 't know who I am someday, you 'll still know that I love you."
"What if I see you, and I don 't know that you 're my daughter, and I don 't know that you love me?"
"Then, I 'll tell you that I do, and you 'll believe me.”(Genova 166)
In this quotation Alice is expressing how worried she is about forgetting everything, and her daughter is reassuring her that she will always be there for her, no matter the circumstances. This shows the great love and support that the Howland family plans on giving Alice until the very end. Similarly in the film Away From Her Fiona Anderson has an incredible amount of support and love given to her by her long time husband Grant Anderson. The film takes a different look at life with Alzheimer’s by using Fiona’s husband Grant, the protagonist, to really portray the impact of being a caregiver to your partner with the devastating mental debilitation of Alzheimer’s. We see the struggle that Grant Anderson faces as he wants to remain the only man to care for his wife, Fiona, but realizes she has found comfort without needing him. The story unravels and demonstrates the bitter conflict Grant faces as he must decide whose happiness is most important; Fiona’s or his own. Learning to let go Grant finds a friend in a woman with a similar
issue:
“I’m thinking that sometimes you just have to make the decision to be happy. Just decide. Things aren’t ever what you hoped they’d be. Not ever, for anybody. The only thing that separates one kind of person from another is there are some who stay angry about it and there are some who... accept what comes their way.” “Which kind of person are you?” “I was pretty mad about it. But now... looking at what came my way [sigh] I think I could be the other kind of person. Quite the philosopher, huh?” (Polley)
This quotation shows how regardless of the circumstances Grant must be there for Fiona, because he loves her, and she requires his love whether it is from a far or not. Caring for an Alzheimer 's patient is a situation that can utterly consume the lives and the well-being of the care-givers, just as the disease consumes its victims. While both pieces deal with the supportive characters’ aspect that comes along with having this disease, the use of multiple supportive characters in Still Alice made it overall more emotional for the reader; therefore, allowing the reader the ability to relate and feel the struggle through multiple people, not just the one character like in Away From Her. Although these journeys followed the disease, similarly as shown on the film by Frank Capra, It’s a Wonderful Life, one change has a profound effect on friends and family as we witness in each piece of media. Watching someone you love slowly fade away cannot be easy, but it is better than not watching at all.
Alzheimer’s is the devastating continuous mental deterioration that occurs suddenly to individuals that are middle or older aged people. Still Alice by Lisa Genova and Away From Her by Sarah Polley are both stories that include a female character fighting for their lives while battling this awful disease. The authors use perspectives, imagery and supportive characters to tell their stories. Though both novels showed different views of what life with Alzheimer’s is like, Still Alice was superior because the reader was able to enter the mind of the victim, the imagery used allowed to for the reader to envision what is occurring in the novel and associate it with a personal experience, and finally, the multiple supportive characters in this novel enhance the emotional roller coaster of the struggle for Alice to remain herself. Alzheimer’s is the cleverest thief, because it not only steals from the victims, but it steals the very thing the victim needs to remember what’s been stolen.
Works Cited
Genova, Lisa. Still Alice : a novel. New York: IUniverse, Inc, 2007. Print.
Away from her. Dir. Sarah Polley. Perf. Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent. Lions Gate Entertainment, 2007. Film.
It 's a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and Thomas Mitchell. RKO, 1946. Film.