| Revision as of 18:19, 14 December 2018 edit24.38.70.162 (talk) →References← Previous edit | Revision as of 18:23, 14 December 2018 edit undo24.38.70.162 (talk) story timeNext edit → | ||
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| The story about Wally being shot down over Burma was based in part on that of Irving's biological father (whom he never met), who had been shot down over Burma and survived.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/28/books/novelist-builds-fact-reach-truth-john-irving-begins-with-his-memories.html?scp=28&sq=&st=nyt&pagewanted=all|title=A Novelist Builds Out From Fact To Reach The Truth; John Irving Begins With His Memories|date=1998-04-28|author=Mel Gussow|work=The New York Times|accessdate=2009-11-07}}</ref> | The story about Wally being shot down over Burma was based in part on that of Irving's biological father (whom he never met), who had been shot down over Burma and survived.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/28/books/novelist-builds-fact-reach-truth-john-irving-begins-with-his-memories.html?scp=28&sq=&st=nyt&pagewanted=all|title=A Novelist Builds Out From Fact To Reach The Truth; John Irving Begins With His Memories|date=1998-04-28|author=Mel Gussow|work=The New York Times|accessdate=2009-11-07}}</ref> | ||
| ++story time++ | |||
| ==Plot== | |||
| Hey there, Delilah | |||
| Homer Wells grows up in an ]age where he spends his childhood trying to be "of use" as a medical assistant to the director, Dr. Wilbur Larch, whose history is told in ]: After a traumatic misadventure with a ] as a young man, Wilbur turns his back on sex and love, choosing instead to help women with unwanted pregnancies give birth and then keeping the babies in an orphanage. He makes a point of maintaining an emotional distance from the orphans, so that they can more easily make the transition into an adoptive family, but when it becomes clear that Homer is going to spend his entire childhood at the orphanage, Wilbur trains the orphan as an ] and then comes to love him like a son. | |||
| What's it like in New York city? | |||
| I'm a thousand miles away | |||
| Wilbur's and Homer's lives are complicated by Wilbur also secretly being an ]ist. Wilbur came to this work reluctantly, but he is driven by having seen the horrors of back-alley operations. Homer, upon learning Wilbur's secret, considers it morally wrong. | |||
| But, girl, tonight you look so pretty | |||
| Yes, you do | |||
| As a young man, Homer befriends a young couple, Candy Kendall and Wally Worthington, who come to St. Cloud's for an abortion. Homer leaves the orphanage, and returns with them to Ocean View Orchards (Wally's family's orchard) in Heart's Rock, near the Maine coast. Wally and Homer become best friends and Homer develops a secret love for Candy. Wally goes off to serve in the ] and his plane is shot down over ]. He is presumed missing by the military, but Homer and Candy both believe he is dead and move on with their lives, which includes beginning a romantic relationship. When Candy becomes pregnant, they go back to St. Cloud's Orphanage, where their son is born and named Angel. | |||
| Times Square can't shine as bright as you | |||
| I swear, it's true | |||
| Subsequently, Wally is found in Burma and returns home, paralyzed from the waist down. He is still able to have sexual intercourse but is sterile due to an infection caught in Burma. They lie to the family about Angel's parentage, claiming that Homer decided to adopt him. Wally and Candy marry shortly afterward, but Candy and Homer maintain a secret affair that lasts some 15 years. | |||
| Hey there, Delilah | |||
| Don't you worry about the distance | |||
| Many years later, teenaged Angel falls in love with Rose. Rose, the daughter of the head ] at the apple orchard, becomes pregnant by her father, and Homer performs an abortion on her. Homer decides to return to the orphanage after the death of Wilbur, to work as the new director. Though he maintains his distaste for abortions, he continues Dr. Larch's legacy of honoring the choice of his patients, and he dreams of the day when abortions are free, legal, and safe, so he'll no longer feel obliged to offer them. | |||
| I'm right there if you get lonely | |||
| Give this song another listen | |||
| The name "The Cider House Rules" refers to the list of rules that the migrant workers are supposed to follow at the Ocean View Orchards. However, none of them can read, and they are completely unaware of the rules - which have been posted for years. | |||
| Close your eyes | |||
| Listen to my voice, it's my disguise | |||
| A subplot follows the character Melony, who grew up alongside Homer in the orphanage. She was Homer's first girlfriend in a relationship of circumstances. After Homer leaves the orphanage, so does she in an effort to find him. She eventually becomes an electrician and takes a female lover, Lorna. Melony is an extremely stoic woman, who refuses to press charges against a man who brutally broke her nose and arm so that she can later take revenge herself. She is the catalyst that transforms Homer from his comfortable but not entirely admirable position at the apple orchard to becoming Dr. Larch's replacement at the orphanage. | |||
| I'm by your side | |||
| Oh, it's what you do to me | |||
| Oh, it's what you do to me | |||
| Oh, it's what you do to me | |||
| Oh, it's what you do to me | |||
| What you do to me | |||
| Hey there, Delilah | |||
| I know times are gettin' hard | |||
| But just believe me, girl | |||
| Someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar | |||
| We'll have it good | |||
| We'll have the life we knew we would | |||
| My word is good | |||
| Hey there, Delilah | |||
| I've got so much left to say | |||
| If every simple song I wrote to you | |||
| Would take your breath away | |||
| I'd write it all | |||
| Even more in love with me you'd fall | |||
| We'd have it all | |||
| Oh, it's what you do to me | |||
| Oh, it's what you do to me | |||
| Oh, it's what you do to me | |||
| Oh, it's what you do to me | |||
| A thousand miles seems pretty far | |||
| But they've got planes and trains and cars | |||
| I'd walk to you if I had no other way | |||
| Our friends would all make fun of us | |||
| And we'd just laugh along because we'd know | |||
| That none of them have felt this way | |||
| Delilah, I can promise you | |||
| That by the time that we get through | |||
| The world will never ever be the same | |||
| And you're to blame | |||
| Hey there, Delilah | |||
| You be good, and don't you miss me | |||
| Two more years and you'll be done with school | |||
| And I'll be makin' history like I do | |||
| You know it's all because of you | |||
| We can do whatever we want to | |||
| Hey there, Delilah, here's to you | |||
| This one's for you | |||
| Oh, it's what you do to me | |||
| Oh, it's what you do to me | |||
| Oh, it's what you do to me | |||
| Oh, it's what you do to me | |||
| What you do to me, oh oh, woah, woah | |||
| Oh woah, oh | |||
| Oh | |||
| And now part 2: | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 18:23, 14 December 2018
For the film adapted from the novel, see The Cider House Rules (film). First edition cover | |
| Author | John Irving |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | William Morrow |
| Publication date | 1985 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
| ISBN | 0-688-03036-X |
| OCLC | 11533062 |
| Dewey Decimal | 813/.54 19 |
| LC Class | PS3559.R8 C5 1985 |
| Preceded by | The Hotel New Hampshire |
| Followed by | A Prayer for Owen Meany |
The Cider House Rules (1985) is a novel by American writer John Irving, a Bildungsroman, which was later adapted into a film (1999) and a stage play by Peter Parnell. The story, set in the pre- and post-World War II era, is about a young man, Homer Wells, growing up under the guidance of Dr. Wilbur Larch, an obstetrician and abortionist. The story relates his early life at Larch's orphanage in Maine and follows Homer as he eventually leaves the nest and comes of age in the world.
Background
The story about Wally being shot down over Burma was based in part on that of Irving's biological father (whom he never met), who had been shot down over Burma and survived.
++story time++ Hey there, Delilah What's it like in New York city? I'm a thousand miles away But, girl, tonight you look so pretty Yes, you do Times Square can't shine as bright as you I swear, it's true Hey there, Delilah Don't you worry about the distance I'm right there if you get lonely Give this song another listen Close your eyes Listen to my voice, it's my disguise I'm by your side Oh, it's what you do to me Oh, it's what you do to me Oh, it's what you do to me Oh, it's what you do to me What you do to me Hey there, Delilah I know times are gettin' hard But just believe me, girl Someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar We'll have it good We'll have the life we knew we would My word is good Hey there, Delilah I've got so much left to say If every simple song I wrote to you Would take your breath away I'd write it all Even more in love with me you'd fall We'd have it all Oh, it's what you do to me Oh, it's what you do to me Oh, it's what you do to me Oh, it's what you do to me A thousand miles seems pretty far But they've got planes and trains and cars I'd walk to you if I had no other way Our friends would all make fun of us And we'd just laugh along because we'd know That none of them have felt this way Delilah, I can promise you That by the time that we get through The world will never ever be the same And you're to blame Hey there, Delilah You be good, and don't you miss me Two more years and you'll be done with school And I'll be makin' history like I do You know it's all because of you We can do whatever we want to Hey there, Delilah, here's to you This one's for you Oh, it's what you do to me Oh, it's what you do to me Oh, it's what you do to me Oh, it's what you do to me What you do to me, oh oh, woah, woah Oh woah, oh Oh And now part 2:
References
- Mel Gussow (1998-04-28). "A Novelist Builds Out From Fact To Reach The Truth; John Irving Begins With His Memories". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-11-07.