WHY DID LESLIE DIE OFF STAGE?

I feel that allowing Leslie to die off-stage gives the audience a kind of curiosity and also to allow them to imagine the scenario of her drowning. Other than that, it will also be able to show how sad Jesse can be when his best friend died. I also think it will be tough if Leslie actually acts out the scene as the settings are very complicated with the rain and creek. In addition, it is very dangerous for a young girl to film falling down and hitting her head on the something.

WHO/WHAT DOES THE DARKLORD REPRESENT?

To Jesse, I think Gary Fulcher is his darklord. All Fulcher does to Jesse are bullying, teasing and punching. He also despises Jesse as he is easily bullied. Other than that, Fulcher makes Jesse inferior to himself and caused him to be keeping all his suffering in his heart. Jesse terribily disliked Fulcher for his fowl behaviour towards him and thus that made Fulcher his darklord.

To Leslie, I think her loneliness is her darklord. Leslie is the only child in her family and her parents are usually busy with work. Other than that, she had just transferred school and she was in a very new environment with no one she recognises.

To me, I feel that my piano teacher is my darklord. As a person who dislike practicing the piano, I usually get scolded by my piano teacher for not performing well in lessons. Thus I always dread going for piano lessons. Other that, my piano teacher is also very strict to me as she has high expectations for me.

WHICH VERSION DO YOU LIKE BETTER AND WHY?

For me, I prefer the novel version as it contains the original story instead of the changed details in the movie. In the movie, there are alot of changed details although it still remains interesting. The novel allows the audience to visualise the scene and let your imagination flow.


Sharon Long