Analysis Of Pack Of Lies, Goodbye To All That, And Barn Burning

Texts cannot exist outside their context; texts implicitly and explicitly embody the values of the society of which they are written. Both The Catcher in the Rye and Donnie Darko depict the societal norms of the period the texts were set in. However, Salinger’s novel and Kelly’s film both portray the protagonist of their text to be classified an outsider; subverting norms and rebelling against those in power. Catcher in the Rye, a bildungsroman masterpiece is set in the late 1940’s in America, and consequently, focuses on the contextual ideology of the American Dream. Donnie Darko a sci.fi film made in 2001 however, is set in a period of conservatism in America in the late 1980’s. Despite, differing contexts, both pieces accurately explore the beneficial and dire implications associated with transgressing social conventions.

They plodded on, thin and filthy as street addicts. Cowled in their blankets against the cold and their breath smoking, shuffling through the black and silky drifts…. and the noon sky black as the cellars of hell. He held the boy against him, cold to the bone. Dont lose heart, he said. We’ll be all right (The Road 177).

“Recession is when a neighbor loses his job, depression is when you lose your job” Ronald Reagan. Recession is only a temporary decline and depression is a long and extended period of economic failure. There was a crisis in America during the time period the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? was based on. The Great Depression was occurring at that time and the characters in this movie reflected and showed was it was like to live in a time like that. Each character in the movie symbolized what an individual person would have went through during the Great Depression.

William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” takes a lot of real life situations and puts them into fiction. He is able to put the life around him in to stories of fiction.

Love is represented in many shapes and ideas based on social context as well as those caught within. William Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew as well as its adaptation 10 Things I Hate About You by Gil Junger, represent their respective ideas on love which shares its similarities and differences, both portraying love in their own forms. Both texts highlight the ideals of love in their context as well as one of the main courtships, Katharina and Petruchio, involved in love, portraying their values of love.

William Faulkner was born in 1897. Growing up in Mississippi inspired Faulkner to incorporate his southern roots into many of his works. Many of his works intertwined when it came to the setting and even some of the characters of his stories. William Faulkner’s short story “Barn Burning” is no different. In “Barn Burning” Faulkner brings in his native south through the setting, family dynamics, and social class.

The world of film has changed dramatically over the last fifty years, both in technology and perceptions on how the industry should work and how it is viewed by the public. The ending of the production code in Hollywood started the cultural change in the industry. With this restrictive institution gone, many directors chose to take advantage of this in many different ways. My favorite of these is Mel Brooks; he chose to break and push boundaries both socially and comedically. Brooks’ style often includes crude humor inlaid with deeper jokes and meaning, many fourth wall breaking moments such as the “We’re in now now” scene of Spaceballs, to stand out in the world of comedy. His masterpiece, Blazing Saddles, is one such film that did just that. Through its new found sense of humor in the post production code era and its twists on common genre tropes of the time, Blazing Saddles was able to find its place into the New Hollywood Cinema.

Even though young Sarty despises his father’s (Abner) crimes, why does he keep these crimes to himself and not expose his father? Throughout the text of “Barn Burning”, Sarty seems to have repetitive feelings of grief and despair, yet he hesitates to out his father for his crimes. Sarty is hesitant to out his father for his crimes because he hopes his father will change, he fears his father will harm him physically or emotionally, and he places a priority on his family’s wellbeing before his own.

The central theme in William Faulkner's "Barn Burning" is initiation and morality. Young Colonel Sartoris "Sarty" Snopes is confronted with the conflict between loyalty to his family and to honor and justice.

“And the band started playing one of those really slow songs, like “Stairway to Heaven” or “Freebird” that probably have really great lyrics or something but the song itself just is awful-just awful. Then this real phony guy, with the hair all slicked back on the top of his head stood up with the Sax and did a solo. I almost died. I mean, almost completely died right there. It had to be the cheesiest solo I had ever heard. I mean he was swaying back and forth and he closed his eyes like he was really getting into it and all, but it was the fakest thing you ever heard. It was like something out of a bad Howard Johnson’s. I swear, he must record Muzak for a living or drive

“Barn Burning” first appeared in print in Harper’s Magazine in 1939 (Pinion). It is a short story by William Faulkner which depicts a young boy in crisis as he comes to realize the truth about his father’s pyromania. Faulkner takes the reader inside the boy’s life as he struggles to remain loyal to his unstable father. In the end the boy’s courage and sense of justice wins and he not only walks away from his father’s iron clad control over his life, but he is able to warn his father’s next victim. To understand how this boy could make such a courageous, difficult decision we must review the important events in the story and the effect they have on him.

At first glance, the story “Barn burning” seems just to be about a tyrannical father and a son who is in the grips of that tyranny. I think Faulkner explores at least one important philosophical question in this story were he asks at what point should a person make a choice between what his parent(s) and / or family believes and his own values?

How do you overcome adolescence? In the poem “Hanging Fire” by Audre Lorde tells a story about a teenager trying to cope with the difficulties and what ifs about her adolescent life. Lorde shows the speaker struggling with her appearance and the struggles of having no one to turn to and feeling alone during this stage of her life. With the problems the speaker has to face, she shows how a teenager would deal them. By having no patience when it comes to growing up, she wants the results fast and does not understand why she appears the way she does. The poem showcases many references of death, not wanting to wait to grow up and dealing with typical teenager problems. Such as, coming-of-age, family relationships and wanting to grow up fast.

“Liar Liar, Pants on Fire” my kindergarten friends used to tease. I liked the phrase, though. Not because it stopped people from lying, but because I knew that lying wouldn’t set my pants on fire, so I could lie all that I wanted with no repercussions. The way that we perceive lying is pretty funny. Everyone knows that it’s a “bad thing” to do, and yet, we justify it with the concept of “white lies”. And maybe it’s this notion that there exists a form of lying that isn’t bad that alleviates the stigma on lying for me. Perhaps that’s what makes Huck feel so justified when he lies too.

“All Along the Watchtower” is known as a classic rock song, but was originally crafted by Bob Dylan in 1967. Artists like Pearl Jam, U2, Dave Matthews Band and Eric Clapton have all covered this song, but notably the most famous version would be Jimi Hendrix’ rendition. A year after the song’s original release, Hendrix covered the unknown Bob Dylan song and propelled its legacy. Both songs draw different artistry and interpretations, but the concept is fundamentally the same.