Janice Is Dying

A teenage girl successively—and indifferently—tells three friends that she tried to kill herself.

Type:

Short

Status:

For sale

Page Count:

3pp

Genre:

Comedy, Drama, Mystery

Budget:

Shoestring

Age Rating:

Everyone

Based On:

“Janice” (1938), a short story by Shirley Jackson.

Synopsis/Details

Janice, a teenager, tells three of her friends in succession that she tried to commit suicide (by carbon-monoxide poisoning) because her parents can’t afford to send her back to college. She doesn’t seem particularly bothered that she did this or particularly elated that she survived. Her three friends don’t seem to know what to think—or maybe they know Janice better than we do.

Story & Logistics

Story Type:

Rescue

Story Situation:

Deliverance

Story Conclusion:

Ambiguous

Linear Structure:

Linear

Moral Affections:

Intemperance, Selfishness

Cast Size:

Several

Locations:

Single

Characters

Lead Role Ages:

Female Teenager, Male Teenager

Hero Type:

Anti-Hero, Ordinary, Unfortunate

Villian Type:

Anti-Villian

Stock Character Types:

Boy next door, Girl next door

Advanced

Adaption:

Based on Existing Fiction

Subgenre:

Black/Dark, Comedy, Coming of Age, Drama, High School, Hybrid Sub-Genres, Literary Adaption, Teen/Teen Sex, Teen/Youth, Youth Culture

Equality & Diversity:

Female Centric, Female Protagonist

Life Topics:

Adolescence, College/University Life, Coming of Age

Time Period:

Atomic Age (after 1945), Late modern period, Post-war era (1946–1962), The Fifties (1950–1959)

Country:

United States of America (USA)

Time of Year:

Autumn/Fall

Illness Topics:

Psychological

Writer Style:

Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond, James L. Brooks

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Submitted: 2021-Apr-19

Last Updated: 2021-Apr-19

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The Writer: R. J. Cardullo

A former university film teacher, I turned to screenwriting several years ago. I have also written film criticism for many publications. A New Yorker by birth, I grew up in Miami and was educated at the University of Florida, Tulane, and Yale. My last U.S. address was in Milford, Connecticut; I am now an expatriate residing in Scandinavia. Many of my scripts (both long and short) are adaptations of lesser-known works by well-known authors. I am happy to re-write, collaborate, or write on demand. Thanks kindly for any attention you can give my work. Go to bio

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Janice Is Dying

Synopsis/Details

The Writer: R. J. Cardullo

Pages