I didn't really enjoy this read. It was an okay story, but I'm just not a fan of romance stories, and The Apartment, at least to me, was nothing more than a romance story using a plot that's been done many times before. Man loves woman, but woman is in love with another man that isn't a good relationship for her, they become friends, then she leaves the bad relationship for the caring friend. Honestly, I was bored throughout the read. There was very little that stood out about this particular story, making it better or at least more memorable than the others.
Only really one thing interested me, and that was Baxter's relationship with his neighbors. He based his entire relationship with them off of a lie, and held fast to that lie even when he had no real reason to; when he was packing to leave. I found myself more interested in what would happen when he tried to explain the truth to the Dreyfuss', or reading a scene where the Dreyfuss' found out the truth, than in the romance itself. I felt that Baxter's upholding of this lie, something that hurt his personal life and relationship with the people he had to live with, as more of a defining feature of who Baxter is than anything else displayed.
However, although to me it was his strongest representing factor, it also seemed to be a character flaw. People are much more often inclined to protect themselves than allow themselves to suffer for others, especially those whom they don't care about. And yet, Baxter made no move to defend himself. I don't know if this was intended or not, but this made Baxter feel rather weak-willed. His giving in to his coworkers was used as a constant show of his subservience, but even after he quit his job and denied them access, he still allowed his reputation to be demeaned. This, to me, made Baxter's strength towards the end of the story feel fake and spurious, like it was more that he didn't care anymore rather than decided to fight for himself. And that sort of weakens the meaning of his act.
I guess overall, The Apartment was a typical romance, even if at the time of its creation it was something new. It wasn't really memorable, and could have probably used more development for Baxter, as through most of the story he didn't change at all, and when he did, it felt weak.
-Josh Milstein
1. How would you have had the ending conversation go between Baxter and Fran, after Baxter confesses his love for her? Did the way that it was written feel incomplete in any way, or did it give a sense of closure to the story?
2. What do you think the card game Bud and Fran played together represented? Why did the writer have Bud win the first two rounds so easily? Could Fran's vigor for the game at the end, and apparent ability at shuffling the cards represent something?
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2 comments:
I thought that the ending was abrupt, but not incomplete. Bud said "I love you, Miss Kubelik," and even though she didn't say it back, the fact that she left Sheldrake and ran to his apartment showed that she loves him. I definitely would have appreciated a little bit more, like maybe a proposal, rather than them just playing cards in his apartment, but I thought the ending was adequate.
-Kyle Deason
I felt the ending was appropriate, and not too open-ended. Anything more complete(such as her outright stating that she loves him) would add another level of sappy-ness to the story. The way the ending was written implies a happy ending for both Bud and Fran, whether they end up together or not.
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