...Shakespeare: An Observation of Life What is it about Shakespeare’s characters and stories that make us all able to relate in some way or another 400 years after they are written? Maybe it’s his take on inner conflict, or is it how he never portrays a hero as perfect, or a villain as all evil? There is a certain universal truth about the human condition in every story. Whether it is the tragic outcome of unchecked greed and ambition, an unrelenting desire for revenge, or the pursuit of love, his representation of human nature is just as real and as relevant today, as it has been through the centuries. Most of Shakespeare’s characters are complex personalities led into tragedy by their shortcomings (Johnson). Even Shakespeare’s heroes are never just heroes; Shakespeare tends to build his stories through “false heroes” such as Othello, Anthony and Brutus, and “good villains” or “villains with a conscious” like Macbeth (Johnson). It is this type of inner conflict that makes Shakespeare’s stories so insightful and relatable. People love to identify with the hero. They like to think of themselves as heroes in their own lives and the success of a hero in a story makes them feel better about their chances of success in their own lives. While a hero may be the object of any story, a hero is only as great as the obstacle he can overcome (Pattison). The obstacle can be almost anything, it could be a tornado ripping through a city or a killer great white shark, but it is the human villain...
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...“[comedy] has been remarkably tenacious of its structural principles and character types,” and can be explained by the green world theory (163). The structural movement of comedy flows from an old society to the green world in response to a recognizable central conflict created by the power holding characters of the play. Once in the green world, there is a lack of societal rules and the conflict can resolve leading to the formation of a new society, indicated by some kind of party or festival (Frye 163). Frye further explains that this structural component of comedy is the origin of comedic form. At first William Shakespeare’s play, The Taming of the Shrew seems to have a clear message that the green world theory does not define the structure of the play and that Petruchio tames Katherine. While this could be an interpretation of the play, I find it unlikely that this is the case. The analysis of the film, 10 Things I Hate About You, opens the door visually to see the green world theory in action, which allows the reader to appreciate The Taming of the Shrew as a comedy as well as reinterpret its conclusion. The green world theory is the structural backbone of The Taming of the Shrew, and commands that Katherine and Petruchio change over the course of the play and ultimately both are tamed. The green world theory can be seen in 10 Things by analyzing Frye’s key elements of comedy, such as form, character type, and repetition. The movie opens in an old society where Kat and Bianca’s...
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...10 Things I Hate About You and the Pursuit of Happiness 10 Things I Hate About You is a Shakespearian parody that is based on his literary work, Taming the Shrew, but also pays homage to his other works as well. This film is a loose adaptation that uses modern day teenage problems and settings as well as modern day language in place of Shakespeare’s old world customs and a language that has long since been put to rest. While this film has many archetypical characters, concepts, themes and symbols, one thing sticks out the most and that is the concept of the pursuit of happiness. No matter what day in age we are in this is a concept that we as humans are always trying to obtain. The induction of this film surrounds around the character Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a new-comer that is being shown around by school by his new friend Michael, as he burns, pines and perishes over the sweet, sexy and much adored innocence that is Bianca Stratford (Larissa Oleynik). It is here that you learn that she is untouchable as her tyrannical father will not let her date. At this time, you are also introduced to a few key characters such as Joey Donner (Andrew Keegan), the egocentric king of the popular crowd and Katarina “Kat” Stratford (Julia Stiles), the polar opposite of her younger sister and plays an ill-tempered harridan with cutting wit that is hell bent to not be tempted by the idiocies of teenage life. It is here that the pursuit of happiness starts. Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)...
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...The Shrew And The Strength Katherine is a very complex character in Taming Of The Shrew and Ten Things I Hate About You. Kat knows exactly where she stands and is confident enough to open her mouth even when it can be little overbearing. Kat has a strong sense of self but can be blinded by love and I use the term “love” loosely in her taming of the shrew self because she isn’t really loved she is “loved’ because is tamed. In the movie though she is much harder to barge from the anchors the hold her to her rough demeanor but she keeps her anchors and incorporates Patrick into her personality instead of throwing it into the trash for a him. She is loved despite the fact she isn’t tamed. Let’s start at the very beginning of when we first meet Kat. A strong and independent women who stays true to herself and won’t let anything stumble in her path of feminism and strength “Why should I live up to other people's expectations instead of my own? -10 things” Kat proclaims. Though we can say she was strong and independent some may see that as snappy, rude and well the “B” word. “People...
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...claim to have known that they were supposed to be with someone the second they met them, and some say that one cannot experience love at first sight because one does not really know someone until they spend quality time with the person they believe that they are meant to be with. The concept and accepted, societal definition of a real, serious relationship has changed so much throughout history, and Taming of the Shrew and 10 Things I Hate About You are two examples that show this progression. In the 1600’s, relationships and love were very rare, men just wanted to marry the most beautiful woman; whereas in modern times, relationships are portrayed as much more casual. In Shakespeare’s play, Taming of the Shrew, marriage is a very important concept, but it is very different than it is now. It is the fathers job to give away his daughters to the most wiling suitor, or the man who makes the best deal. If a suitor is interested in pursuing and marrying someone, the suitor will approach the daughter’s father and meet with him. They write a contract, willing things to the suitor and the father’s daughter for when the father dies, such as large proportions of land, or his home. If the daughter has multiple suitors, the father will choose who presented him with the best contract, not necessarily who loves his daughter the most or who his daughter wants to be with. Petruchio and Katharina’s marriage is a good example, because her father gives Katharina to Petruchio because of the contract...
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...In the play The Taming of the Shrew and the movie 10 Things I Hate about You there are many similarities and differences. They both have the same plot, characters have the same names and/or characteristics in the play and movie, and they have similar settings and themes. But they are also different in ways. In the play Taming of the Shrew the main characters are a man named Petruchio who wants to marry Katherine, who has a bad temper. Then there is Lucentio, who is in love with Bianca, Katherine’s pure, loving, kind, younger sister, and will do anything to win her over. In 10 Things I Hate about You, we have Patrick, who falls in love with Kat, a bad-tempered girl, and Cameron, who falls in love with Bianca Stratford, a loving girl and who...
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...In 1593, William Shakespeare wrote “The Taming of the Shrew” and in 1999 “10 Things I Hate About You” made its debut in theaters as a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s play. Both works are comedies that deal with the theme of gender playing a part in character’s roles in society. The modern adaptation, directed by Gil Junger, sets the plot in a high school and adds more of a teenage romance twist on the story. Although “10 Things I Hate About You” may not follow the exact storyline of William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew”, there are many similarities between the two works including characters, dialogue, and theme (Andrews vi, IMDb). William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon to John and Mary Shakespeare. In 1582,...
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...Introduction Are you from tenesses cause you are the only ten I see. That is something a bad boy would say to a lady or to a women walking down the street. Or on the other hand a bad girl can tell that phase to a boy or a men pasting by them. In this essay the reader is going to be able to known and identify the stereotypes of rebels. The reader is also going to known the stereotypes of rebel teenage girls and teenage boys. The bad boy and the bad girls are seen in movies and in television shows and they are known as the rebels. The rebels in movies and in television shows are shown as impulsive, negative attitudes, girls getting pegerent, boys doing delinquents, teenagers being bullies, and the rebels have their own dressing style. For...
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...Assignment: Character Analysis Worksheet Name: Assignment total: 30 marks Part 1: Questions about the character. They may not all apply. Point form answers are fine. 20 marks 1. When does the character live? Past, present or future? Future 2. Where does the character live? In the country, the city, the suburbs…? Suburbs 3. What is the socioeconomic background of my character? A middle class socioeconomic background. 4. What is a typical day for my character like? Obeying and following orders for now.. 5. Who else heavily influences my character? Members of the gang. 6. What is my character’s biggest life goal? Become the master, take charge of things 7. What is the primary emotion my character has throughout this story? Anger 8. What other emotions are affecting my character underneath that emotion? Rage, over thinking, hate towards others. 9. Does my character have mental or emotional difficulties, illnesses or tics? Yes 10. What kind of self-esteem does my character have? Low 11. How does my character relate to the outside world? Involved in a lot of things such as gangs and follows orders and does what he is told What props or scenic elements does my character relate to within the story? X 12. How do those props/scenic elements develop my character? Make him stronger 13. What emotion should the audience feel toward my character? Sympathy, hate, friendly? 14. In the beginning of the story, what do we discover...
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...You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you’ll escape it one day. (pg.54) ~ an intricate combination of paths or passages in which it is difficult to find one's way or to reach the exit (n.) 9. I knew id smoke maybe five of them, but as long as I subsidized the Colonel’s smoking, he couldn’t really attack me for being another rich kid, a Weekday Warrior who just didn’t happen to live in Birmingham. (pg.55) ~ to purchase the assistance of by the payment (v.) 10. You live for pretentious metaphors. (pg.59) ~ characterized by assumption of dignity or importance, especially when exaggerated or undeserved: (adj.) 11. And I vaguely remember Lara smiling at me in the doorway, the glittering ambiguities of a girl’s smile, which seems to promise an answer to the question but never gives it. (pg.64) ~ doubtfulness or uncertainty of meaning or intention: (n.) 12. You can check if you’d like, and Sara thought I was being too glib. (pg. 65) ~ readily fluent, often thoughtlessly, superficially, or insincerely (adj.) 13. You’ve violated the sacred covenant between women! (pg.65) ~ an agreement, usually formal, between two or more persons to do or not do something specified....
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...who was afraid. However, he also acts like an adult by faking his age when he tries to talk and get a drink. 2) “It’s a phony.” (14) This is one of the most common phrases that Holden uses to describe people or things in the book. When something seems fake or out of the order, it is considered phony to Holden. It almost seems as if Holden views and separates the world as either a fake or real and never considers the other possibilities that may both be real and fake. 3) “I’M THE MOST TERRIFIC LIAR you ever saw in your life.” (22) Holden directly states that he is a terrific liar, which display a part of his personality. His lies are always nonsensical and never correlate with what he’s really trying to mean. 4) “I’m quite illiterate, but I read a lot.” (24)...
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...Nico deveber Professor Gabrielle Houle DRST 2617 10 October 2014 Springtime by María Irene Fornés is a play that follows the lives of Rainbow and Greta, two lovers living in a small city in 1958. Springtime brings up many issues on love, power, and desperation; especially in regards to poverty and sexism. Through a close reading of the text, it will become clear that this play requires its audience to understand how poverty and sexism intersect in regards to oppression and privilege in society. Poverty is a clear topic in Springtime, it is first presented in the second scene wherein Greta is ill, and Rainbow is forced to steal in order to afford her treatments: “I must do it. You’re ill and we must take care of you.” (83). In this scene Greta begs Rainbow not to do something that could endanger her, and Rainbow insists that she must to be able to afford her treatments. This is the first of many scenes in which the issue of poverty is presented to the audience. In another scene, Greta tries to get Rainbow to throw away the watch she has stolen, and again Rainbow cannot oblige because, “We need the money. For you. To make you well.” (83)....
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...debut. (Lionsgate) Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen is a new type of female action film icon, and moviegoers should be very excited about that, writes Lisa Schwarzbaum. As Catching Fire ignites on movie screens around the world, this is what we know about the 21st Century heroine called Katniss Everdeen: she is strong but also soft. She is brave but she has doubts. She is a phenomenal fictional creation, yet is real enough that moviegoers can draw inspiration from her values, her resourcefulness, and her very human inner conflicts. And she is played by Jennifer Lawrence, who appears not only to be handling her current duties as Hollywood’s finest model of well-adjusted millennial female stardom but doing so with charm. Everdeen and Lawrence: golden girls both. Personified in Lawrence’s lithe movements and cool, focused gaze, Katniss is a brave, resourceful and independent-minded fighter; but she is also a troubled and vulnerably guilt-ridden human being. Nina Jacobson, the producer of the Hunger Games film franchise, puts it this way: “She is a singular heroine in that the burden of survival weighs on her. She has a ton of survivor’s guilt. And she keeps surviving.” Girl on fire It is strange that behaving like a well-adjusted and responsible young woman counts as movie-star news – or that the popularity of a female lead character who is strong and feminine, brave even when scared, compassionate even when imperfect, and respectful even when breaking with tradition counts...
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...An Analysis of Shylock's Speech in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice By Hamada Shehdeh Abid Dawood Discourse Analysis English Department Faculty of Arts Hebron University 2010/2011 Abstract This paper aims at examining, analyzing and revealing Shylock's utterances in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, by relating his words to the power, ideology, value, and etc. in the play. What is found in this study is that Shylock, the Jew merchant, lacks power and ideology, but when he seeks to find these elements, he loses all of them. In addition, Shylock's language varies from both situations. When he is the weaker, he is the source where Christians used to evacuate their insults. Introduction William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and was the son of a glove maker. When he was 18, he married Anne Hathaway, and had three children. At the age of 20, he left Stratford and went to London where he became an actor and playwright. William Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice around 1596. It is regarded by some scholars as the strongest and most successful of Shakespeare's early comedies (Encarta Encyclopedia, 2002). Shakespeare’s portrayal of Shylock has long been fodder for debate among scholars. By Shakespeare’s time, Jews had been officially banned from England for centuries. Because of this, they had come to represent to many citizens of the time a sinister unknown. Shylock’s inability to grant mercy to Antonio and his tendency to value...
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... Lauren Rennie 18/3/13 Mr. Campoli ENG104 Perspective- The perspective of The Parsley Garden is 3rd person. It is an all seeing point of view. The narrator frequently uses the characters names or him and her to address them. This point of view demonstrates an understanding of each action of a character as well as each characters feelings and emotions. I know this because, "One day in August, Al Condraj was wandering through Woolworth’s without a penny to spend when he saw a small hammer that was not a toy but a real hammer, and he was possessed with a longing to have it" (Saroyan 1). Atmosphere- The Parsley Garden has an embarrassed and shameful atmosphere. The readers feel for the protagonist, Al Condraj. After he attempts to steal the hammer but is caught he feels ashamed and flustered, "[...] He [Al Condraj] knew he had been humiliated, and he was deeply ashamed" (Saroyan 2). Al's...
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