Assessment Summary Report _ Julie Gankhuyag

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Diablo Valley College *

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Arts Humanities

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Oct 30, 2023

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Gankhuyag 1 Julie Gankhuyag Professor Miller Humanities: Film/Fiction/Crit 4193 04.14.2023 Film and Fiction Comparative Analysis The short story It Had To Be Murder and the film Rear Window show different ways of vulnerability that our protagonist, Jeff, experiences throughout his witness over a murder. The film uses more cinematic elements such as certain shots to convey this while the book uses specific vocabulary and placement. Not only does this theme invoke more interest for the audience, but gives more connection with the character. Within the climax, nearing the end of the film, Rear Window creates a masterful scene that truly shows the vulnerable position Jeff is in. At mark 1:44:55 Jeff is discovered by the murderer he had been watching. Most of the film is Jeff observing the daily lives of his neighbors, though he is particularly keen on Mr. Thorwald whose wife practically disappears. In this scene, it is just Jeff and Mr. Thorwald, and their confrontation begins as Thorwald knows that Jeff figured out that he killed his wife. So, Thorwald decided to intrude into his watcher's apartment. The shot begins with a medium close-up of Jeff, indicating that he realizes that Thorwald is not in his apartment which is then confirmed by a pan back to the empty apartment. Then, after Jeff's silent phone call, Hitchcock has the camera perform a slow, extreme close up to Jeff's fearful expression that he knows who called him. Jeff turns around to the noises made outside his door, then accompanied by a high angle. This high angle shows the height between Jeff, who was bound to his wheelchair, and the height at which a standing person (Thorwald) would be. It shows how vulnerable and frightening Jeff's situation is. In a sort of panic, Jeff

Gankhuyag 2 struggles around his room and gathers items such as his camera flash, which Hitchcock decides to do close-ups on. The purpose of this is hinting to the audience that these objects are somehow essential. Later, Jeff uses the flashes to blind Thorwald, who is attacking him and stalls enough time for the police to arrive. With the various angles of taking shots behind Jeff, to where the murderer will eventually enter through and proper pacing of the shots, Hitchcock creates an atmosphere of suspense and emphasizes Jeff's helplessness from the danger he's always been aware of. On the other hand, how the short story depicts Jeff’s vulnerability was through anaphora in the same scene where Jeff is discovered by the murderer. The text states, “It had hit dead-center at my bay window, for just a split second while it lasted, and it was gone again. And the lights were gone, and he was gone” (10). Woolrich choses the word “gone” to repeat three times. What this does for readers is emphasizing that Thorwald has disappeared, which can mean only one thing. That he is coming for Jeff, to get rid of the witness. Not only does it add suspense, but it shows that Jeff can only really observe as (we know from the film) he is confined to a leg cast. It displays the realization, the fear that is running through our protagonist’s head. Another element would be character development , as the text better shows how Jeff discovers his vulnerability, how he is a dynamic character. Originally, Jeff doesn’t seem too appreciative of his caretaker, Sam. Though as Sam proceeds to look through Thorwald’s apartment, the reader understands the spark in Jeff’s head of realizing just how much Sam does for him. In the literature itself, it feels already constricting as the audience is deprived of visual and sound. We are contained to merely Jeff’s first point of view , not knowing what is going on until he knows. In this way, the literature makes us vulnerable as much as Jeff is. And finally, the simple use of similes add that extra detail in what exactly Jeff is feeling throughout this pivotal moment. Woolrich writes, “I proceeded to

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