Rain man 1: Childhood MEMORIES Charlie Babbitt's mother died when he was two and he grew up alone with his father. Charlie is now an adult and his father has just died. Charlie has gone to his father's house with his girl friend, Susanna. 3 Charlie parked the car in front of one of the largest, most expensive houses in Walnut Hills Sanford Babbitt s house. This is my father s place, he said. Susanna got out of the car. 'Is this where you lived when you were a boy?' she asked, her eyes wide, full of questions. Yeah, but I left when I was sixteen, Charlie said. He picked up the suitcases and carried them towards the house. I had no idea... you came... from all this, Susanna said. This was a Charlie Babbitt that she didn't know. But Charlie wasn t listening. He put the suitcases down and walked towards a car that was in front of the garage. It was a 1949 Buick Roadmaster. It was light blue and everything about it was perfect. I've always known this car, Charlie said in a quiet voice, but I only drove it once. Near the garage was a flower garden with some wonderful roses. Someone must water those roses, said Susanna, who loved flowers. They re all dying. I hate those roses! Charlie said suddenly. Susanna looked at him in surprise, but Charlie was already opening the front door. Later that afternoon, Charlie and Susanna were looking round Charlie s old bedroom. You know that car in front of the garage? Charlie asked suddenly. It's beautiful. My father loved that car. The car and the roses. The Buick was his car and I could never drive it. But one day I borrowed it to drive my friends round town. What happened? My father telephoned the police. He knew I had the car, but he telephoned the police and said, Someone has stolen my, car. The police stopped us and took us to the police station. Charlie s face was angry now. My friends parents came for them after an hour. My father left me there for two days. Two days! Susanna said. And you were only sixteen. Poor Charlie! But now Charlie was picking up an old coat from a box in the corner of the room. Is that yours, Charlie? Susanna asked. Charlie didn t answer. He was looking carefully at the little coat. It s like a map he said, in a strange voice. A map of my past. What are you talking about? What? Charlie looked over at Susanna and then back at the coat. Oh, I was just thinking... Susanna, when you were a child, did you have... secret friends? Yes, I think everyone does. What was the name of my secret friend? Charlie asked himself. He tried to remember. Rain Man. That s it. The Rain Man. When I was frightened I held this coat and listened to the Rain Man sing. He smiled. That was a long time ago. 1. What is this extract from? 2. What do we learn about the car? 3. What do we learn about Charlie?
Rain man 2: An unexpected discovery Charlie discovers that his father has left all his money to someone who lives at Wallbrook Home, a place for the mentally ill. Charlie and Susanna drive there in the Buick and meet Dr Bruner. While they are talking outside, Charlie sees someone... The little man with the bag was still standing by the Buick. He was writing in his notebook. Again and again he looked from the car back to the notebook. He did not look at Susanna. Raymond, said Dr Bruner, go back inside. The man with the notebook was not listening. He continued writing in the notebook. Charlie walked past him and went to open the door. Of course, this car is not white, Raymond said. He did not look up from his notebook. This is a blue car now Charlie looked at Raymond in surprise. He was a small man of about forty. He looked clean and tidy, with short hair and very ordinary clothes. What was a little strange was that there was no expression on his face. There was no light in his small black eyes, and no movement in his mouth. It was a face that was neither happy nor sad. Smiling, Charlie turned to Susanna. You know, he said slowly, this car was white. My dad painted it blue when I was very little. And, and, Raymond continued quickly to himself, it cost an arm and a leg. The smile left Charlie s face. That s what my father often said an arm and a leg. How does this man know that? he asked. Charlie looked at the man called Raymond. Raymond looked up for a second. Then he looked at his notebook again. You come with me, Raymond, Dr Bruner said. These people have to go. But Charlie was moving closer to Raymond. Do you know this car? he asked. A frightened expression came across Raymond s face. He looked at Dr Bruner for help. I... don t... know, he muttered. Yes, you do know this car! Charlie said angrily. Why do you know? That s enough, Mr Babbitt, Dr Bruner said. You re upsetting him. You re Charlie, please, Susanna said. Now Raymond looked from Susanna to Dr Bruner. He began writing in his notebook and muttering to himself Babbitt Charlie. Charlie... Babbitt. Charlie Babbitt. 1961 Beechcrest Avenue. Charlie was astonished. How do you know that address? he asked. Dr Bruner spoke quietly. Because he s your brother, he said. But I don t have a brother, the astonished Charlie said. I never had a brother! 1. Where does the scene take place? 2. Why is Charlie there? 3. Charlie sees someone called Raymond. What is strange about him? 4. Raymond knows two things. What?. What does Charlie discover? How does he feel? - 2 -
Rain man 3: AUTISTIC (SCRIPT) Rain Man Charlie Babbitt has just discovered he has a mentally handicapped brother. They are visiting a doctor: 3 40 4 Charlie: Well, what am I supposed to do? There's got to be something that I can do here. Doctor: Well, I'm not a psychiatrist but I do know that his brain doesn't work like other people's. What he does isn't intended to be annoying. If he's getting on your nerves, you just take a break. Spend some time away from him. C.: Sure, I'll just send him back. D.: Sorry? C.: Nothing. Just an inside joke. You tell me I just have to deal with this stuff? D.: Yeah, that's about it. Out of curiosity, does he have any special abilities? C.: Well, he's got a pretty good memory. He counts toothpicks. D.: Huh? C.: Toothpicks. They spilt a box of toothpicks on the floor and he took one look at them and he knew exactly how many there were. He counted them in a second. D.: Raymond, are you good with numbers? Raymond: Yeah. D.: I read about this. I'm going to try something here. Ray, can we try something? Do you know how much 312 x 123 is? R.: 3-8-3-7-6. D.: He's right. C.: What? D.: He's right. C.: He's right? D.: Ray, how much is 4,343 x 1,234? R.: -3--9-2-6-2. C.: He's a genius! D.: Ray, do you know how much the square root of 2,1 is? R.: 4-6 point 1--1-9-2-3-0-4,... 2-3-0-4. C.: That's amazing! I mean, that is amazing. He should work for NASA or something like that. D.: If you had a dollar and you spent 0 cents, how much money would you have left? R.: (Long hesitation)... about 70. D.: 70 cents? R.: 70 cents. C.: So much for NASA! D.: Do you know how much a candy bar costs? R.: About a hundred dollars. D.: A hundred dollars, huh? D.: Do you know how much one of those new compact cars costs? R.: About a hundred dollars. D.: (To Charlie) In his particular case, he's pretty well off. He's high functioning. Most autistics, they can't speak, they can't communicate. C.: Ray! D.: Do you know what autistic is? D.: Do you know that word? D.: Are you autistic? R.: I don't think so. No, definitely not. From the film Rain Man (1988) Charlie Doctor Raymond Negative feelings Positive feelings Dilemma Diagnosis of Raymond Reasons for questioning him Final opinion Behavior with his brother Special abilities Paradox - 3 -
Rain man 4: The Full story Charlie learns that Raymond is his brother. He decides to take him away from Wallbrook Home. They stop at a hotel for the night. 3 40 4 Their room had a small bathroom. Charlie went in to have a bath. Raymond was cleaning his teeth, and his mouth was full of toothpaste. Don t use so much toothpaste, Ray! Charlie said. But Raymond continued cleaning his teeth. Toothpaste came out of his mouth and dropped on to his shirt. Will you stop that, Ray! Charlie said. Raymond did not stop. You like it, Charlie Babbitt, he muttered. Charlie shook his head. No, I do not like it! he shouted. You say, Funny Rain Man funny teeth. Suddenly Charlie stopped shouting. Funny Rain Man. Rain Man! That was the name of his secret friend when he was a child. What did you say? he asked. You can t say Raymond, his brother said. You re a baby. You say, Rain Man. Funny Rain Man. Charlie sat down on the side of the bath. He didn t know what to think. He was finding it difficult to breathe. You... you re the Rain Man? Charlie said finally. Raymond put his hand in his pocket and pulled out an envelope. He opened the envelope and carefully took out a small photograph. Charlie took the photograph and looked at it. A young man of about eighteen was looking at the camera, but not smiling. He was holding a baby in his arms. The baby was Charlie Babbitt, and the young man was Raymond Babbitt. Daddy took the picture, Raymond said. Charlie looked at the photograph for a long time. He was astonished. He and Raymond. Charlie and Raymond. Charlie and the Rain Man. And you... lived with us then? When... did you leave us? It was Thursday, Raymond said. Which Thursday, Ray? It was snowing outside. Maria stayed with you when Daddy took me to my home. January 21 st, 196. On a Thursday. That s when our mother died, Charlie breathed softly. Just after New Year. And you had your coat. And you waved to me from the window. Goodbye, Rain Man. Goodbye, Rain Man. On a Thursday. Suddenly Charlie remembered deep into his past. He remembered the snow. And waving to Rain Man. And later crying. Crying for Rain Man. He wanted Rain Man, but Raymond didn t come. He never came again. I sat with that coat, Charlie said. Now he remembered his brother s eighteen-year-old face. And you sang to me. For a minute Raymond just looked at his brother. Then, very softly, he began to sing a song by The Beatles. When Raymond finished singing, Charlie moved closer to him. Then he said, I remember I liked it. When you sang to me. But Raymond was cleaning his teeth again. Charlie picked up the photograph and muttered something about how nice it was. Then he put it down on the side of the bath and turned on the water. Suddenly Raymond began to scream. No, no, no, no! Charlie looked up and saw a terrible expression on his brother s face. Raymond was looking down at the water. It's BURNING him! he screamed. Quickly, Charlie turned off the water. He remembered it all now. His brother giving a two-year-old boy a bath that was too hot. Sanford Babbitt screaming, He s burning Charlie! He s going to kill him! - 4 -
That was why his father sent Raymond to Wallbrook. That was the end of the relationship between Charlie and Rain Man. And poor Raymond remembered it all. It s OK, Ray, Charlie said softly to his brother. It s OK, man. I didn t burn. I m fine. 1. Where does the scene take place? 2. What does Charlie finally discover? Can you make three sentences with "used to"? 3. Why is Raymond so frightened when Charlie turns on the bath water? 4. Can you explain the title of the story?. Did you see the film? If yes, do you remember what happened next? If not, can you imagine what happens to Raymond? (0 mots) Writing 1. LLV1 Polynésie septembre 1999 (0 words): Do you believe in "an ideal family"? 2. LLV1 Sportifs octobre 1999 (0 words): According to you, why are family relationships sometimes difficult? Words relations (humaines): relationships émotions, sentiments: feelings, un rêve / un cauchemar: a dream / a nightmare père / mère nourricier (e): a foster-father / mother paternel, maternel: fatherly, motherly élever (ses enfants): to bring up, to raise être parent avec quelqu'un: to be related to célibataire: single une famille monoparentale: a one-parent family, réunions familiales: family gatherings. obligations parentales: parental duties famille unie: close-knit family bien s entendre avec: to get on / along with Autism Usually evident by age three, autism is a neurological disorder that affects a child s ability to communicate, understand language, play, and relate to others. A diagnosis of autistic disorder is made when an individual displays 6 or more of 12 symptoms listed across three major areas: social interaction, communication, and behavior. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. - -