2015-11-26

【Aiden in English】

        "Thank You, M'am" is a short story demonstrating the tremendous change that a boy undergoes when he experiences genuine kindness. This brief tale was made into a movie due to its popularity in the late 1950s, and the overall statement remains unchanged throughout the transformation from imagination and words to pictures and video. Although the short story was such a great one, nothing can be the same, and some facts and scenes had their differences between the two.

        "Thank You, M'am" was about the change of a boy named Roger, and both the movie and the short story demonstrated this. Roger was a young boy who had no parents and wished for a pair of blue suede shoes, and he stole Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, an old lady's purse. Instead of running away with it, though, he was captured by Ms. Luella Bates Washington Jones, who brought Roger to her house. Then, Ms. Luella Bates, Washington Jones, said something very odd to a person who tried to steal her purse, and she told Roger to wash his face. He was let free, and the door was wide open. At this point, bells in my head, as a reader and viewer, rang as Roger did not run. This scene was significant in both the movie and the book, and the two all made sure that the audience knew what was happening. The internal conflict, or the problem mentally, in Roger was enormous, and instead of taking the easy way out of the mess, he went over to a sink and washed his face. This was one of the many scenes that books and movies shared in common, and it was wise to do so because of its importance. Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones was highly friendly to Roger, even though he intended to steal her purse, and Roger seemed affected at that moment. Many other similar moments appeared along with the short story, but the next crucial scene was when Roger was left alone in a room with Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones’ purse. At the start of the short story, Roger is desperate for those shoes; by all means, an old lady can’t stop him. Although things did not go according to his plan, Roger still had a chance to redeem himself, snatch the purse, and run. Yet, for some reason, the author wrote that Roger did not wish for Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones to distrust him. He was right, as it was soon unveiled that Roger was even fed a meal. These scenes were both actual for the short story and the movie, demonstrating the bonding of Roger and Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. The most significant fact that the movie and short story I believe was included was its theme of the stories. Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones wanted to teach Roger a lesson. Still, when the usual parents or sensible adults would have beaten the boy down for trying to steal their possessions, she treated Roger with kindness, like a loving mother to a child. Although at the start of the story, Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones is a bit meaner, she grows warmer to Roger, even giving him money to buy his blue suede shoes at the end of the story in both versions. The overall theme I think the stories shared was to treat others kindly, and they will also treat you with kindness. Roger changes throughout the book, from when he tries and fails to steal Ms. Luella Bates Washington Jones’ purse to when he is given money at the farewell between the two characters at the end.

        Although the overall short story of "Thank You M'am" remained the same, and the same theme was passed on to the reader, the movie and the short story differ. In the short story, Roger is brought into a house with other people residing in different rooms. However, the movie did not have other people in the house. Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones's home seemed relatively small and did not have too many rooms for people to be in. Another difference that appeared in the movie but was not included in the short story was when Roger dropped the towel while washing his face. This may have seemed like a simple scene, but when taken a step deeper, a level further, it showed Roger having changed from when the short story began. Instead of letting the towel be tossed into the sink, Roger picked it up and neatly folded it into quadrants. Then, he delicately placed the towel on the side of the basin, careful with each step along the process. Roger did not seem to be one of the neater and nicer types of people before his encounter with Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, and that scene in the movie showed the eventual change in Roger. At the end of the story, Roger is starting to become a fine young lad, and Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones realizes it and gives him the money to buy his so dear desired blue suede shoes. Yet in the final moments of the story in the movie, Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones gave out twenty dollars, while in the short story, she only gave out ten. This meant that the period was different since the economy was different.

        “Because shoes come by devilish means like that will burn your feet” is a quote Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones said to Roger in the story and the movie. Roger was not a kid who deserved the blue suede shoes he wanted at the start, but after being changed by Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, Roger changed. Although they are different, the movie and the short story both can infer that Roger has become a better person on the inside and generally.

【红霞译】

        《谢谢您，夫人》是一部关于小男孩为善良所动发生奇妙转变的短篇小说，上个世纪五十年代后期，这个家喻户晓的故事被搬上电影银幕，将书本上的想象艺术与语言描述通过图像视频的形式再现出来。小说本身写得十分精彩，与改编后的电影在某些情节和场景存有一定的区别。

        《谢谢您，夫人》中那位发生变化的男孩叫罗杰，电影保持了小说人物原型。罗杰年轻不谙世事，况且打小失去父母，一直惦记拥有一双蓝色麂皮鞋，于是便想辙偷了老太婆露娜·贝茨·华盛顿·琼斯太太的钱包。他未能及时逃之夭夭，相反却被琼斯太太逮个正着，结果事后被琼斯太太带回家去。琼斯太太一反常态，并没有责怪他偷东西，反倒要他把脸清洗干净，这时她的家门大开，罗杰完全可以自由出入。说到这里，身为读者和观众的我禁不住质疑罗杰干吗不溜，这一幕无论对电影还是小说都很重要，两者都想借此机会向观众读者有个交待。罗杰内心纠结思想斗争激烈，但却不想一走了之。他径直来到盥洗池前洗脸，在很多电影和小说中常常出现这幅场景，伏线埋得十分巧妙，对后面的剧情发展极其重要。琼斯太太明知他原本故意偷窃自己的钱包，仍然对罗杰非常友善，让罗杰深受感动。其间，其它相关的故事情节先后登台出场，不过最关键的一幕当属罗杰拿着偷来的钱包独自呆在盥洗室。回到故事开头，罗杰早已瞄准猎物，老人家对之无能为力，尽管事态发展出乎意料，但罗杰仍然有机会继续付诸行动，可以拿着钱包开路。作者笔锋停在罗杰不愿在琼斯太太面前失去信誉，其实他这样做得对，为此后来还被款待了一顿饭。电影沿袭了小说原创，藉之表明罗杰和琼斯太太之间开始建立良好关系，我认为琼斯太太的用意在于教导罗杰，换上一般父母或敏感家长肯定难以容忍偷窃行为非得痛揍自己的孩子一顿不可，而琼斯太太却以慈母厚爱循循善诱，即使故事开头她有点尖刻，可以后越来越和蔼，甚至出钱给罗杰买蓝麂皮鞋，充分体现爱的力量，人与人之间需要真诚相待；小说自始至终细腻地刻画了罗杰从努力到失败、从偷窃琼斯太太钱包到分别前接受馈赠的转变过程。

        《谢谢您，夫人》电影版以原作为蓝本，对某些细节做了相应改动。小说中，罗杰与室友同在一个屋檐下分住不同房间；而在电影里罗杰却独处生活，没跟任何人一起合住。另外，书中琼斯太太的寓所狭窄，不像电影所描绘的房间很多且能容纳不少人。电影还增设了小说没有的场景，罗杰洗脸时毛巾不慎落地，本来算不了什么，但导演抓住这一点借题发挥，进一步表现罗杰的内在变化。他捡起毛巾不是随手扔进池中，而是规整地叠成四方，然后小心翼翼地放回脸盆旁边，并认真处理好每一件事情，在遇到琼斯太太之前，罗杰似乎并不是一位讲究整齐举止得体的年轻人，从这一点上不难看出他已脱胎换骨。等到了故事结尾，罗杰已然变成一位优秀的小伙子，琼斯太太同时意识到他的进步，决定出资帮他购买一双梦寐以求的蓝麂皮鞋，可电影上说是廿块大洋，其实小说里只写下十块钱而已，看来从小说出版到电影发行，经济形势已发生天翻地覆的变化。

        “你以邪恶的手段弄到鞋子定会将脚烧坏”是琼斯太太告诫罗杰的肺腑之言，罗杰不再是故事开头那个通过不法手段以求达到个人目的小不点孩童，经琼斯太太调教业已洗心革面，活脱脱变成一位内心向善外表高雅的体面人物。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2009: 感恩(Gratitude)

Thank You M'am （《谢谢您，夫人》）

Crosslinks(相关博文):

2015: Book Review─Head above Water(书评《浮出水面》)

2014: Book Review─Urban Outlaws(书评─浅议《城市水浒传》)

7th Grade(初中二年级)