Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The Boarded Window

I am currently working my way through marking the responses that you made to The Boarded Window while I was conducting the Year 12 exams almost 2 weeks ago.

I haven't read all of them yet, but so far the answers have been rather depressingly literal in their interpretaion of the story and of the narrator....

Allow me to ask you all this: why does the narrator seem to know SO much about the events at Murlock's house?

Is it likely that panther has dragged away his wife?

What can happen to someone when they are experiencing acute guilt?

How might the title be symbolic? Look back at the previous question....

Please comment below. The more the merrier. Not just Aadit and Arisa please.

18 comments:

  1. Too late for that, isn't it?
    And I added in the part about 'Their eyes met in a sick, demented, anti-romantic way....'
    I thought it sounded pretty classic, so you should be thankful.
    Have a nice day!

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  2. Obviously the guy is gonna feel very guilty knowing that he doesn't know exactly what happened to his wife or if it is HIS fault that his wife is now really dead.

    But why is the title significance?

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  3. wow.. umm.... i think it is likely that the panther dragged away his wife because firstly the window was open, leaving the panther direct access to his wife, secondly because wild cats usually kill prey by biting them in the neck.

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  4. I think that the title represents Murlock's inner guilt over his wife's death. He probably thinks that she had been finished off by the panther, and it was his fault for her death. As said in the paragraph, the boarded window could symbolize the world and society's punishment over Murlock for shutting himself away.

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  5. comment: i don't have anything to comment but i'm commenting on the others' comments for everyone not to wait for my comment.
    End of comment.

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  6. Ya whatever son. Well, i'd agree with luke
    No more comment...

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  7. i agree with soomin and luke :)
    i dont actually understand the story though

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  8. Hello people Well i personally think that it is the Old mans faults as he did not prepare the burial quite properly and by the way i agree with Luke. No more comment.

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  9. Me neither, well, not all but some parts, I mean..ya
    But ummm, half of it, but not half of it, anyway,
    Still excellent!

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  10. hi i agree w all u guys bye
    oh btw huong u didnt comment on my new vid properly i giv u 5 mins 2 gimme noda comment = =

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  11. I agree with Arisa and Luke! But not really agree with the punishment parts though!!! no more comment...

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  12. Mr.Pollicutt Vy is bullying meee :(
    haha

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  13. well... i agree wif arisa. he might probably think that it is his fault tht his wife has died cos he didnt bring her to the hospital and stuff but shouldnt he be trying to get rid of his old ways and start interacting with 'the rest of the world' instead of actually shutting up his window. OR we could all just agree he doesnt want random strange wild cats that could kill in his house anymore so he closed it -.-"

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  14. The narrator might know so much about the events at Murlock's house because it might be that he is somehow related to Murlock (in a familial sense). (This part might not make sense unless you have read my comments on the two subsequent blog posts). He might be so upset about his realization (about his wife being non-existant) that to convince himself that she was in fact real, he told this story to a stranger or to one of his family members. It might give him comfort to tell a story about a person who he wants to exist.

    In my opinion I don't think the panther existed. It was something that Murlock made up to explain that his wife must have been alive and to make the story more believable. The narrator explains that some of the beast's fur was found between her teeth, showing that she was strong enough to survive a disease but also to fight a panther. Either this, or his wife might have been real and now there is a ghost haunting the house because Murlock 'murdered' her by tying her up so she could not escape the beast. Nobody knows her name because Murlock does not want to speak of her again.

    When people experience acute guilt, their behavior changes. In this case, Murlock might have killed himself (which explains the haunting) or that he was so filled with guilt that he told others of his tale.

    The boarded window holds the story of the entire event! From the death of Murlock's wife to the fact that the window has 'seen' or allows anybody outside to see the events that have gone on inside. By boarding the window, Murlock might be trying to hide away the secrets that his story holds. The title might be explaining that it 'opens' the boarded window, telling you Murlock's tragic tale.

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  15. I think the panther in the scene was not actually a panther, but the narrator of this piece. That's why he knows so much about the things happened in his house

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  16. hahahahaha........ the warped imagination of Jae Ho...

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  17. I think the narrator is actually Murlock because at the beginning he says that Murlock lives away from his neighbors then how can the narrator calling himself Murlock's neighbor and seeing everything in Murlock's house...
    Murlock might change himself when he is experiencing acute guilt as the death of his wife haunts him.

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