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Day 7 Assignments
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What I learned from this assignment that there can be bigger level Empathy with the situation of the story and it can go to groups in the story and especially to individuals and those situation can play at different times and effect different characters I have in my story.
I can only see this assignment as a way to bring my stories to a BINGE-WORTHY level of writing. I am getting another tool to use that I think will level up my game and stories.
ASSIGNMENT 1: SHOW: LOST
1. Empathy is given for the character of Sawyer as Hurley comes up with a way to bond and destress playing golf. Everyone is invited except Sawyer. Despite revealing his brokenness to Kate previously she suggests that he starts winning others back and stop feeling sorry for himself.
Empathy for Sawyer allowing himself to be tortured by others because he feels sorry about himself.
Distress- Jack’s struggle to help Shannon with her asthma until Sun Hwa Kwon uses natural aloe to help her breath normal again. He is willing to allow Sayid to torture Sawyer to get some medicine he thinks he has (but ends up not having).
2. Notice the difference between Big Picture Empathy/Distress
-for the characters of the show is lacking food, then lacking water, then numerous medical problems that come up in the characters.
And Detail-oriented Empathy/Distress shows up in all the characters :
Shannon with her denial of being rescued. Jack with no participating in a eulogy.
with Sayid in torturing (or about to torture) Sawyer until he stops after stabbing his arm in a struggle.
And John with holding Charlie’s drug to help him fight his addiction. It has a happy ending with Charlie finally demanding the drugs back after a series of asks to John to throw his drugs into the fire.
Big Picture is something that everyone shares together I am finding vs. the detailed empathy or distress that only one character relives or a small group of people know about. The impact really shows a level of emotion and moves both the plot and story along with strong hooks to see the episode and binge watch the show.
ASSIGNMENT #2 show #1: THE KIDNAPPING OF CASEY K
CHARACTERS: BRUCE (THE HUMANOID ALIEN)
A. Undeserved misfortune. Has lost his memory and has a hard time adjusting to knowing who to trust. So at times will trust no one.
B. External Character conflicts. Is under threat to have his home-world destroyed.
C. Plot intruding on life. In order to get the tech who has to consider working with the humans (the two agents) to get closer to obtaining the tech he was commissioned to retrieve or others in his home-world will be destroyed.
D. Moral dilemmas. His is finding the mysterious woman who claims to know him but because he can’t retrieve his memories fully she might be a good liar or a common ally.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make. To work with the humans against the mysterious woman who may have the tech or ally with the mysterious woman and risk killing people from his home-world. She gives him a dilemma that he might be being lied to.
SHOW #2 SIGMA 2619
CHARACTERS: KEN/CASEY
A. Undeserved misfortune. Ken is under the thumb when his business tanks. And only Casey bails him out. Casey getting kidnapped from his own party.
B. External Character conflicts. Ken can’t risk not helping Casey get freed or his golden goose in financing will dry up. Casey in being killed by his kidnappers or having his fortune taken away. Casey has enemies left, right and center. An enemy may come from anywhere. A lot of people resent his money, how he throws his party and the punishment reward system Casey has over people. Most people who he bails out he has under an obligation to attend his yearly parties and do other favors at a moment’s notice.
C. Plot intruding on life. Ken has to team up with other people in order to find Casey and secure his future. Casey relies on the evidence he has on other people that they will rescue him out of any dilemma.
D. Moral dilemmas. I haven’t put any moral dilemmas on my characters but I will figure how I can up the ante on all the characters to rescue the kidnapped Casey before each of them has to suffer because of the info he holds over them or money he can withhold from them at anytime.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
It would be a willingness to kill someone or break the law or even to expose some of the secrets of another character to get some information or help he needs.
***But I will also try to have these situations built up before they are executed on the outline.
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Jack’s Show Empathy/Distress
In The 100, Season 1 Episode 6, empathy and distress come fast and often
UNDESERVED MISFORTUNE – In a flashback, Octavia is seen to be born on the Arc when that is unacceptable, and her mother is executed because of it. We have empathy for Octavia because she is not allowed out of her room her entire life until she is sent to earth with the 100. Bellamy is shown as a youth promising to take care of his sister and we see his FORCED DECISION when faced with losing his sister or killing the Commodore.
PLOT INTRUDING ON LIFE – Raven’s goal of contacting the earth but is thwarted because the radio transmitter is destroyed by Bellamy when he smashed the radio. In another instance, Bellamy’s goal of finding Octavia when she is captured by a Grounder is set back when Finn loses the trail, and then again when three in his party are killed.
MORAL DILEMMA – Clarke is only able to help Raven fix the radio if she exposes the secret shelter that only she and Finn know about, then confesses she had a sexual encounter with Finn but she didn’t know of Raven or that Finn had a girlfriend.
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<st1:city w:st=”on”><st1:place w:st=”on”>Tracy</st1:place></st1:city> Assignment 7 – Show Empathy/Distress
What I learned doing this assignment is that Empathy/Distress is certainly a driving emotion of the entire premise of LOST. We can relate to the fear of being in a plane crash and experience what it’s like for this group of survivors, and what we might do differently or the same. It made me look at my show to see how it’s grounded in this. It seems like it is in the outline, except that I’m not sure where the show should actually begin to emphasize this more.
In this episdode of LOST, setting up empathy/distress is the big issue as one of the characters faced the most severe moral choice in his past. Sayid, a former Iraqi Republican guard responsible for torture and death, decides to let a woman escape death who may have been a traitor, but was a childhood friend. This contributes to choices he makes in the present.
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Sayid steps into a trap set by Danielle in the jungle, then tortured painfully with electric shocks by her.
B. External Character conflicts.
Sayid runs afoul of Sawyer, whose deliberate taunting behavior pushes Sayid to violent self-justification. Struggling with his past life, Sayid isolates himself from the castaways after he broke his vow not to torture anyone — even though he felt provoked enough by Sawyer to torture him without remorse initially.
C. Plot intruding on life.
Sayid was not expecting to find the woman Danielle who sent the SOS message 16 years previously. She holds him prisoner until he can escape. We have empathy for both when Sayid first requests Danielle to free him but she won’t because she’s so desperate for human companionship. After Sayid frees himself, he urges Danielle to come back to the survivors’ camp, but she either doesn’t believe him or won’t.
D. Moral dilemmas.
In flashback, Sayid was ordered to kill Nadia, but orchestrates her escape. He cannot escape with her for his family will be killed. So he shoots himself to let her escape from prison, torture, and death. We don’t know what happened to him immediately afterwards, except that seven years later Sayid is still haunted wondering if she made it out alive.
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Danielle confides that she killed her husband and others — her child too? — when they became sick. She was a scientist who became the ultimate tough warrior survivor.
After he escapes, Sayid is alone in the jungle running fearfully back to the others — quite unlike the coolly confident ex-soldier he has been up to this point.
EL <st1:city w:st=”on”><st1:place w:st=”on”>PUEBLO</st1:place></st1:city>
A. Undeserved misfortune.
The arrival of the American pirates wanting to jump ship, particularly Joseph, completely upsets the equilibrium of Lucas’ life. Thomas is subject to beating by the jailor because he is black, while Joseph isn’t touched, but doesn’t retalliate.
B. External Character conflicts.
Joseph will be tested by the jealous young males and soldiers in the village, led by Lucas. But he is stronger than all of them, leading to admiration or hatred. He is shunned by many villagers as the enemy among them. Antonia unexpectedly sets herself up on the opposite side of the BIG decision (to hide the Americans or not) from Lucas and her best friend.
C. Plot intruding on life.
Joseph and Thomas are prisoners, held in the village jail after the rest of the pirates are sent back to the ship. Their presence puts neighbors on edge, except for the military officer who saved Joseph from the firing squad and brought him home to El Pueblo. He proposes a test and work plan after the pirates are put on trial. Will the pair try to escape?
D. Moral dilemmas.
It is a dilemma for the entire town to allow these two foreign bad guys to stay, for it pits the villagers against King Phillip of <st1:country-region w:st=”on”><st1:place w:st=”on”>Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>, the iron hand of his government, and the far-reach of the Spanish Inquisition. What could be worth this? Why would they consider it, pitting themselves neighbor-against-neighbor? Is Joseph who he says he is – a humble ship’s carpenter forced to sail for the pirate captain — or is he a cutthroat biding his time to kill them? How can Joseph and Thomas be trusted after the destruction their crew caused up the coast before being captured in battle? There’s no proof they can be trusted. What is the real reason they seek refuge in enemy territory?
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Antonia breaks all the rules sneaking food to the prisoners in jail at the back window. She is voicing her opinions, not acceptable for a teen girl who must be demure. She is becoming more undesirable for marriage by the day. Her grandmother, who has been working for years to broker a good marriage for Antonia, is suddenly on the fence when she sees potential in a match with the white American. The priest who speaks up for keeping Joseph risks being seen as a renegade, alienating villagers who are Royalists and also terrified. For the military officer who led El Pueblo’s contingent to fight the pirates and captured Joseph, then saved him, this is an incomprehensible decision. To the pirate captain — a famed commodore actually — it is stunning to lose his men and be defeated by backwater bumpkins.
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Empathy/Distress
What I learned doing this assignment is that by defining my characters and setting up their trait conflicts, I had already thought of many of these empathy/distress situations. By enumerating them, I can ensure that they are used season by season and episode by episode. The lists become something of a quality checklist.
Assignment 1 — Big Little Lies
Examples of Empathy/Distress
Madeline’s past affair with the play director <div>
Celeste’s on-going struggle to go/stay with her abusive husband <div>
Jane’s son (Ziggy) accused of abusing a girl in his class
Madeline’s jealousy of her ex’s new wife (Bonnie)Madeline’s troubled/rebellious daughter and their deteriorating relationship
Celeste’s relationship with her therapist who is urging her to leave her husband and giving her information even though she isn’t ready to take it.
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Assignment 2 – My Show
Big Picture Empathy/Distress Situations </div><div>
1. Undeserved misfortune
A. Mike and Mindy die leaving Randy and the twins bereft and giving Cara a new obligation in life
B. Randy is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s
2. External Character Conflicts
A. The twins act out in grief
B. Jim tries to get the farm from Randy and Cara
C. The Alaska brothers try to get the farm from Cara
3. Plot intruding on life
A. Cara has to fit into the farmhouse and routine and learn about farming
B. Cara has to learn how farm communities work whether it’s school, church, business or the ag supply chain
4. Moral dilemmas
A. Randy wants Cara to use parapsychology techniques to help the farm perform, help them win land that is coming up for rent or sale, help the twins do better at everything and Cara wonders if Mindy had been ethical in her use of these techniques and if she can ethically do the same things Mindy did to save the farm for Mindy’s kids.
B. Cara agrees with Randy that Mindy and Mike didn’t want their Alaska brothers to raise the kids or come back to the farm, but she worries that her ineptitude is greater than theirs would be and she is short-changing the kids by not giving them more access to their uncles and cousins.
5. Forced decisions they’d never make
A. As Randy’s health and mind deteriorate, Cara must contradict him when he’s not thinking clearly, stop him from doing certain activities for health and safety reasons and try to understand his anger and frustration, always with the fear that he will kill himself out of despair which would be another huge loss for the kids. Each decision is weighed to balance Randy’s health, safety and self-respect against the needs of the farm and needs of the kids and Cara’s own need of counsel and support from Randy.
B. Cara uses parapsychology techniques to ease the pain of loss for the family, but wonders if using it to prolong Randy’s life is ethical or if she should use it to make his transition swift and as painless as possible.
</div></div> </div>
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Jean’s Show Empathy/Distress
What I learned doing this assignment is just like the previous ones, it takes deliberate thought to make the show binge-worthy. Creating empathy/Distress is a vital part of making that happen. Brainstorming ways and situations ahead of time will help make the process easier to weave them in.
ASSIGNMENT
1:THE VAMPIRE DIARIES
1) Stefan locks up a drugged Damon to keep him out of action.
2) Stefan’s vampire problems get in the way of his relationship with Elana.
3) Damon kills uncle Zak – the act hurts Stefan deeply.
4) Elana and Matt’s relationship remains awkward but getting better.
5) Jeremy is on a downward spiral, trying to find comfort and escape in drugs and loving Vicky.
6) Stefan’s secret keeps getting in the way of Elana’s and his relationship.
7) Bonnie struggles with who she may be – the witch.
8) Elana figures out, putting all the clues together, that Stefan is a vampire.
ASSIGNMENT
2:THE VAULT
1. The death of Sharra’s parents and subsequent abandonment by her brother. Her corrupt boss threatening her life.
2. Sharra’s attacked and stabbed. She thinks it’s her former boss. She joins the agency to get away.
3. Tanner and Faolan are in competition over Sharra and will undermine the other. Every move causes pain to the other and/or Sharra.
4. Tanner’s attacked on her first training mission and almost dies.
5. Sharra plans on going after her attacker alone. The crime boss in 1825 captures her. He knows about the Vault and wants in. Faolan has to expose himself to save her.
6. Sharra puts Tanner and Faolan in danger and must choose to save one.
7. Sharra interacts with her mother in the past. It causes a paradox that puts the Vault in danger of collapsing.
8. When facing J.D. Dash, Sharra’s dilemma is whether to kill him or let him go, knowing he will endanger everyone at the Vault.
9. Lazarus and Tanner know Sharra’s attacker is a Vault agent and keep that a secret from her.
10. At the Vault, Sharra is forced to kill J.D. or be killed, and puts herself at the mercy of the pylons, knowing it will mean her death too.
11. Having to lie to Lazarus that the Vault has linked with her. She can’t tell him because she fears her brain has rejected the agrylium and she’s gone crazy.
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Lesson 7
What I learned doing this assignment is…?” I had more of less thought that empathy came from just the first situation, an undeserved misfortune, or a character conflict that wasn’t necessarily their fault. Now I can see to really engage and stay with certain characters, there must be a range of things that are thrown at them. This assignment showed me how to look at different ways to engage the audience to make them worry about and care for the characters. To keep adding on more layers of distress.
ASSIGNMENT 1:
1. Watch the next episode of your Example Show and focus on the Empathy/Distress that shows up in this episode and throughout the season so far.
2. Notice the difference between Big Picture Empathy/Distress and detail oriented Empathy/Distress. Big Picture will have an impact across multiple episodes.
Deadline: 24 hours
Handmaid’s Tale
Ofred/June discovers the Mexican Ambassadors are not there to trade for food but are there to trade for Handmaids<div>
Ofred/June has an opportunity to tell someone from the outside world what is happening but her Commander and his wife are watching her, so she keeps quiet.
June is becoming more and more attracted to Nick. It’s becoming physical – its taking her mind off everything, including her daughter and husband. But very risky at the same time.
June realising that by not saying anything about the conditions she is living in, is now putting all the handmaids at risk.
She is keeping her mouth shut and not speaking up – something she would never have done before the new laws.
ASSIGNMENT 2:
1. Make a list of BIG PICTURE difficult situations and decisions your characters could make because of the main conflict of this series.
Just ask: “Knowing the concept, what are the big picture Empathy/Distress situations that could occur?”
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Nadine is lonely and has no work. Zoe is in an unhappy marriage and her money has been taken.B. External Character conflicts.
Nadine – the children and James do not want her at the house. Zoe has to go up against her husband but also discovers her friend was lying to her.C. Plot intruding on life.
A journalist is closing in on Nadine, and her relationship with her son. Zoe’s valium is beginning to affect her in strange ways, she is not thinking straight.D. Moral dilemmas.
Nadine grows to like Zoe and her children, it makes it hard for her. Nadine sees her son could be out of control, his political views are dangerous. Zoe decides blood is thicker than water, she hides evidence of what her father did.E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Nadine is forced to put Zoe away after she discovers Nay’s truth. Zoe threatens her husband.</div>
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Binge Worthy Lessons 7 – Empathy/Distress
I learned to look at the whole show for its EMPATHY AND DISTRESS, not just look at the smaller moments.
Assignment 1 – BIG LITTE LIES
When Bonnie snaps and pushes Perry, sending him down a flight of stairs and killing him, all her friends and their families are deeply impacted by this secret they’ve all promised to keep.
Concept of show: Lane Baer desperate for concept of his new book. When Christian Savage, the history teacher at the school where he is teaching, is murdered, he and his family become persons of interest.
Assignment 2 – ELEMENTS OF BETRAYAL
Underserved misfortune: the impact of the murder forces him to lose his job.
External Character conflicts: His wife becomes depressed as she had a strong attachment to Christian; his daughter Paige fears her mother is going to leave her father for Savage. She goes to Savage’s apartment to demand he leave her mother alone. That even she accuses Savage of raping her. Marta goes to Savage to confront him in person over the rape. Lane confronts Savage in public. All three characters cross Savage’s path the day he is murdered.
Plot intruding on life: Savage’s baby died, his wife left him. He brought this sadness to the Bare’s when he came to dinner.
Moral Dilemma’s: When evidence show that Marta had gone to Savage’s, taken latex gloves and a gun with her, and she accidentally fires the gun, she is accused. Baer isn’t sure if he believes she killed him. He fears it might have been Paige.
Forced Decisions They Never Make: Lane and Marta finally understand that Paige, their sixteen-year-old daughter killed Savage, they know she’s a sick girl and they must turn her in but they decide to protect her and keep her secret forever.
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Rob’s Show Empathy / Distress
Doing this assignment I realised that there are lots of tricky dilemmas that the characters face which highlight the challenges they are under and that these choices reveal a lot about who they are and the lengths they are prepared to go to manage their lives.
Assignment 1: Empathy / Distress in “The Vampire Diaries” so far …
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Elena and Jeremy, whose parents were killed in a car accident in the backstory
Stefan – continually tormented by and trying to manage Damon’s mischievousness
Caroline – continually fed-upon and manipulated by Damon
Vicky – the drub abuser who was fed upon by Damon, abused, terrorised, manipulated, mind-controlled, memory-erased and memory returned, turned into a vampire and subsequently killed.
Jeremy, who loved Vicky and observed her experiencing all of her challenges
Bonnie, confused and challenged by her own role and nature as a witch
Matt, confused and disappointed by being rejected by Elena in favour of Stefan, and also worrying about his sister, Vicky, with her drug-use and frequent disappearances
B. External Character conflicts.
Intentional:
Stefan vs Damon for control of the town
Damon vs the Founder’s Council over the vervain
Stefan vs Elena over secrets he keeps
Matt vs Stefan for Elena’s affections
Jeremy vs Tyson for Vicky’s affections
Bonnie vs Elena over whether Stefan is safe to be with
Unintentional:
Stefan’s conflict with Damon causes pain to Elena’s and the town in general
C. Plot intruding on life.
Damon re-enters Stefan’s quiet life
Elena discovers Stefan is a vampire
Bonnie discovers she is a witch
D. Moral dilemmas.
Elena: reject or accept Stefan, whose secrets she doesn’t like?
Stefan: drink human blood to be able to fight Damon? Kill Vicky to protect Elena and Jeremy? Lock up his own brother for 50 years to protect the world from him?
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Stefan reveals to Elena that he is a vampire
Stefan kills Vicky to protect Elena and Jeremy
Elena asks her nemesis, Damon, to mind-wipe Jeremy to forget what happened to Vicky and everything about vampires being real; she keeps the truth from Matt about his sister being both dead and a vampire
Bonnie explores her witch identity with her “crazy” grandma
Assignment 2: Empathy / Distress in “Mirage”
A. Undeserved misfortune.
Julia is being hunted by demons
David cannot touch people without them being repulsed by his touch
Brendan White lost his arm after being attacked, and has PTSD in similar situations
Madeleine has a mysterious skin rash that itches terribly, possibly of supernatural origin.
B. External Character conflicts.
Intentional:
David battles Vincent Chamberlain to protect Julia and Madeleine
Madeleine battles a demon extorting her to betray David
C. Plot intruding on life.
Demons attacking Julia place her in danger
David encountering Julia draws him into conflict with the demons
D. Moral dilemmas.
Will David reveal the whereabouts of his home with Madeleine, putting her at risk, in order to save Julia?
E. Forced decisions they’d never make.
Madeleine betrays David because she is being threatened by a demon
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Bingeworthy TV, Module 1
Lesson 7, Empathy/Distress: The Bingeworthy Drug!
What I learned from this assignment is to looking deeper into finding ways that create empathy and distress is to look at the wound and sometimes these things will also be reflected in the theme of the show. These are also good jumping off points to end with in the serial so audiences will continue watching.
Assignment 1: Big Little Lies: Madeline: A: Undeserved Misfortune: Her play is banned and petitioned against by Renatta, a rich women who seems to throw her weight around just because she stood up for Jane and her child, whose being wrongfully accused of bullying.
External Character Conflicts: Renatta is an external conflict. Joe, her producer, now has feelings for her and would like to rekindle her relationship which threatens her marriage.
Her daughter wants to live with her ex and his new young wife. Her ex and her present husband don’t get along, which also creates tension in their marriage. Because she is passionate about people she also gets involved in her friend’s lives and that will always be an ongoing concern.
Moral Dilemmas: Even though Madeline has feelings for Joe, she doesn’t want to ruin her marriage, because she knows her husband is a good man.
E: Forced Decisions They Would Never Make: So far Madeline tells her teenage daughter about her affair to illustrate that she is not perfect in order to keep her from making a colossal mistake. However, this is not something she should’ve done and it could come back to bite her in the ass.
Overall: We have empathy for Madeline, because she tries so hard to be a good mother and her teenage daughter doesn’t seem to appreciate her and gravitates towards her biological father who did little to raise her earlier. We also sense that her marriage is in trouble, which is confirmed when we find out she had an affair with the producer of her play. Madeline tries to be a good person.
Jane – Undeserved Misfortune: Jane was raped and had a child as a result of it that she is raising on her own. We also fear that the rapist could be a dangerous man and try and harm her.
External Character Conflicts: Jane’s son is also unfairly targeted as a bully, because he is the new kid on the block. She is embarrassed and centered out in the community. Her worry about her son inheriting anger issues terrifies her and this will be a big picture issue.
Plot Intruding on Life: Jane sets out to find out who her rapist is/was and this is putting her in dangerous situations, risk.
Moral Dilemmas: Why is Jane going after her ex? She seems to want to figure out if he is a dangerous man, so she says for the sake of her son, and perhaps her sanity. Or does she want to kill him?
Forced Decisions They’d Never Make: Jane might feel threatened enough to kill her rapist. Would she kill him depending on the circumstances? This is the question that keeps people watching. We also have a great deal of empathy/distress for her because she gets anxiety attacks has nightmares and flashbacks, so if she gets into one of these mindsets who knows what could happen.
Celeste – Undeserved Misfortune – Her husband is abusing her and sexually violent. The fact that she is keeping this a secret creates a lot of empathy for her. Celeste loves her husband and wants to keep her family together, so when she decides she should leave him it feels like a lose-lose situation for her.
External Character Conflict – She is going to counselling and the counsellor is telling her to leave her controlling husband. We know this is not going to end well. Celeste gets frustrated with her counsellor.
Plot Protruding on Life: Her husband also keeps her from working, which is one of her goals, as well. Madeline is telling her what a great lawyer she is when she defends her play, and this encourages her to go back to work. The tipping point is when Jane tells Celeste, her son Max is actually the school bully. Celeste then realizes despite the fact they have tried not to argue or show any violence in front of the children, the twins have overheard things and are now being affected by their volatile relationship.
Moral Dilemma: Should she leave her husband or will he change?
Forced Decisions They Would Never Make: Despite the love for her husband, she decides to leave him.
Renatta: Undeserved Misfortune: Renatta’s sweet daughter is being bullied in school and she isn’t certain who it is, which is driving her crazy.
Eternal Character Conflicts: Renatta believes it is Ziggy, Jane’s son. While she is wrong to blame him, her mistake creates a falling out among Madeline and a popular group of mothers and the school teacher and principal. Later on, when her husband tries to defend her, he just makes the situation worse.
Plot Intruding on Life: Her husband takes the incident lightly. Renatta’s career-minded and is driven to succeed, so her job keeps her from being a good mother. She also feels persecuted by others in the community for being so successful. She distresses about the gossip that goes on about her.
Moral Dilemmas: One of the moral dilemmas was Renatta’s choice to hold a birthday party and not invite Ziggy. Because some people, including Madeline who thought that was rude took several children to another event, so about three or four of Renatta’s daughter’s friends didn’t show up. When Renatta calls to try and make amends and fix this, Madeline and others refuse to go to the party, which wasn’t really a win for Renatta or Madeline.
Forced Decisions They Would Never Make: Renatta accepts Jane’s apology after Jane accidently elbows her in the eye. This gives us some empathy for Renatta and what she’s going through. Although, she is the least likeable of this group, we finally realize she’s also just trying to protect her child.
Assignment 2: Off Your Rocker- Undeserved Misfortune: Stuart’s big misfortune is his accident and discovering he has M.S. Then he also discovers his wife is having an affair and is leaving him. That leads to him losing his home and he ends up in a retirement village for the rehab and care when he’s only 49.
The other worst things that could happen is that his medications don’t work and his M.S. progresses to the point where he can’t find a cure. He is denied by the medical community.
External Character Conflicts: Stuart’s goals are not well received by the medical community that see him as competition. There are people in the retirement home that resent his being there. He decides to set up a mini-lab in his apartment, which goes against Beatrice the administrator, and others that enforce the rules in the home. There could be conflicts from his family who feel that his drive will almost make him self-destruct.
Stuart also has many internal character conflicts: some self -doubt when it comes to relationships with seniors and the thought of dating again can put him in a frenzy.
Plot Intruding on Life: In his professional life, Stuart will come across envious people he works with and the dean of the university he will be doing research in that will try to disrupt his goals.
On his personal goal of becoming a good dad and husband some day. The woman he chooses may have to jeopardize her career somewhat to be with him. Stuart may now have to adjust his career to be with her – not travel as much down the road. Maddy also has her eye on
Stuart, which she makes quite clear to Sarah Meade the counsellor and object of Stuart’s attention. Hank, the ghost, also dislikes Stuart because he is still in love with Maddy. He can cause all forms of mischief.
There is some tension between his ex-wife over his ability to move on, and jealousy from Frank. Perhaps, Stuart’s disease also drives him farther away from his children in some ways. He isn’t able to visit enough or be attentive. He worries they may forget about him before he’s deceased.
Moral Dilemmas: Stuart may have to give up his work as a marine scientist working on climate change and the sustainability of oceans and waterways to work on this cure for M.S. This is important work that he has always loved, so it’s a bit of a gamble. What if he doesn’t find a cure?
Forced Decisions They Would Never Make: Perhaps Stuart would have to give up his goal to save the planet to save himself? Stuart believes he can have it all and will go for gold, as they say and try and reach both goals. He may also want to make a stronger connection between sea creatures and humans but is this achievable in his lifetime. No one knows how long they are going to live.
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