In both Max Havelaar and Dukale's Dream the setup is to switch back and forth from the west to the coffeelands. In Dukale’s Dream the editing of the film flips between New York and Ethiopia, while in Max Havelaar the chapters jump between Amsterdam and Java. Switching between the west where coffee is something they consume everyday without even thinking about it to the coffeelands where coffee is everything in their lives shows the extreme difference between the two places making them seem like two different worlds. This is used to amplify the effect that the modern cities have on the coffeelands, and how much the people in the coffeelands need help. Switching between the two places is important because it affects the audience more by seeing or reading the difference between the two places so blatantly in the stories. Like switching between the two locations, both Max Havelaar and Dukale’s Dream switch narrators. Max Havelaar switches between multiple narrators between chapters and sometimes within one chapter. Dukale’s Dream switches between narrators when explaining different parts of the journey in their perspective. Dukale’s dream is telling one story from different perspectives as the narrator changes are still explaining the same journey, but Max havelaar the narrator changes are not telling the same story. The narrator changes are important because there are different voices coming into the story creating different layers and ideas within. Different narrators allows the audience to see how different people face these issues, and in Max Havelaar the different narrators show different opinions that people had at the time. In Dukale’s Dreams the narrator changes are not adding different ideas or opinions, they are adding parts of the story that one person would not know from their perspective. They all are of the same opinion, but are showing the importance of seeing it from different viewpoints. Also, in both Max Havelaar and Dukale’s Dream there is at least one letter. In Max Havelaar there are multiple letters throughout the novel, and in Dukale’s Dream there is a letter at the end of the film. In Max Havelaar, the letters are very important as the end chapters are driven by letters written by Max. In Dukale’s Dream the end letter explains the meaning of the title and Hugh’s plans for the future regarding Dukale’s Dream. The letters are important to both stories as they drive the end to both stories and explain important facts to the audience without breaking the fourth wall by talking directly to the audience. The use of letters in both add another layer of storytelling in another voice for the narrators. The letters in Max Havelaar and Dukale’s Dream are different in the number, and who the letters are addressed to. In Max Havelaar, the two main characters, Max Havelaar and Batavus Droogstoppel, do not write letters to each other while in Dukale’s Dream, the main characters, Hugh Jackman and Dukale, had a letter written from Hugh to Dukale. There is only one letter in Dukale’s Dream, but there are multiple letters within Max Havelaar. In Max Havelaar, the letters are used as part of the story driving parts of the plot, but in Dukale’s Dream the letter is used to close the store and tell about their plans for the future. This is important because the stories rely on letters in a different way, Dukale’s Dream used the letter to talk about the future and think forward, while Max Havelaar used the letters to talk about things that already happened with no future aspiration. All of these parts together create multiple layers of the story and create a better understanding of the situation for the audience. Though Max Havelaar and Dukale’s dream do not use these elements for the exact same reason or in the same way they both have them a part of the story telling to create contrasts within the story and show different perspectives.
