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Antoine Syverain Screenwriting 1 Assignment 1: I Spy short story break down 03 November 2015 Answers: The story takes place during World War 1 but not exactly

sure of his location other than he lives near the sea. The

protagonist is CHARLIE STOWE, a twelve years old kid whose

school buddies mocked because he has never smocked a

cigarette. So that night, Charlie waits for his mother to

fall asleep to tip toe in the basement where his father

keeps a small stash of cigarette he sells. Charlie however

justifies his act by criticizing his father for never

giving him the attention he craves so much. Once he feels

his mother is asleep, he then sneaks into the basement,

where it was dark. But, he is forced to keep the light off

because there are patrol lights, they are living in the

midst of a major war. He waits until the patrol light

provides some illumination, then he makes his move. On his

way back to bed, his father suddenly arrives along with a

few work buddies, assuming they are military men because

one them used the word “duty” which is typical military

lingo. Charlie is now trapped in the kitchen and fears

getting caught. Observing his father, he realizes that he

shares a similarity with his dad, which is doing things

that frightened him in the dark. Moments later his father

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left and Charlie runs back to his bed. He suddenly fells

the urge to run outside and tells his dad he loves him, but

by then his father was too far and Charlie fells a sleep,

not smocking a cigarette.

My approach: As part of the set up I would establish a concrete location

and reveal the story world of the protagonist and how scary

it is, establishing a the house in total darkness with the

search lights patrolling everywhere. Then I would focus on

the house and how the front porch is messed up as mentioned

in the story. Establish the inside of the house, his mother

in her bed and then finally get to our protagonist. I would

build the story by having the protagonist murmur t himself,

which the audience might interpret as him being very lonely

due to his low status and the war. Also because he has no

one to talk to, this makes it very difficult for

exposition. I would reveal his feelings of hatred toward

his father by having the protagonist purposefully

mishandled items belonging to his father. In the climax, I

would have him go back and grab one of his father items and

bringing back to bed with him, seeing it through a

different set of lenses, one that give rise to sympathetic

and apologetic feelings in our protagonist.