Although varied in their subjects, a good many of them involve professors and antiquarians, either conducting research or else on holiday, who stumble upon some ancient text, cryptic stained-glass window, or mysterious artifact. The whistle at the center of "Whistle and I'll Come To You" is perhaps the most famous, with its two inscriptions in Latin: Quis est iste qui vent ("Who is this who is coming?") and Fur fla bis fle ("Thief, blow twice, go mad"). But wait -- saying anything more would ruin the story!
One of the reasons that James's tales have had such staying power is that their brief, economical structure made them ideal for adaptation to the new medium of television, with nearly fifty separate versions of his tales, including episodes of Night Gallery, Mystery and Imagination, Omnibus, and Ghost Stories for Christmas (with Christopher Lee). "Whistle and I'll Come To You" has actually been done twice by the BBC. The first was in 1968 starring Michael Hordern (a veteran character actor whom some may recall as Vincent Price's first victim in 1973's Theatre of Blood); the second, made in 2010, features John Hurt. The different ways in which each is handled tell us something about the durability of James's stories, as well as the way a director's mind works -- what's the essence of the story? Is there another angle which could open it up to a fresh treatment? And for the actor, who has the challenging task of portraying a rational, educated man faced with something no rational mind could grasp, there's certainly a lot of great material in James's Professor Parkin; personally, I think Hordern captures it best -- a man perpetually on the edge of knowing what to do, shunned a little for his awkwardness, brilliant but easily perplexed. In this class, though, it's you who will be the judge!
Please choose one of these discussion questions and post your answer below:
Jodi Fowle
ReplyDeleteQuestion 3
I believe the professor just made a curious decision to blow the whistle because of the written words inscripted on it that says who is coming. He blew the whistle out of curiosity which led to unforeseen supernatural activities.
Question #3
ReplyDeleteI feel as though the professor blew the whistle because of his own curiosity and sense of adventure. When your exploring ruins of a knight in the first place you have to be curious in a sense so I feel like when he saw the whistle it was a no brainer to blow it.
Question 1:
ReplyDeleteI think the extra bed symbolizes the intrusion of the supernatural within the professor's own reality. Based on the clues of description within the story, the bed seems to depict itself as a physical manifestation of a haunting presence/feeling, almost as if someone was in the room with the professor. The bantering between Parkins and Rogers adds a little bit of a light and humor to the story, taking the layer of eeriness off for a short moment, and it almost acts as a bridge between suspenseful moments. Lastly, the "truth" in this story reflects the professor's struggle to connect his beliefs to the paranormal events that he experiences. It ends up raising the question of what he thinks and what we think is real, challenging the boundaries of one's understanding.
A good comment, Ryan. And yes, perhaps we should challenge those boundaries. After all, most of us believe that Australia exists, though in all probability none of us have seen it, or will.
DeleteQuestion 3 - In "Whistle and I'll Come to You," the professor blows the whistle to awaken a sense of curiosity and exploration within himself. Initially, he seems skeptical about the supernatural, dismissing it as basic superstition. However, his blowing of the whistle signifies a turning point in his perspective of the story. The whistle symbolizes his subconscious wish to delve into the unknown and challenge his rational beliefs. As he blows the whistle, he unknowingly invites the supernatural into his life, setting off a chain of suspicious events. The professor's action reflects his secret for adventure and discovery, even if it leads him into unfamiliar and potentially dangerous areas. Furthermore, the whistle serves as a metaphor for the power of human curiosity, which can sometimes lead to unforeseen problems. Additionally, the whistle acts as a catalyst for the unfolding of the story's suspense and mystery, drawing readers into the narrative. Ultimately, the professor blows the whistle as a symbolic gesture of his willingness to confront the unknown, unaware of the terrifying consequences that will follow.
ReplyDeleteLexianna Santos:
ReplyDeleteQuestion # 5:
In “Whistle and I’ll Come For You, my Lad,” the nature of the ghost involves the fact that the fact that the ghost can only take on a form by cloaking itself in a sheet implies that it lacks its own identity adding to its unnerving nature. It almost points out that the ghost is not a traditional spirit of a person who passed but rather some form of malevolent entity of fear or guilt. Parkins skepticism and disbelief in the supernatural was challenged by the events that he experienced. His encounter with the ghost, which he initially dismisses as an illusion or his mind/eyes playing a trick on him, forces him to confront and accept the possibility that there are entities beyond his understanding. The ghost's ability to take on a form by cloaking itself in a sheet highlights the theme of fear taking shape. Fear is usually something you can't touch or see, but in this story, it becomes real and scary for Parkin's. It shows how fear can come to life from deep inside your mind and can become dangerous.
Question 3.
ReplyDeleteThe Professor blew the whistle because of his intellectual curiosity. He views this finding as simply a piece of archeological treasure. At one point in the film version of this story he expresses that it has some sort of monetary value that he can take advantage of. To the Professor, this whistle is a piece of human history that can provide insight to the historical period it was from. He is drawn in by the inscription and the ambiguity of the whistle. Prior to this point, he has a philosophy that heaven and earth are void of the supernatural. The Professor’s intellectual pride caused him to carelessly summon the supernatural to torment him. His reason has been overthrown when suspenseful and horrific events overtake his conscious and physical world. This unfolding of events contradicts his previous understanding of the world to believe there are more things in heaven and earth.
In the story "whistle and I'll come to you", the professor named Parkin's who went on a golfing vacation discovered a haunting whistle in the ruins. He then discovers that when he blows the whistle, supernatural events occur. In regards to the second question, the styles and theme between Parkin's and Poe's narration are different. Poe explores the psychological and emotional factors of his characters into madness, while Parkin tends t focus on the traditional genre of English Ghost stories. However, I found that both authors shares a common interest in supernatural and eerie events. Parkin's characters, like Poe's, also experiences a disturbance in their realities, and his stories involve psychological element as he deals with the paranormal consequences of his actions.
ReplyDelete- Ian Cabrera
Good comment, Ian. I was thinking particularly of the prologue in the story, where Parkins is made fun of for his being a stickler for exact truth. I also think that, more so than the written story, the BBC dramatization goes into the psychological elements, and Hordern's characterization is certainly a disturbed and disturbing one.
DeleteQuestion 3:
ReplyDeleteI believe that the professor blew the whistle just because. If you find a whistle what else are you going to do with it? If an object has a purpose, you will most likely use it for that purpose. Just like if you were to find a pencil you would use it to write. If an object has a distinct purpose that is what you are going to do. The purpose of a whistle is to be blown so that is what the professor did.
Well, that makes a certain kind of sense, from a utilitarian viewpoint. But what if the pencil had some sort of warning stamped on it, such as "Write with me and my servant you'll be"? It mightn't be so easy. My favorite example of this sort of thing is Manuel Puig's novel Eternal Curse on the Reader of These Pages -- of course, I read it, years ago -- so far, so good!
DeleteDiscussion question 3: The professor was fascinated by the whistle and wanted to reveal "who is coming" once he blew it. I think he was curious to see if the whistle truly had an importance of bringing someone to him. As he expressed before, he did not believe in ghosts, so maybe he wanted to see if they really did exist. He also enjoyed the sound and continued to blow it multiple times, remarking at how the wind started to rush outside. I think after blowing the whistle he was uneasy and frightened as to what would happen next.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 3: I believe that the professor blew the whistle because he was very curious as to what was going to happen. I don’t blame him if I found an old and spooky looking whistle in a ruin I would probably see if it still makes a noise, well maybe not after reading this I won’t anymore. The whistle in this story acted as a symbol for the professor to investigate the unknown thus leading him into the chain of events that took place afterwards. Everyone does this in their lives it may not be actually blowing a whistle, but some other sort of risk taking action or event to investigate the unknown.
ReplyDeleteI believe the professor blew the whistle out of curiosity and he was also skeptical. He was very rational and does not believe in the supernatural and he sees the warnings and was very curious by the significance of the whistle, so he blows it to see what will happen.
ReplyDeleteJoe Johnson in response to Question 3:
ReplyDeleteIn "Whistle and I'll Come to You," I believe the Professor blows the whistle to attempt to disprove the supernatural world. He discovers the ancient whistle buried in the sand and is warned by locals that it is a dangerous item. He ignores these warnings and decides to test it, not believing in its supposed powers. However, his decision to blow the whistle sets off a series of eerie and disturbing events, ultimately leading to his confrontation with a frightening entity. His skepticism is challenged as he grapples with the inexplicable events that follow.
carina marques
ReplyDeletequestion 3: i believe the professor blew the whistle just to satisfy his strong curiosity . The term "curiosity killed the cat" is a perfect example to show our need to know the unknown no matter the consequence. Taking risks to reveal the unknown is in our nature.
Mia JeanLouis
ReplyDeleteI choose discussion question 3
The professor unintentionally blows the whistle in the "Whistle and I'll Come to You" movie, setting off paranormal and unsettling happenings. The whistle blowing acts as a trigger for the story's unfolding supernatural events.
Liana Nerbonne
ReplyDeleteQuestion 3.
I think the professor blew the whistle simply because he was intensely curious. It's like the saying goes, "curiosity killed the cat," which illustrates our inherent drive to uncover the unknown, regardless of potential consequences. It's part of human nature to take risks in order to explore and discover what lies beyond our current understanding.
kellie kelleter
ReplyDeleteQuestion #3
when reading the story and watching the film I believe the professor had an underlying curiosity to believe the mythical creatures and ghosts. that perhaps he didn't believe because he never saw such a thing. so when the whistle was found, at first it was just an object. But when the professor took it home to see the writing on the back, then he was more curious about what could happen if he did blow it. he wanted to test his consciousness and the myths. I would have done the same to see, what will happen? After he blew it he was nervous and overthinking about the wind and what he saw at the beach. During the story he seemed to be more aware of what he wanted to believe, but couldn't fully because he can only believe what he sees. And by the end when he sees the ghost, the rest of his life he goes about believing the supernatural. So I believe the professor blew the whistle to test a theory if something supernatural would happen. He wouldn't believe it if he didn't see.
Byron Veliz- I belive the proffesor blew the whistle because he is curious on why he was the one that had to find this whistle. Additionally most importantly I feel he blew ir because he felt it would attract anybody if he blew the whistle specificaly the person who owned the whistle. Also the professor nevr heard of a whistle so he had to get the experience and blow it. We all aren'y humans if we dont try new things or ever dont wonder about something.
ReplyDeleteAllison Quinn:
ReplyDeleteI am responding to question one. I think the extra bed in the room has a few different significances. I’m not sure if this superstition was before the stories time, but when I visited friends that previously shared a bed with siblings who moved out they used to leave it with stuff on it. I remember asking why, and they wanted the bed to look occupied because it was believed if you left it unoccupied stray spirits could claim it. So when having the discussion in class it sparked this memory, but I also think it serves a good way to show what the main character is like a little bit. We see that he values his alone time, and even though he considers himself very honest he isn’t very truthful in a way. Giving him a character flaw it makes him more relatable to the reader even though the story is short. It builds a connection cause I’m sure others have had similar confrontations. A part of me liked an idea that this discussion about truth was between the only characters who had names. Even Roger’s questioned the nature of the professor in their discussion. The professor seems to believe that truth is what you can see, and prove with facts. A lot of times the idea of knowing a name holds power, and has truth to it. I think this there’s a purpose to them having this discussion especially cause they have somewhat opposing views on the topic.
Karla
ReplyDeleteQuestion 3
I think the professor used the whistle because of the curious intuition that we humans have when something seems interesting to us. He also did it to demonstrate that the supernatural did not exist, something that was not what he believed.
Lucas McElroy -
ReplyDeleteI believe the professor blew the whistle because he was just trying to find out what would happen. The professor probably just saw the whistle and then decided to blow into it. I do not believe there is anything more to it than that just the fact that the professor found the whistle and then blew into it.
Amanda Viveiros
ReplyDeleteI believe that the professor blew the whistle because he was just curious. He wanted to know what would happen, and he felt even more compelled because he was the one who found it and saw the whistle as some sort of treasure. He also was skeptical of the supernatural so he did not really believe something like that would come out of him just blowing the whistle. Although if I found an old whistle with the words it said on it I wouldn't have personally blown it
I think the reason the professor came out was that he was merely curious about what would happen. It's likely that the professor simply saw the whistle and chose to blow into it. The professor discovered the whistle and blew into it; I don't think there is much more to it than that.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 1
ReplyDeleteThe extra bed, in my opinion, represents the supernatural's encroachment on the professor's world. The bed seems to portray itself as a tangible embodiment of a haunting presence or emotion, almost as if someone was in the room with the professor, based on the description hints throughout the novel. In addition to providing a brief break from the eerie atmosphere, Parkins and Rogers' bantering virtually serves as a transition between the story's frightening scenes. Finally, the professor's attempt to make a connection between his beliefs and the paranormal occurrences he experiences is reflected in the "truth" of this narrative. In the end, it begs the question of how genuine he believes something is and how we believe it.
Franz Eliasson