As far as the core story types are concerned, "Titanic" and " On Chesil Beach " are both love stories, and the plots are basically the same: a poor young man meets a beautiful lady - love at first sight - sudden changes - separation - endless memories. To simplify it further, it is: falling in love - breaking up - remembering.
But why do the two show different artistic appeal? This article attempts to analyze one or two.
1. Different scenes: "Titanic" sets the story on a unique giant ship. The exterior scene is the vast sea and the interior scene is a magnificent palace on the sea, which extremely shows the luxury of the Western upper class; "On Chesil Beach" sets the scene on a beautiful beach, with the exterior scene being a beach and a forest, and the interior scene being a hotel, workplace, family, etc., showing the daily life of ordinary people.
2. Different roles: In "Titanic", the male protagonist Jack is a poor loser who is enthusiastic, cheerful, handsome, and talented in painting; the female protagonist Rousi'er is a white, rich and beautiful woman who is on her honeymoon with her rich, handsome fiancé. In "On Chesil Beach", the male protagonist Edward is also a poor loser, equally handsome, but very different from Jack in character. He has low self-esteem due to family reasons, and is a bit violent because of low self-esteem. The heroine Florence is also white, rich and beautiful, which is different from Rousi'er. She has the artistic flavor of a musician, but she has a hidden low self-esteem due to her childhood experiences. However, this low self-esteem is different from Edward's low self-esteem, so it is more reserved and unknown to outsiders.
3. Different turning points: This is the biggest difference between the two. All stories must have twists and turns. In "Titanic", the turning point comes from the outside - the giant ship hits an iceberg and sinks; in "On Chesil Beach", the turning point comes from the inside - Florence's unknown inferiority complex is finally known to Edward, and Edward is also a person with inferiority complex and is paranoid about certain things, which leads to a huge turning point for the two people who were originally deeply in love.
4. Different endings: Relatively speaking, "Titanic" is an external story, so the ending is designed to be relatively simple: Jack died in a shipwreck, leaving behind endless memories; "On Chesil Beach" is A story that tells an inner story has a more complicated ending: after the male protagonist and the female protagonist separated, they lived their own lives. The male protagonist surrendered and indulged in life, and was finally left alone; the female protagonist agreed to her pursuer, the cellist, and went further and further on the road of art. In the end, the whole family was happy. Half a century later, the two met again, but they had completely changed, which made people sigh.
5. Different meanings: "Titanic" moves the love story into a shipwreck, implying that all people's love will be baptized by wind and rain, and even that all people's success and all people's lives will be baptized by wind and rain. Frustration and ups and downs can be smooth sailing, but failure can lead to complete failure; "On Chesil Beach" moves the love story to a beautiful seaside and two people with secrets in their hearts, implying that seemingly beautiful love must be baptized by wind and rain, and even the success and life of all of us are not without some bumps in the road?
Conclusion: The secret hidden in Florence's heart is the "Titanic" between her and Edward. Edward could not get over this hurdle and had to give up; while the cellist got over it and finally ushered in a beautiful love and career.
"Titanic" finally sank into the sea.
All the romance finally came to nothing.
After all the prosperity, people are still witnesses of their own loneliness.
I would like to ask: Isn’t there a “Titanic” hidden in the heart of each of us modern people?
