...Jenny Smith November 28, 2011 Dr. Min Young Lee English 121 sec 28 The Coming of Age of the Male Characters in About a Boy About a boy is a contemporary novel written by the British author Nick Hornby. It incorporates constructs of post-modern writing by bringing into focus the artists, and styles, and prose of the vernacular. The setting of the novel takes place in London in the mid 1990s. About a boy gives a unique perspective of a coming of age story. It follows the coming of age of two boys of two very different ages; Will Freeman 36 years old and Marcus 12. This novel shows the contrast between consumerism and materialism with real interpersonal connections. Will Freeman made the decision to pursue materialism rather than personal friendships, and to live in self-imposed isolation. Will had the ability to buy “cool” clothes, and sunglasses and sneakers, and so was never at a loss for acquaintances. Marcus, on the other hand, felt isolation due to a lack of materialism. Marcus was an outsider in his school in London since he could not have the best “coolest” clothes, shoes, and haircuts and thus was always the target of bullying. However, as the plot progresses, Marcus and Will undergo transformational experiences together to become more connected to the people around them. The transformational experiences of Fiona’s suicide, falling in love, and Marcus’ arrest all culminate in the maturation of Will and Marcus’ and the genesis of interpersonal connections between...
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...Film Review of ”About a Boy” Cast: Hugh Grant, Rachel Weisz, Toni Collette and Nicholas Hoult Director: Chris and Paul Weitz Novel written by: Nick Hornby Script writer: Peter Hedges, Chris and Paul Weitz Rating: PG-13 Genre: Romance, Comedy and Drama Running time: 105min. Review: The movie is mainly about 36 year old Will Freeman and 12 year old Marcus Brewer. Will is a so called island which means that he wants nothing to do with family related things; all he really wants is relationships without any form of commitment, he therefore goes to a club for single parents called S.P.A.T. There he meets a woman that he likes, but to be with her he makes up that he has a two-year old son named Ted. When he revels that it was a lie to get close to her, she immediately breaks up with him. Will's keeps on courting and the woman (Suzie) takes him to one of the group's picnics where he meets Marcus the son of Suzie's friend, Fiona. At the picnic, Marcus accidentally kills a duck with piece of bread while he is trying to feed it. When a park ranger asks him about it, Will defends Marcus by saying that the bird was already dead. Afterward, when Will and Suzie take Marcus home, they find Fiona, his mother, in the living room, on a pill-overdose trying to commit suicide. Marcus gets uncomfortable with being at home with his mother; therefore he tries to get Will to date her. After only one date this plan fails so Marcus starts following Will around and discovers that Will...
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...Name: Joel Sanguinetti Title: All About Eve Year: 1950 Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck Three Performers: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders Costume/Wardrobe: Edith Head, Charles LE Maire, Sam Benson, Josephine Brown, Ann Landers, Merle Williams Hair and Make-up: Ben Nye, Bunny Gardel, Franz Prehoda, Kay Reed, Gene Roemer, Gladys Witten Set and Stage Design: Thomas Little, Walter M. Scott Musical Score Composer: Alfred Newman Cinematographer/Photographer: Milton R. Krasner Screenplay: Joseph L. Mankiewicz Original Novel, Play, or Story: Mary Orr – The Wisdom of Eve Academy Awards (Oscars) Won: 1. Best Actor in a Supporting Role – George Sanders 2. Best Costume Design, Black-and-White – Edith Head & Charles LE Maire 3. Best Director – Joseph L. Mankiewicz 4. Best Picture – 20th Century Fox 5. Best Sound, Recording – 20th Century-Fox Sound Dept. 6. Best Writing, Screenplay – Joseph L. Mankiewicz Joel Sanguinetti Mr. Skillings English 101-B4N December 19, 2011 All About Theatre Theatre has evolved in many ways throughout history. Theatre goes back to the 6th century BCE and develops its origins from Greece. Around 1750, theatre was introduced to New York, and eventually became what we now know as Broadway theatre. All About Eve, directed and written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, is a movie based on the novel The Wisdom of Eve, written by Mary Orr. All About Eve is a movie about Broadway theatre and the harsh...
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...“Much Ado About Nothing” are the victims of deception, and because they’ve been deceived is the reason they act in the ways that they do. Even though the central deception is directed against Claudio in an attempt to destroy his relationship with Hero, it is the deception pertaining to Beatrice and Benedick which is the play's main focus. Almost every character in the play at some point has to make interpretations from what he or she sees, has been told or overheard. At the same time, nearly every character in the play at some point plays a part of consciously pretending to be what they are not. (Act I, Scene I) ”Thou wilt be like a lover presently and tire the hearer with a book of words. If thou dost love fair Hero, cherish it, and I will break with her and with her father, and thou shalt have her. Was't not to this end That thou began'st to twist so fine a story?” Here is when Don Pedro tries to put a spin on words making it sound like if Claudio really wants to be with Hero, they should first trick her into believing that Don Pedro is actually Claudio. They go on forward with the idea and as Don Pedro is swooning Hero with his words and charm at the masked ball and Claudio is actually eavesdropping near-by trying to make sure everything is going according to plan. Deception is one of the focal themes throughout the play which grows out of the love game. Deceit is not evil in nature; it can be used for the purpose good or bad outcomes. “In Much Ado About Nothing” the...
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...Christine Joy A. Tag at BSEDE-II Reflection Paper on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing Without any idea of what Much Ado About Nothing is all about, I just let myself absorb whatever thoughts and ideas I could get as the movie started to play. The movie which is originally a play written by Shakespeare is a comedy drama but not pure humor as what most audience would expect in a comedy. I really find the work a genius one, with how the story evolves. And unlike any love stories, its plot is a very unique one. The theme is obviously full of deceptions. This act of deceiving is not at all what I know as a bad act. As from the drama, deception could sometimes lead the characters to goodness like how Don Pedro and Claudio intentionally let Benedict eavesdrop to their conversation about Beatrice’s love for him. Hero and her company also did the same to Beatrice. It ended up that Beatrice and Benedict really loved each other after all their ‘wars’. On the other hand, deception could be a bad act. When Don John planned to ruin the wedding by making Claudio and Don Pedro believe that ‘Hero’ is an unfaithful maiden and not anymore a virgin, the plan went out as it is which made Hero be publicly humiliated by Claudio. This only showed that purity of woman is very precious and the only honor that she could have. But whether deception is bad or good, I would first prefer not to believe easily what I hear or see or what others will tell to me. I must not depend on the superficial...
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...MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING Title As a title, Much Ado About Nothing fits neatly with those of Shakespeare’s other plays written around the same time: the titles seem whimsical and even flippant. Twelfth Night was alternatively titled What You Will, and As You Like It seems a much less informative title than, say, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Still, the capricious titles are actually as reflective of their content as any history or tragedy title. The plot of Much Ado About Nothing centers on a lot of hubbub over little misunderstandings; there’s a whole lot of fuss about stuff that ultimately isn’t that important. For the bigger issues in the play, though, we turn to the fact that, in Shakespeare’s day, "nothing" was often pronounced the same way as "noting." The play is built around the process of "noting," which has myriad meanings. It can mean "to take notice of" something, to eavesdrop, to observe, or to write something down – but these notings aren’t necessarily accurate. A person can misunderstand a meaning, or mishear, or misreport something, in the process of noting too. The foibles that result from noting (and misnoting) are central to keeping the play spinning. If that wasn’t interesting enough for you, you might want to note that "nothing" was also an Elizabethan slang term for the vagina. "Much Ado About Vagina" makes sense as a title, right? After all, the highs and lows of the play revolve around men and their relationships with, suspicion of, and...
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...Much Ado About Nothing Love Story Shakespeare My first impression of Much Ado About Nothing is that it would be a love story. Although it is categorised as a Shakespearean comedy, I found the many "funny" parts of the play were foggy and required you to read the scene over a few times before you understood them. But then again, I had to read the whole scene over again a few times to understand anything. All of the characters in Much Ado About Nothing seemed to develop a personality of their own from the very first scene. It also helped that I saw the movie version of Much Ado About Nothing before we read the play so I could almost get a picture in my head as to what each character looked like. As the character's had their own personality, so did the two love relationships in the play. Benedick and Beatrice seemed to hate each other so much from the very start of the play that as the play carried on it almost seemed like the two went full circle in their relationship. But their relationship might not have changed for the better without help from Claudio, Don Pedro, Leonato, Ursula or Hero. In Claudio's and Hero's relationship seemed to be much more conventional in the way they came together. Claudio first saw Hero and instantly fell in love with her, while Hero stood by and took orders from her father, Leonato. Only when Don John devised his deception to break Claudio and Hero apart that I felt the relationship was in trouble, but even...
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... “Trickery or Deceit” Much Ado about Nothing, is one of Shakespeare’s, romantic comedies. I chose, Trickery or Deceit, as my title, because, sometimes in true life it’s difficult to determine the two. In this play deceit plays a major role. It first starts one week before the wedding. Hero and her friends decided that Beatrice and Benedick argue too much and did indeed share feelings for each other, And so they plotted a trick to make them fall in love, they included everyone in it, Don Pedro, Hero, Claudio pretended to say things about Beatrice loving Benedick so, that Benedict could hear. And then also pretended to speak alone in the garden, knowing of Beatrice’s presence they continued to say things of Benedick’s Love for Beatrice, which wooed the both of them and they both fell in love, but, had no idea they were being Deceived. But every ones happiness is to soon come to an end, as Don Jon plots to ruin their wedding.. He has Borachio pretend to court and make gestures at Hero, while Claudio and Don Pedro watched, when indeed it was Margaret whom he courted and had sex with. During my research of “Much Ado about Nothing”, I found that this is a perfect example of” Trickery or Deceit”, or both? My studies show that the author has an open mind and left the decision to be made by the audience. In the play Much Ado about Nothing, the word Nothing in the play’s title, pronounced in the Elizabeth English...
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...Beatrice is a strong-willed, independent woman. How far do you agree with this statement? I would agree for the most part with this statement. Beatrice is indeed strong-willed, but her independence has its limitations. As with many Shakespearean characters, appearance can be deceptive, and what we see is only a facade, a mask to hide their true character or feelings. I believe that Beatrice uses her cleverness and quick wit to hide her real feelings, and that although she is independent to a certain extent, she is aware that she has limitations because of her gender. Although Beatrice states ‘I would rather hear my dog bark at a crow than hear a man swear he loves me’ she is ultimately fooled into believing that Benedick loves her. The fact that she is tricked so easily, and subsequently admits her reciprocal love, tells us that she views marriage in a more favourable light than she had previously led us to believe. Whether she gave in to the ‘social construct’ demanded by the patriarchal society in which she lived is questionable. What we do know is that Shakespeare has presented her as a wilful, self-confident, autonomous woman who appears to revel in her single status. In contrast we have Hero, the antithesis of Beatrice. She is meek, obedient and completely dominated by the men in her life. She is the perfect foil for Beatrice, her willingness to please further enhancing Beatrice’s character. It is clear from the start of the play that Beatrice is not an...
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...“Much Ado About Nothing” is a comical play centered around scandals, love, and witty jokes. The antagonist of the play, Don John, schemes to make other characters suffer because of his on mishaps of being a bastard. As for the other characters, they play matchmaker to create happy relationships.Although “Much Ado About Nothing is depicted as a comical play, aspects of star-crossed lovers and deception reveal relevance to the moral of the story. In “Much Ado About Nothing,” deception, with the inherently evil connotation, reveals to have both negative and positive outcomes. Don Pedro disguises as Claudio in Act I and confesses his love to Hero at the mask ball because he feels that the two would make a perfect couple. Don John decides to...
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...MAAN: Love, what is it good for? Merriam-Webster dictionary defines love as “strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties;” Throughout the play, Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, there is never really a love connection between the characters Benedick and Beatrice. In the beginning of the play, they despise one another and made witty comments about one another; not only that, but they also question why the other one loved them after overhearing the conversation between their friends. By this definition Beatrice and Benedick can't truly be in love, because of words spoken by their friends. At the start of the play, when Benedick first arrived in Messina, the first thing they did was make witty comments about...
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...Major Themes in 'Much Ado About Nothing' Shakespeare’s treatment of love in Much Ado About Nothing differs from his other romantic comedies. Sure, it shares the same stagy plot, which finishes with the lovers finally getting back together, but Shakespeare also mocks the conventions of courtly love which was popular at the time. Although Claudio and Hero’s courtly marriage is central to the plot, their relationship is the least interesting thing in the play. Instead, our attention is drawn to Benedick and Beatrice’s unromantic backbiting – it is this relationship that seems more believable and enduring. By contrasting these two different types of love, Shakespeare manages to poke fun at the conventions of courtly, romantic love. Claudio uses highly contrived language when speaking of love, which is undermined by Benedick and Beatrice’s banter: “Can the world buy such a Jewel?” says Claudio of Hero. “My dear Lady disdain! Are you yet living?” says Benedick of Beatrice. As an audience, we are supposed to share Benedick’s frustration with Claudio’s transparent, pompous rhetoric of love: “He was wont to speak plain and to the purpose, like an honest man and a soldier … His words are a very fantastical banquet, just so many strange dishes.” Deception As the title suggests, there is a lot of fuss over very little in the play – after all, if Claudio wasn’t so impetuous, Don John’s rather weak plan wouldn’t have worked at all! What makes the plot so intricate is the use of deception...
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...In William Shakespeare’s comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, he uses the dialogue to show the transition of Benedick and his feelings toward Beatrice and marriage in general. Shakespeare uses the dialogue to show the reader the progression of Benedick’s outlooks on life go from hating Beatrice and the whole idea of marriage to then loving Beatrice and asking her to marry him. This kind of transition is very large and it can only be down by a great writer, such as William Shakespeare. Throughout the whole story Benedick shows very strong feelings toward both marriage and Beatrice, both good and bad, but in the end his true feelings are shown. In the very beginning of the book, after the war ended, Benedick and his fellow soldiers stay at a friend of Don Pedro’s house named Leonato. Leonato’s niece is named Beatrice, whom has a strong dislike of Benedick and vice versa. Benedick dislikes her so much that he states, “I will fetch you a toothpick from the furthest inch of Asia . . . do you any embassage to the pigmies, rather than hold three words’ conference...
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...HOW DO YOU EXPRESS LOVE? William Shakespeare expresses his love and other themes in many different ways. The play Much Ado About Nothing was written by Shakespeare uses language and dramatic elements such as puns, mistaken identify, allusions and comedic language to convey key themes and characterisation. Act 2 scene 1 explores and challenges the themes of love, deception, and loyalty. The themes of love, deception, and loyalty are emphasised in this play and can clearly be seen in Act 2 scene 1. The theme of love is evident between Hero and Claudio in this scene, as they come together in the presence of Hero’s family and friends as they are conjoined together and plan to get married. “Silence is a perfect herald of joy. I was but little happy if I could say how much. - Lady, as you are mine, I am yours. I give myself for you and dote upon the exchange”. This extract of the play portrays Claudio’s happiness that he will be marrying Hero. Hero indeed conveys her joy too as she whispers into Claudio’s ear, “My cousin tells him in his ear that he is...
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...Have you ever dreamed of reading a thrilling book about awesome characters and a devious plan involving death? Then “Much Ado About Nothing” by Shakespeare is the perfect book for you. In the enthralling play, there contain multiple couples. One is based solely on looks, one denies their love for each other, and one simply got together for the sake of a devious scheme. It also involves a plot that a kind character look scandalous, when really, they’re not. It’s a great story about love, evil, and forgiveness. In the play “Much Ado About Nothing” by William Shakespeare, Beatrice and Hero are foils of each other because of their interactions with others, how others feel about them, and their personality traits. Beatrice and Hero are major character foils in the play “Much Ado About Nothing” because of their...
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