Harold Crick, the main character, has heard he is going to die soon, and spends much of the movie trying to avoid this "imminent death;" begging Karen Eiffel to change the ending of her book and keep him alive. But in talking with his literary adviser, Professor Hilbert, Harold is asked to willingly die for the sake of Eiffel's book, as can be seen here:
This scene raises some serious questions for us as viewers. What is the value of our own life? How much can we sacrifice for another person? What does it take for us to be willing to die for someone else?
In this scene, Harold says, "I can change . . . " and he does change, but not to avoid his death, but to accept it. How did this happen?
Harold started changing from the very beginning of the film when he heard Eiffel's narration. He didn't change drastically right away, but he became more aware of himself and the world around him, more conscious of what he was thinking and doing. He changed even more having to interact with Ana. She is so opposite of him, she's free-spirited, opinionated, colorful. Ana changes him a lot, especially in the day of the cookie scene. After spending all day enveloped in her world, he comes down to leave and she's just finished pulling cookies out of the oven.
Right after the video cuts off he realized she baked the cookies specifically for him, and that he was "screwing everything up" by not accepting them.
Throughout the day, Harold started to see Ana as a person, rather than just a auditee. He learned her story, and watched her life.
Hearing Eiffel's narration, and spending time around Ana, gave Harold something to focus on other than himself, which is the key to his willingness to die the way Eiffel originally wrote. Caring about someone else made him the type of person who would tell Eiffel to keep her story the way it was. Harold became willing to sacrifice his life for Eeffel's story, so she became willing to sacrifice her story for his life.
Your blog post ties in with mine. I talk about fate and if we really do have control over our lives and if we can do anything about it. You write, "Harold says, "I can change . . . " and he does change, but not to avoid his death, but to accept it." Does Harold really change or did the writer of his life decide to change it for him. Right now, as I am writing this, I am thinking of the cover art of the novel, The Godfather. How one person can hold the strings to our lives in their hands and with one snip can cut it and potentially change matters. From the moment we are born, we are dying, that is life. The acceptance of dying just plain sucks but eventually one has to face it. To borrow a line from the new Halloween, "Must be nice living in denial, I must try it sometime" People live in denial of death and life because they are cowards to face mortality and fate. We have no real control of our lives, only one person knows the outcome of it all. Harold did change but was it him really changing or was it a goddess, in the form of a writer, pulling the strings?
ReplyDeleteI'll go check out your blog post after this! To reply to your questions, I would say Harold chooses to change. In looking at the story/plot aspect of the film/novel being written in the film, Harold's change would be story Eiffel, not plot. I don't think she planned on having Harold change, which is why she wanted to change the ending. I do certainly think Eiffel had an influence on Harold's change, in making him want to change. He realized that his life is not his own, but just the way our lives are not our own. Our actions affect those around us. As we saw in the movie, Eiffel's world crumbled around her when she met Harold and thought about how she might have killed all those other people. She hadn't even thought about those people as possibly being real before, but Harold opened her up to a new way of looking at things. She was left grasping for her own puppet strings as she realized she had someone else's life in her hands--that she had more power but less control than she ever thought possible. In the end, Harold and Eiffel pull each other's strings and change each other's fates. Sure, Harold will die eventually, and Eiffel will publish her book, but neither will be what was originally planned.
DeleteTo comment on Greg's comment, I think that the movie makes it seem like Karen Eiffel has all the power over Harold Crick's FATE, but not necessarily his PERSON. I personally squirm even with that, so I have a hard time going as far to say that Karen changed Harold into what he became. If you read my post, you'll see what I think about the whole thing. But even if I thought that Karen did control Harold's fate, I would never go so far as to say that she controls who he became at the end. She never thought that he could be that person, and when she realized he was, she couldn't kill him.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the fate/person idea, and that's where I see the plot/story distinction of the novel most clearly. When Eiffel was having writer's block, Harold kept living his life. He is able to function without Eiffel dictating his every action, but she has the power to say how and when his life will end.
DeleteI liked how you related the "sacrificing" scene to a more 'serious manner'. It's interesting to think about the worth of our own life and I also thought about this while watching this film. I also like how you brought up that Harold Crick went through life not really seeing the people as they were possibly because his job made him see most people as auditee.
ReplyDeleteI love your last sentence " Harold became willing to sacrifice his life for Eiffel's story, so she became willing to sacrifice her story for his life." I never thought of it like that, but it's so true. I also like the question you raised about meaning in life, and changing how we view people. I didn't make those connections, but I'm glad you brought them up! It really makes you look inward to examine yourself.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and discussion here as a result of it!
ReplyDeleteI think Harold is attracted to Anna because she is the opposite of him. Harold's life, thanks to Karen, is void of all excitement and spontaneity. Anna is the intelligent chaos that Harold needs in his life. Harold counts his teeth brushing and follows a precise routine and works for a depressing bureaucratic system. Anna throws dough against the wall and rallies against the man, you go girl. Harold is subconsciously hungry for excitement in his life and Anna fits the bill. Karen is the author of Harold's life and Anna is his foil, it just makes for a more exciting life. Anna is kind of like a non-psychotic Glenn Close from Fatal Attraction. Anna is excitement.
ReplyDeleteI can see that! Totally.
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