Martin's Roxanne And Rostand's Cyrano De Bergerac example essay topic

Isn't it easier to accept the idea that a main character would be engaged in a fist fight, rather than a sword fight? Aren't fire fighters, as characters, more believable than a bunch of olden day French cadets? I certainly think so. To me it is just more real to have the setting of a story in modern times and in the United States. Rostand's Cyrano De Bergerac is written about a time that no one alive now has experienced.

There is the same plot idea that an ugly man wants the pretty girl, but she is too busy being infatuated with the pretty boy to notice the intellect of the man she truly comes to love. Steve Martin's Roxanne and Rostand's Cyrano De Bergerac are similar in the sense that they both appeal to the people of the same time period in which each one was written and performed. Ever been to Paris, France in the year 1640? No?

Well neither have I, but I have been residing in the United States in modern times. I related more to this version of Cyrano de Bergerac because the settings are familiar. In the original version there is a sword fight at a theater. Well for one, most people nowadays have the mind set that sword fights are for the aristocrats and Romeo and Juliet.

Roxanne has fist fights and many events happen in a bar. I've seen fist fights and I have been in a bar and grill which is why I can relate to Roxanne. Another modern twist to Roxanne is the occupations of the characters. The fire fighters are an amazing parallel to the cadets. In some ways the change from the cadets to the firemen is a parody.

The cadets are steadfast men who are ready to fight, but the firemen are a bunch of goofy adults that really have no clue to what they are doing. Roxanne's astronomer hobby and job gives her the air of being intelligent and intellectual just like Rostand's Roxanne has. Le Bret and Ragan eau morphed into the more modern character, Dixie. She takes on the role of being Charlie Bales' confident and most trusted friend. In this story, Dixie plays a key role to the plot by giving Roxanne the letter Charlie wrote.

She slyly put Charlie's name on the back so that Roxanne would finally figure out it was Charlie, not Chris, who is an intellectual mastermind. Giving the characters and setting a modern angle helps the present society relate to the masterpiece by Rostand. Is the tragedy lost, or is it just more believable? One of the most profound changes is the difference in what happens after Chris, or Christian, joyfully rushes to Roxanne's room after the balcony scene. In the original, Cyrano keeps his word to help Christian and distracts De Gui che from interrupting what is going on in the house. In the modern version, though, Charlie sends the old ladies to walk in on Roxanne and Chris.

Most people would probably have done the same thing. A person who is in love with another person won't just sit back and watch while someone else steals the love away. They would seize the opportunity to stop anything going on between them. The second change is the fact that Roxanne leaves instead of Cyrano and his troops in the original, or in this case, Charlie and his firefighters. I had a hard time accepting the idea that Roxanne would go to the front lines to be with Christian. Steve Martin makes it more acceptable by having her leave for her astronomy project and then come back because she missed Chris.

The letters are still written, but Charlie didn't have to risk his life to mail them everyday. Sure this is less romantic, but more convincing. Also, Martin's version is not a tragedy at all. Die hard Cyrano De Bergerac would probably cringe at the thought that someone would redo the play without killing Cr yano, Charlie, in the end. Roxanne is more for the romantic 'he gets the girl in the end' type of people, and it is also for the viewers that love comedy. Comparatively Roxanne is less tragic, and more romantic.

Steve Martin is trying to explain Rostand's themes in Cyrano De Bergerac to the general public of the modern world. Sure the contemporary version was not tragic at all, but what is these days? People in this century probably find it hard to believe all the tragic irony in the original play. This culture, for the most part, likes happy endings. People now relate more to Martin's interpretation because they can apply his modern settings more clearly to their own lives.

Also, it is easier to get into the story more when it is set in a place that is common to most United States citizens. Each exposition is magnificently applied in their own era.