The-Street-我祖母将过去的夏天.doc

Four short words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals above the crowd: a little bit more.-author-dateThe-Street-我祖母将过去的夏天The Street 我祖母將過去的夏天The Street 我祖母將過去的夏天 蒙特婁的猶太裔作家Mordecai Richler回憶幼時祖母久病在床的故事(由短篇小說"The Summer My Grandmother was Supposed to Die"改編)。人言久病床前無孝子作者的母親雖侍奉祖母無微不至但卻造成家人很大的困擾。本片透過一個小孩的眼光細膩地呈現老人與其他家人的關係以及兒童對死亡和大人世界的觀感。 Summary: The boy remembers that it is a hot summer when the grandmother is about to die. The coming death ('it could be any day') preoccupies the kid. From the kitchen, they can 'smell' it. On the street, they talk about it (about death throe and whether the hair grows after death, and what her ghost would look like). The boy complains also because his bedroom has been taken by the grandmother, and that his mother asks him to kiss the grandmother goodbye everyday. The long-term illness also takes its toll on the mother. She gets exhausted and becomes bed-ridden. The father, as a result, decides to send the grandmother to a nursing home. When the mother gets better, she goes to visit the grandmother, and ends up taking her mother home. The father, looking on, said, "I was born lucky and that's it," meaning that he is not lucky but he takes it.On a Friday afternoon, the boy comes home to find a crowd there. The boy gets concerned, knowing that the grandmother is dead. But he is more concerned with his mother than with the death. The mother gives the son jewlery the grandmother passed on to her. The boy just said, 'who's getting married?' In the room and on the balcony, the adults cry or talk about the death. The doctor and the rabbi comment respectively on how the death is a contrast to the beautiful summer day and how the grandmother held on for so long before she died. At night, the boy refuses to sleep in that room, revealing that he is actually afraid. He and his sister talk again about death (wondering if a hanged man will get orgasm before he dies). The film ends with one playing the grandmother's ghost-probably done by the sister-calling the boy: "Boyio-Boyio-"Issues and DiscussionThough set in a Jewish community, the story present the following issues which we can relate to: - first experience of death - the problems of the elderly; between in-laws. Starting Questions: 1. When is your first experience of death in the family or people around you? 2. As a child, were you afraid of ghosts? 3. How do you relate to the elderly at home if there's any? Recently, more and more senior citizens in our society suffer from depression.一个曾经很出名的演员凯斯特，失业了6个月之后。为了谋生，又找到了一份工作，是在“Shooting the Rapids” （一部戏剧的名字）的最后一幕，演一个医生（配角）。工资非常少，每个月只有4英镑。所以他现在的生活很窘迫。并且因为营养不良的关系，头上长了一绺白头发。 偶然一次，他在街上碰到了一个老朋友，这人现在很有钱。矮胖但是穿的衣冠楚楚。这个人带凯斯特去餐厅大吃了一顿。从凯斯特脚上的那双破靴子（the broken boot ）看出来，凯斯特现在非常的穷。但是，凯斯特很要面子，没有承认自己的生活很窘迫。 凯斯特的朋友付完帐就走了，完了呢凯斯特自己坐在那里，在回想他找现在这份工作的时候，处处看别人眼色，求工作。他觉得现在的生活很不尽人意。（当然也是因为他以前非常的成功，可能是因为跟以前相比，现在的日子就像狗一般。） 这时候，餐厅的服务员来清理桌子，所以，凯斯特不得不起身离开。突然有两个女孩子在窃窃私语，认出了凯斯特正是扮演“Shooting the Rapids” 里的那个医生。正是因为了凯斯特的那绺白头发。-