Approaching the Title - Rocky and Walter

One last thing I want to mention regarding our class last Friday is the title to my imaginary Rocky and Walter contrast essay. I came up with "Dream, with Change to Spare."

I came up with that during 6th period, and someone 8th - I forget who, sorry - asked how I came up with it so quick. Well, here's the answer. First, I didn't come up with it quick. It took three to four minutes. Second, I did it by brainstorming. I first started jotting down ideas that came to me about the film and the book. I don't remember the exact list, but it went something like this:

• Jesus and the banjo
• bacon and eggs
• eggs sunnyside up
• roadwork
• hard labor
• chain gang

As you can see, there's really no rhyme or reason here. I'm just writing down what comes to mind. Maybe there will be something there to set me off in a new direction. Note that I'm not actually trying to think of a title at this point. I'm merely trying to think of an idea that might turn into a title. It was also at this point that someone in class - again, I forget who, sorry - said something to the effect that all of these ideas were Luke centered. Walter wasn't really entering into it. Some folks liked Jesus and the Banjo, but it really had nothing to do with Walter. That's when it hit me. Maybe I should be focusing my title not on the texts I'd be discussing in my essay, but instead on my hook. Namely, money.

So I started a new list:

• cash
• cash and carry
• spare change
• withdrawl
• coins and bills
• George Washington
• dead presidents

You get the point. Somewhere along the line I went back to the one of the themes both the film and the novel shared - dreams. That, combined with one of the items on my list, gave me my title. "Dreams, with Change to Spare."

I'm not saying it's the world's greatest title, but I think we can all agree it beats the hell out of "Cool Hand Luke and Of Mice and Men Contrast Essay" or "George Vs. Luke" or "Contrast Essay" or "Dreams" or something like that. So titles can take a little while, but when they work, they can really get you off to a great start.

What are your thoughts? Is "Dreams, with Change to Spare" a good title? What do you like about it? What don't you like about it? And who can think of a better one?