keskiviikko 6. kesäkuuta 2012

Whichever cat in the rain

An essay I wrote after reading Ernest Hemingway's short story "Cat in the rain". You can read the very brief short story here.

I also wrote an ending to the story. If you know Italian, maybe you could help me correct the sentence I tried to write in Italian...

The short story "Cat in the Rain" tells about an American couple on a journey in Italy and how the wife wants to rescue a cat from the rainy courtyard.
 When the American girl wants something (and she always does) she needs to get it right away. She is easily pleased but the contentment never lasts very long.
 The story doesn't let the reader know if the cat that the maid brought even was the same cat that had sat outside in the rain. It's always referred to the animal as "a cat", never "the cat".
 When the girl gets what she wants she comes up with a new idea of what she would like to own.
 She has wanted a change. She has wanted to travel to Italy. She has wanted to cut her hair short and now she wants it to grow back. She is a carpe diem hedonist and she is it in a naïve way. Her husband treats her in a bit condescending way. Her naīveté is highlighted by referring to her as a girl, not as a woman.




Ending I wrote to the story:

 "Oh how sweet it is! Look how sweet the kitty is!" the American girl said. Her face glowed. She fetched the cat and held it like it like it was a baby, rocking it.
"Sono contenta che la signora è felice" said the maid and left the room.
 George lifted his eyebrow and frowned a little but then he smiled.
 George flinched. He had fallen asleep with the book on his chest. He looked around. It was still night. The light on the dressing table was on, lighting the face of the girl. She was sitting on the windowsill with the cat on her lap. Rain was pouring down on the public garden and the war monument and against the window. She talked quietly to herself, without noticing that her husband was awake. She was staring at the rainy, dark seashore wit her big, sad doll eyes.
 "Why does it have to be raining?" she murmured. "Look, kitty. I want to go to the beach. I want it to be sunny and nice. Why does it have to be raining?"

2 kommenttia:

  1. Sujuvaa tekstiä ja kaikenkaikkiaan mukavaa katseltavaa ja luettavaa blogi täynnä! Jatka vain samaan malliin!

    VastaaPoista
  2. Kiitos paljon. Nyt tulee taas lisää sisältöä kun koulu on lähtenyt käyntiin. Tietokoneenkin sain ostettua tällä viikolla, helpottaa bloggaamista huomattavasti.

    VastaaPoista