The Sun; Process Statement
My short story, “The Sun” was primarily inspired by Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” but was also strongly influenced by British horror cinema story characteristics as seen in the movie “The Descent” that we studied in class. Like in Gilman’s story the protagonist of “The Sun” is a girl who suffers from a trauma. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, it is implied that the woman suffers from postpartum depression, however Grace mourns the loss of her best friend. Combined with a mother who is not overly present and a missing father, Grace is very damaged. Similarly to Gilman’s character’s manic transformation when she finally destroys the yellow wallpaper and overcomes her controlling husband, Grace becomes so angry at the world which has done her wrong that she uses her anger to unleash complete destruction on the planet. Furthermore, Grace becomes the ‘final girl’. This is a common technique used near the end of british horror films where the last survivor overcomes her weakness in order to cope. This is how Grace becomes able to return to Graceland, the place that she considers her home. Another characteristic that I drew from British horror cinema is the initial escape to a different world for recreation. Usually in the film genre, the characters venture into nature, while Grace goes to a spiritual place instead and ends up facing all of her demons. Finally, like in The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, Grace has a doppelgänger. We realize this in the moment before her metamorphosis. Grace sees Paige originally, but then notices that it wasn’t Paige at all because Paige was confident, and Grace was the opposite. So in this moment, Paige is Grace’s Doppelgänger. She is everything that Grace wished she could be. Seeing the fear on her own face gave her the strength to transform into a more masculine, confident character. She became more like Paige in order to overcome what she could not face when she was timid. It is up to the audience to decide whether Grace is crazy or powerful, or whether the true fear of global warming which is ever present in our society could have been the cause of the end of the world. This story is a map of the emotions experienced by most teenagers as the world tries to break them and they fight to overcome their own fears, jealousies and frustrations.
