Woody Allen, born Allen Stewart Konigsberg , is a Jewish artist, who is mostly known as filmmaker – but he carries several faces and puts his work into several fields. Although his movies often seem to deal with the same topics, Allen never concentrates on only one genre, as we worked out during our seminar and the expert sessions. Besides his widely spread image of the intellectual and humorous filmmaker, he put his thoughts into prose and stand-up comedy, too; he wrote articles for magazines like New York Times, Playboy or The New Republic and of course he is known through his roles in his own films. By acting out his own roles he has written, Woody Allen as the private person and the public known Woody Allen, somehow melted together; so, the viewer can find more personal elements in Allen`s movies, as he or she may expect. Or better said, he by some means performed himself through the stories of his films.
Besides the fact that Allen mostly acted out the role of the protagonist in his movies and barring that the topics of the movies seem to be repetitive, there are other typical elements that continuously appear in his movies, what in this paper – as it already have been in our expert session – will be depicted as “allenesque elements”. These are for instance the neurotic characters, the Jewishness (that apparently refers to his private persona), the psycho-analysis, the fusion of reality and fiction, unhappy relationships, love-affairs and the element of the anxious behavior, towards special issues, of some of his characters are just a number of the main subjects that are typical of Woody Allen stories. But Allen`s audience is not only “confronted” with these topics in his movies; as already mentioned, he also developed his ideas in prose and short stories.
With his book “Mere Anarchy”, in 2007 Woody Allen brought out his fourth collection of short stories and the first since 27 years. During this time he was mostly occupied with his movies; nearly every year, a new Allen movie was released. His new short story collection “Mere Anarchy” contains 18 pieces of which ten have been published in the New Yorker. Furthermore the reader can encounter the well known and already mentioned “allenesque” topics that in this case are for instance the doubt or self-doubts, the fact of loving women he cannot reach and the preference for progressive topics that were part of some of his movies, too. [...]
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. “Sam, you made the pants too fragrant”
1.1 The story
1.1.1 A summary of the plot
1.1.2 A possible background of the story
1.2 Analyzing the story
2. Conclusion: Woody Allen and progress in life
3. Bibliography
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines Woody Allen's short story "Sam, You Made The Pants Too Fragrant" to analyze his satirical perspective on technological progress and postmodern consumerism, while exploring the connection to traditional "allenesque" themes and his literary inspirations.
- Analysis of Woody Allen's satirical approach to technological clothing.
- Exploration of "allenesque elements" in Allen's prose.
- Investigation of the relationship between the short story and the 1930s song "Sam, You Made the Pants Too Long".
- Discussion of Woody Allen's critique of modern consumer society and technological dependency.
Excerpt from the Book
1.2 Analyzing the story
Going over to the analysis of Sam, You Made The Pants Too Fragrant, it is to mention, that first only a short excerpt will be analyzed in detail, while the further explanations will refer to the whole short story.
In order to analyze a certain excerpt from the story, I have chosen a section, where the protagonist`s attitude and his perception towards the technological clothing starts to change. So, it is some kind of transition from his old standards to a newer one but nevertheless not long lasting. The passage starts at the top of page 32 and goes up to the bottom of the same page: “‘Well, it`s motivated by the suit. […]’ […] ‘Now, that`s more like it,’ […]”. This excerpt is situated in a part, where Benno Duckworth by some means stands between his traditional opinion of clothes and the suit he is looking for and the change of his view towards the postmodern fashion. While in the earlier parts and in the beginning of this excerpt he is somehow confused about the new way of garments and wonders what it is good for, in the end of this passage he seems to change his mind according this topic.
The setting of this passage is the tailoring establishment “Bandersnatch and Bushelman” where postmodern fabrics and clothes are sold. There are two characters, Benno Duckworth – the protagonist of the short story – and Binky Peplum, the salesman; both of them also appear before and after this selected passage. From the beginning of the story, the protagonist is by
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Provides a biographical overview of Woody Allen and introduces the core concept of "allenesque elements" found in his films and prose.
1. “Sam, you made the pants too fragrant”: Analyzes the plot of the short story and investigates the potential influence of the 1930s song "Sam, You Made the Pants Too Long" as a stylistic foundation.
1.1 The story: Details the narrative arc and the specific literary origins of the short story in the context of technological clothing.
1.1.1 A summary of the plot: Summarizes the encounters of Benno Duckworth within the futuristic tailor shop "Bandersnatch and Bushelman".
1.1.2 A possible background of the story: Explores the thematic and cultural links between the song and the short story, including connections to the Jewish background of both works.
1.2 Analyzing the story: Conducts a detailed analysis of a specific narrative excerpt to illustrate the protagonist's changing attitude toward technological fashion.
2. Conclusion: Woody Allen and progress in life: Synthesizes the findings, arguing that the story serves as a critical examination of the dangers of modern, consumer-driven technology.
3. Bibliography: Lists the primary and secondary sources used in the paper.
Keywords
Woody Allen, Mere Anarchy, Sam You Made The Pants Too Fragrant, postmodernism, technology, consumer society, allenesque elements, satire, literary analysis, Benno Duckworth, tailoring, fashion, progress, humor, neurosis.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper provides a literary analysis of Woody Allen's short story "Sam, You Made The Pants Too Fragrant" to uncover his views on contemporary technological progress.
What are the main thematic areas addressed?
The core themes include the intersection of traditional human behavior and postmodern technology, the critique of consumerism, and the preservation of "allenesque" character traits.
What is the central research question?
The paper asks how the story reflects "allenesque elements" and to what extent it offers a critique of modern technological advances in the fashion industry.
Which scientific methodology does the author use?
The author employs literary analysis, focusing on narrative structure, dialogue, and comparative studies between the short story and historical cultural references.
What topics are covered in the main section?
The main section covers the plot summary, the potential inspiration from 1930s music, a detailed character analysis, and an examination of the symbolism behind the technological garments.
Which keywords best describe the work?
Key terms include Woody Allen, postmodernism, satire, technological clothing, and the critical observation of contemporary life.
How does the author characterize the protagonist, Benno Duckworth?
Duckworth is presented as a typical "allenesque" character: nervous, neurotic, and initially resistant to modern trends, reflecting a common struggle with rapid social change.
What is the significance of the "Bandersnatch and Bushelman" setting?
The shop serves as the primary stage where the conflict between traditional values and futuristic, potentially dangerous technological fashion plays out.
What conclusion does the author reach regarding Woody Allen's view on progress?
The author concludes that Allen portrays technology as a double-edged sword—potentially useful, but often a source of harmful, useless luxury that individuals should question rather than blindly accept.
- Quote paper
- B.A. Hülya Akkaş (Author), 2008, Analysis of Woody Allen's short story "Sam you made the pants too fragrant", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/145460
