Friday, January 7, 2011

"Sure Thing", Take 2

This play reminds me of some hillarious shows that I saw on  TV where the characters repeat an episode in their lives over and over until they get their purpose right, or until they finally get their message to their loved ones. One had his cause of death changed each time he woke up to live his life again! Some characters are aware of it, some don't.

But, what's with the bell in "Sure Thing"?  A few online analysis and summaries that I read think that it's a signal for a wrong answer in the conversation (http://www.echeat.com/), reinforces the boxing match rhythm  in the conversation between the two characters (http://www.hubpages.com/), or a symbol for a fresh start (http://www.reference.com/). 

So, I would like to invite my students to give their opinions about the bell - its purpose or its effect to the play.
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21 comments:

  1. Shakir AzfarJanuary 8, 2011 at 12:32 AM

    I agreed on what you have read there.. I think the bell is to make sure that there is no mistakes in the conversation.. if there is just a single mistake happened, the bell rings and the characters will start it over again.. so that, the conversation will be on nice flow.. "...can be played over and necessary changes may be made." (www.echeat.com).. it's like a chance that is given to the characters to have a good first conversation.. I think the playwright wanted a sure thing to happen in this play, which is the characters being together.. so, perfection in the conversation is vital as if there is any, the conversation might not go well due to words that the characters said.. but, of course, in reality, we cannot redo things that are done..

    and, the effect of the bell is the characters can have a smooth conversation, and in the end, no mistakes occur and the relationship between them just bloomed..

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  2. 인탄 랴나January 8, 2011 at 12:46 AM

    purpose of the bell: in my opinion, t think that the bell is actually act as a beginning of the new dialogue. as we can see when Bill failed to impress betty with his dialogue, the bell rang and they started their conversation again but with the different questions or different answers. its like Bill is trying over and over again to attract Betty and to make her joined the conversation.
    the effect: the bell actually help Bill to attract Betty to talk to him and join the conversation. if the bell is not exist in the play, Bill cannot try another different answers or questions with their conversation and Betty might not interested with him. so the conversation might not succeed if the bell is not exist. But, with the bell ringing for many times, Bill can change his way to approach Betty and we can see in the end of the play, Betty finally join the conversation with him and she also agree with a lot of opinion given by Bill.
    so, i think the bell effect to the conversation either Bill can make Betty join him or not.

    so, that is my opinion about the bell in the play.
    INTAN LYANA BINTI HAMZAH

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  3. AnonymousJanuary 8, 2011 at 12:50 AM

    i agreed with shakir.. XD i realized that when the bell ring, the conversation between bell and betty will start over again.. perfection is important in their dialog to make their readers understand.. <~~just an opinion

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  4. UnknownJanuary 8, 2011 at 3:18 AM

    inmy own opinion , there are a fews judgements i've made about the bell. on the first day of learning this drama , i thought that bill and betty were just people with short-term memory lost or something or they are just plain crazy or something. as i learn more bout it it(the bell) made me thought of its real purpose , and the purpose of it is actually for bill to correct his dialogue. in real life we (the men) have only one chance to impress a girl. bill doesn't know how lucky he is. The funny thing is that he maybe ended up marrying betty. hurm maybe. just a thought though...ikhmal ismayatim

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  5. HawaJanuary 8, 2011 at 5:52 AM

    Since you have only invited your students to give their opinions, I shall reserve mine. But I would like to take this oportunity to congratulate you on this blog. And I'm sure, this blog is worth much more than two cents...

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  6. UnknownJanuary 8, 2011 at 7:37 AM

    From my opinion...i just thinking the same way as shakir and pauline said...but i realized that the writer try to show us that the bell was being used by Bill to call the waiter...and when the waiter never turned up..it give the opportunity to Bill to continue his conversation with Betty while keep on ringing the bell...that is my opinion....from rifqi

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  7. Shakir AzfarJanuary 8, 2011 at 8:27 AM

    only a thing that I want to raise.. is the bell really existed?I read some of the analysis regarding Sure Thing.. some of the authors said that the bell really exist in the play, literally... but, some said that it represented all of the Good and Benevolent forces in the universe.. it is something that truly wants the characters to succeed and be happy in the conversation..

    but, if the bell is really there (or what we thought as the "waiter bell"), isn't it to be like slightly weird?? although the bell is to make sure that there is no mistakes happen in the conversation between Bill and Betty, but how does it actually functions? if let say Bill made a mistake, and he rang the bell, then they started it again.. it's quite funny.. because......... slightly not logic.. we did a mistake, ring the bell, start again...??? hmm... i don't know..

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  8. ezzad.syazwiJanuary 8, 2011 at 8:59 AM

    i agreed with shakir..
    i d0n't think the bell is actually exist in the play..i mean the bell were not actually were rang by bill or betty..it is like once the the bell was rang, that event or that particular scene will start over and over again until the conversation went right..
    and they ARE starting a NEW conversation, but in my opinion, it would be more accurate if i say that there were actually REDO the conversation or that particular scene until thing gets right between bill and betty..
    it is like we are playing a game and we lost the mission and we had to RESET it until we get things right...<~~juz an 0pini0n~
    Ezad Syazwi

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  9. ALIZAJanuary 8, 2011 at 10:36 AM

    Thank you, K Hawa. This post is part of a task I gave my students earlier, so, the invitation to comment is the signal for them. If anyone else would like to share their views on "Sure Thing", I would really appreciate it.

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  10. haziq amzarJanuary 8, 2011 at 11:10 PM

    in my opinion..i don't think that the bell is really exist in the play...just like shakir said earlier, the bell is just a 'tool' to correct the mistake that the character have done and to make sure the conversation they had is a good one...one more, I think if we actually played the drama, we can see that it is hard for the characters to actually ring the bell when they are having conversation...the bell's sound might be probably ringed by others in the play..

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  11. redwanieJanuary 9, 2011 at 5:51 AM

    From my point of view, the bell illustrates the beginning of the dialogues between Bill and Betty. It is shown clearly that Bill seems desperate to make conversation with Betty. He tries to keep Betty off from reading her book. At the same time he tries to impress Betty. I realized that every time Bill failed to “impress” Betty, the bell rang and a new set of dialogues will start.|azwanie|

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  12. Ayu ShapeeJanuary 9, 2011 at 6:49 AM

    From my viewpoint, the bell act as the connector between Bill and Betty. It is also to make the conversation flew well. I realized that every time Bill rang the bell,a new, more interesting conversation will happened between them. However, when Bill make a mistake in the conversation, he will ring the bell, and everything will turn out to be exactly where the mistakes still not yet happened. The bell also plays as the main important thing in this drama, where it helps Bill to get Betty. At the beginning of the conversation, it was rough. Even to sit with Betty, Bill have to ask several times. Betty get really annoyed, without the bell, Bill will be rejected by Betty. But the bell actually saved the situation. At at the, Bill did get his chance. The mission succeed, which is to take Betty to go out. -Nuridayu Shapi :)

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  13. jari | jemariJanuary 9, 2011 at 7:07 AM

    the first time I read 'Sure Thing',I think the bells were actually for the conversation to go on. Because of the bells, they say the right thing and they represent themselves better each time they repeat the lines.

    From the site (http://www.ayjw.org/articles.php?id=519230), the bells were actually to show Bill's magical ability to instantaneously reverse time, so that the conversation can succeed.



    -farah nabihah-

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  14. jari | jemariJanuary 9, 2011 at 7:10 AM

    i do agree with the point Ayu gave. The bell really did saved the situation, to Bill's favour.

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  15. UnknownJanuary 9, 2011 at 7:28 AM

    In my opinion, the bell functions as the signal for the conversation to restart again until the characters get a satisfied answer for the questions. For example, when Bill asks Betty about the seat, she refuses to give the seat at first but the bell keeps ringing until Bill gets the opportunity to seat. If the ring does not exist, maybe there is no flow of the story and the sense of humor also gone. Without the bell, Bill also does not have the chances to get close with Betty because the conversation will stop at the beginning of the story as Betty refuses to give the seat. Actually, the bell plays the important role in the story and it functions like the director of the story.That is my opinion.~Nur Fatin Atiqah~

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  16. UnknownJanuary 9, 2011 at 7:28 AM

    Assalamualaikum..:)
    for me, why the bell is always being used by Bill in this play is probably because he is quite nervous when he questioning Betty, the women that he wants to have a conversation with. He rang the bell oftenly not just because to call the waiter, but he wants to hide his nervousness. That is why he keeps rang the bell because he didn't have much words to say to Betty.

    But I also agreed with Ezad Syazwi, just like what he said, when we lost in a game, we RESET the game until we satisfied with our achievement. (the bell symbolize the sign to Bill to asking Betty again until he satisfy with her answers.) ~ NUR NABILA IZZATI MJ ~

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  17. UnknownJanuary 9, 2011 at 7:34 AM

    in my opinion,the bell most probably symbolizes the Bill's hopes in order to attract betty into the conversation.As we can see,the bell keeps ringing until he managed to attract betty to hook up with him for each questions.just an opinion~nur asilah subri

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  18. UnknownJanuary 9, 2011 at 7:56 AM

    I agree with the fact that the bell indicates a fresh start for either bill or betty. The bell act like a fullstop and a sign of a new answer. What if bill or betty had a different answer on the question that have been asked and that will lead to a different situation..
    -faezah ghazali-

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  19. UnknownJanuary 9, 2011 at 8:55 AM

    in my view, the bell act like a time out for both betty and bill to change into a new topic of conversation.


    hirnorlisa

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  20. Nanun NightrayJanuary 10, 2011 at 5:13 AM

    in my point of view, the bell is function to cover Bill's or Betty's mistake. every time he or she says something clumsy the bell rings then a new conversation was made. the bell reset the scene and create a new dialogue with different mood. Just an opinion of mine. -Nur Asyikin

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  21. UnknownJanuary 11, 2011 at 2:50 PM

    IN MY POINT OF VIEW,I THINK THE BELL'S FUNCTION IS TO CALL WAITER...BUT THE WAITER IS NOT COMING...SO BILL USED THIS CHANCES TO CONTINUE HIS CONVERSATION WITH BETTY....BESIDES.IT ALSO TO ATTRACT BETTY'S ATTENTION TO HIM...

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