♥ ..essay.. ♥ english.. ♥

*A theme is a simile that is used in written text to relate to idioms or to work in a message or lesson. This message is usually about life, society or human nature. The theme is created by the messages, displaying a meaning to the text. The movie "Angus" and the story "A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune" by Chris Crutcher, are very different in the way that they develop their themes of the stories, but the themes that are portrayed in both are very similar. Some of the themes that were portrayed in both the movie and in the story were that you always have to stick up for your family no matter what, also, be yourself because it is more than okay to be different, and lastly do not judge people by the way that they look. Although the themes of the story were developed in quite different ways, in the end, they were still portrayed as main messages, and in both cases they are still very valuable in accordance with real life.
*One of the themes that were portrayed in the story were to stick up for your family no matter what. In the story, this theme is developed by the conflict between Angus versus his peers and also his parents. The parents in the story were homosexual, and this had caused much conflict. Angus had to stand up for his parents in the story when people like Rick were causing a fuss about his parents' sexual orientation, by saying things rudely about them towards Angus. The rude comments had set Angus off and forced him to stand up for his parents, by saying that he does not care what their orientation is, because they were monogamous for a very long time. Saying this showed that Angus loved his parents. Although in the movie, Angus' parent was not gay, and she was single, there was still a time that Angus had to stand up for his family. Angus' grandfather was the one that he defended in the movie. His grandfather was a very elderly man, and he wished to marry a woman that was several years younger than he. The people in the movie that opposed to this marriage was Angus' mother. She did not like the fact that her father was getting married to a woman that she did not approve of because of the age difference, and this also caused a fuss. Angus defended his grandfather from his mother, and this also showed that he loved his grandfather, and that he stuck up for his family. The events that occured in the movie did not exactly match the events in the story, but the theme, stick up for your family, was still present, and the theme was still shown.
*Another one of the themes that we developed differently throughout the movie and the story, is to be yourself because it is very much okay to be different. In the movie, "Angus", there are many ways in which Angus decides to be different. Angus and his grandfather went shopping for a suit, and Angus desired one that was 'normal' or 'socially acceptable' as Angus reffered to it as. They ended up purchasing a suit that was not 'normal' like Angus wanted, but they did purchase a suit that was very different. Angus did not want to wear the suit, but after his grandfather's passing, he recieved the suit from his grandfather's ex-wife to be. He decided then and there that he was going to wear the suit anyhow. Angus decided that he was going to heed his grandfather's words "screw 'em" and go to the dance. After the drama ocured at the dance, Angus made a huge impressionable speech about normality. That was when he had said to Rick "...if you're normal, what does that make them, not normal? And if being normal means being like you, then I'm glad that I am not normal..." The movie also shows how with Angus' science experiment he proved that nothing is normal, because if something is not 'normal' then the 'normal' substance has to conform so that the non-normal substance can also co-exsist with it. In the story, Angus does not make a fancy speech, or do a science experiment on normality, but he does prove that he does not care that he is not considered normal, or socially acceptable, by going to the dance to be crowned eventhough he realizes that it was a joke. In both the film and the story, Angus was brave to be different, and this proves the theme's message, that not everyone is normal, and that is very much alright to be different.
*The last theme that was portrayed differently throughout the movie and the story was to not judge a book by its cover. In the story Angus' crush Melissa appeared to be a popular girl that would never go for a guy like Angus. Melissa seemed as if she had no flaws and that made her seem perfect. Angus was quick to judge Melissa, and his judgements were wrong. Melissa was not rude like other popular people are viewed as, for she was extremely nice, especially to Angus. At the dance, when Rick was trying to embarrass Melissa by making her dance with Angus, she did the opposite, was not embarrassed by him, but she was proud. Also, Melissa was not perfect, and she did indeed have flaws. She had opened up to Angus when he pointed out that he could not dance, and she explained to him how she was bulimic and how she did not really like Rick. She helped Angus to dance, so he would not make a fool out of himself like Rick had intended. Angus ended up getting to leave with Melissa also, and that showed how he was wrong and that he could get the girl that he thought would never go for someone like him. Melissa Lefevre proved that she was kind, thoughtful and and most of all not perfect like Angus percieved her to be. This is one way that story displays the theme, do not judge a book by its cover. The movie also does a good job of displaying the same theme. In the movie, the theme is displayed when the incident where Angus' friend Troy was 'helping' Angus to learn to dance before the Winter ball. He got Angus to dance with a blow up doll and he videotaped it. This also caused Melissa embarrassment because on the tape it showed how Angus was talking about how he liked her. This shows that that Troy was thought of to be kind and to be a loyal friend, but it turned out that he was the opposite. Troy was proved to be a lieing, conieving untrustworthy person. Angus had miss judged him and this caused people to get hurt. Even though Troy did what he did, he was still forgiven by Angus. This incident proves that you should never judge a book by its cover, because you just may end up being wrong, getting hurt, or you may end up happier in the end.
*There are several themes that were dispalyed throughout the movie that helped show the characteristics of the characters. The messages that were delivered were helpful in relation to reality, that you should always defend your family, no matter what circumstance, you should always be brave and do not conform because you are frightened, just be yourself, and lastly do not judge a book by its cover, because there will always be a consequence. The consequences may not always be good, and they may not always be hurtful, but the risk of the judgement is always there. The themes are applicable to real life and eventhough they were displayed in different ways, they were still recieved by the readers and viewers, through the many incidents occuring in the plots of both the movie "Angus" and the story "A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune" written by Chris Crutcher.



work cited:

(underline)Angus. Dir. Patrick Johnson. Turner Pictures, 1996.

Crutcher, Chris. "A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune." (underline) Athletic Shorts. New York: Dell Publishing, 1989