Are odd couples destined to succeed or doomed to fail?

Thèmes abordés

Odd couples, littérature, friendship, relationship, Of mice and men, Des souris et des hommes, John Steinbeck, ET l'extra-terrestre

Résumé du document

Ce texte est une préparation pour une soutenance orale au baccalauréat d'anglais. Elle s'appuie sur trois documents :
- Un extrait du film Eliot and Groucho Marx ;
- Un extrait de Of mice and men (Des souris et des hommes), de John Steinbeck ;
- Une affiche du film E.T..

"Odd couples are pairs of people who despite several obvious differences, such as social class, gender, or any other factor, have to work together to achieve an objective. Their behavior may reflect such differences, in the form or constant quarrels, or they may go along very well, providing some comedic relief to the narration from time to time."

Extraits

[...] the Extra-Terrestrial", in which an odd couple of a young kid and an alien manage to overcome all kinds of odds to send ET back home. If compared to the other examples, Groucho Marx and T.S. Elliot had a much more simple, and normal relation: they became pen pals, and eventually met each other's, despite living on opposite sides of the world. Both show the interest each man has in the other, despite the sharp differences in their character, Groucho being a Jewish migrant to the USA; while Eliot was a rich, monarchist and anti-Semite. [...]

[...] In his "of mice and men", an odd couple of California farmers try to find a way to survive the Great Depression. They are faced with a difficult situation, rendered particularly hard by Lenny's mental retardation and simple character, which makes him easy to pick on. Despite the tragic ending, the passage we analyzed clearly shows how the two members of this odd couple complement each other and benefit from their company, as can be seen in lines 75-80, where they complete each other's sentences. [...]

[...] Are odd couples destined to succeed or doomed to fail? As part of the theme "meeting other people, love and friendship", we have analyzed several documents reflecting the literary archetype of odd couples. These couples have long been a fixed model of literature, all the way from Greek theatre plays to modern times. In order to talk about this topic, a definition is first necessary. Odd couples are pairs of people who despite several obvious differences, such as social class, gender, or any other factor, have to work together to achieve an objective. [...]

[...] The poster shows teo key moments of their relationship: their first encounter, in which their fingers, so similar yet so different, touch; and their final bike ride together, therefore visually showing that they are more similar than other people realize. As we have seen, odd couples have long been part of our world, both in literature, cinema and in real life. While their function is different, and may even end in tragedy, they have had a very important role. It is therefore worth wondering: do odd couples still have a place in the modern literature, and in the modern globalized world? [...]