An excellent writeup describing the major plot points of Irving's novel/film The Cider House Rules has already been posted above by chromaticblue, so I won't rehash those details here. (Though I will discuss the features available on the DVD near the end of this writeup.)
Instead, I would like to use this opportunity to list (for those of you who haven't seen the movie) the actual Cider House Rules, the titular rules by which the men living in the Cider House were expected to abide. They were expected to follow this nicely typewritten set of rules, despite the fact that none of the workers could even read.
So the rules hung on a nail in the Cider House, ignored by all who lived there, until Homer Wells came to live and work with Mr. Rose and his team. In chapter 32 of the DVD (if you're using the handy Scene Selection feature), Homer finally recites the Cider House Rules at the behest of the workers:
1. Please don't smoke in bed.
2. Please don't operate the grinder or press if you've been drinking.
3. Please don't go up to the roof to eat your lunch.
4. Please, even if you are very hot, do not go up to the roof to sleep.
5. There should be no going up on the roof at night.
The response from the workers is understandable. "What do they think, go up to the
roof to
sleep?" says
Peaches. "They must think we're
crazy. They think we're
dumb niggers, so we need some
dumb rules, is what they
think."
Says Rose: "That's it? It don't mean nothin' at all. And all this time I been wonderin' about 'em."
But Rose's father, after his years working the Cider House, has a different perspective. He sees the rules as the oppressive device that they are, and is rightfully offended. He says:
They outrageous, them rules. Who live in this cider house? Who grindin' up those apples, pressin' that cider, cleanin' up all this mess? Who just plain live here, just breathin' in that vinegar? Well, someone who don't live here made those rules. Those rules ain't for us. We are supposed to make our own rules. And we do. Every single day.
Muddy suggests
Homer burn the rules in the
stove, and soon the rules meant to
govern the workers are gone for good. They've made their own rules up until now, and they will continue to do so.
Every single day.
As a postscript to this writeup, I thought I might point out the features available on The Cider House Rules DVD, since they're not discussed in the original writeup. The film, which won Academy Awards for both Michael Caine (Best Supporting Actor) and John Irving (Best Screenplay), is available on DVD as part of Miramax's Collector's Series.
The DVD includes all 125 minutes of the film, digitally mastered and transferred to disc. It also includes:
The
disc is an excellent addition to any fan's
DVD collection.