Hitchcock's The Wrong Man

In Flannery O’Connor’s short story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” the Misfit’s characteristics are often opposites of each other or contradictory to each other. For example, at times he is gentle, while at other times in the story, his words and actions are harsh. Some of the statements he makes and actions he takes show him to be intelligent, but others also show him to be clueless and out of touch with reality. Similarly, he treats the family in the story with respect, yet in no way values their lives.

     The plot of “ A Good Man Is Hard To Find” really starts to take action when the family crashes their car and in waiting for help sees a car creeping around the bend, and here O’Connor does a good job setting the tone and image. “The car continued to come on slowly, disappeared around a bend and appeared again, moving even slower, on top of the hill they had gone over. It was a big black battered hearse-like automobile. There were three men in it.” (308) When O’Connor describes the vehicle as black and hearse-like you can tell instantly that the family is in trouble and the Misfit is about to be met. In the eyes of the narrator the family does not know their in trouble until the men exiting the car show they have guns and the grandmother identifies one of the men as the Misfit. Identifying the Misfit may have been the most crucial mistake the grandmother made the whole story, because due to her identifying the man she may have set her family up for death. The grandmother’s son, Bailey, recognizes this and after the Misfit has been recognized and the story says, “ Bailey turned his head sharply and said something to his mother that shocked even the children. The old lady began to

Like many of his films, Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954) is an intense study in the sometimes-jarring idiosyncrasies of its main character, L.B. Jeffries (James Stewart). Jeffries is an observer by nature, a professional photographer confined to his apartment by an injury, with only insurance company nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter) and his girlfriend, Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly) for company. This limitation impels him to begin observing his neighbors, and he witnesses events that lead him to believe Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr) has murdered his wide. However, Jeffries’ watchful habit raises serious questions about the relationships between neighbors and ethics of observation in densely-populated urban settings. Rear Window uses set design and disparate camera techniques to codify the acceptable and unacceptable ways in which a city dweller might observe their neighbors, based largely on level on intent.

Gender ideologies are apparent in all areas of life. Whether it be online, in TV shows, movies or in person, this idea of a specific role for each gender is almost inescapable. The stereotypes of both what women and men should aspire to be and follow are ever changing in today’s current society. However, in 1954, gender roles were very specific and it is shown throughout the film, Rear Window directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Through this film, gender ideologies are challenged but ultimately remain unshattered. The film produces an obvious view of women as the caretakers, and fragile in comparison to men who are the main providers. As the plot of Rear Window develops, characters continue to maintain the time periods gender ideologies despite the challenges they overcome.

For this paper, I have decided to compare two Hitchcock films. Ever since I can remember, I have seen Alfred Hitchcock films; Psycho, The Birds, North by Northwest, I enjoy his work because I like the suspense, and visual effects that he was able to accomplish. Out of all of his films, I believe that my favorite Hitchcock films would have to be Rear Window (1954) and Vertigo (1958), because I think that the two incorporate everything that is “Alfred Hitchcock”. Hitchcock films are known for being mysterious, cynical, as well as suspenseful and they are all similar because of his use of symbolism, light, repetitive actors, and repetition of theme.

In Spike Lee’s film, 25th Hour, Montgomery Brogan, a drug dealer who is about to face a seven year jail sentence, rants about New York while looking at himself in a mirror. Throughout the monologue, Brogan angrily comments against people of many different races, ethnicities, religions, and classes. Although offensive, the diatribe helps point out the impressive diversity of New York city. In addition, the rant is only superficially offensive and has a deeper meaning. Monty Brogan’s monologue depicts the hatred and guilt he feels towards himself.

To further his point, he paints the Misfit as a murderer and a person who finds pleasure in meanness. A Good Man Is Hard to Find is an excellent depiction of O’Conner’s talent to blend grotesque comic with important thematic

Am I really awake typing a paper for philosophy? Did I just watch the Hitchcock film Shadow of a Doubt or did the “not so supremely good God” plant a reel of thoughts in my head (Descartes16)? That would be ironic since the themes of the film are based upon human understanding of doubt, dreams, good, evil, ignorance and knowledge. The film portrays a neat staircase that leads into the house of an all American family and a rickety set of stairs off the side of the house that are private and used for escape. After watching the deep hidden meanings and symbolism in the film, one could perceive the image of the parallel staircases like a metaphor for the human mind. This would bring the audience into a deeper place, dark,

Tragedies tend to happen throughout life, but things happen whether one is destined for it, or simply because, one looks for trouble. In 1953, Flannery O’Conner published the short story A Good Man is Hard to Find. O’Conner presents one with a shorty story of selfishness, and family issues within. In the story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, A Grandmother did not want to go to Florida, with her son Bailey, and his family which is, his wife, a newborn baby, John Wesley his eight-year-old son, and June Star the daughter. Bailey’s mother offers to go to East Tennessee, so she could see some old connections there. She then finds a way to persuade him, by telling him a story of a criminal whom calls himself “The Misfit”. The next day, Bailey decides he will take his mother to Tennessee, grandma puts her luggage in the van as well as her cat Patty Sing.

In any neighbourhood, a sense of community is something that is quite often present. In fact, in Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller Rear Window, viewers witness a man progressively gaining a deep comprehension of his neighbours through his deeply-rooted voyeuristic desires to delve into their lives. In its entirety, the film demonstrates through its protagonist how this neighbourhood is too dispassionate and unconcerned to classify as a community. However, Hitchcock’s portrayal of how commonalities between individuals can assist in establishing new relationships, does suggest that on a minute scale, some individuals are more than just “people who live closely together”. Music, more often than not, is a form of art that intends to bring individuals

Alfred Hitchcock is perhaps known to many as either a dark, twisted monster, or as a devote Roman Catholic who layers his pieces of work with a profound sense of Catholicism. Many people failed to see Alfred Hitchcock’s hidden Catholic subtexts, however, his various concerns with redemption and justice, guilt and sin, and the presence of a Divine Grace throughout a world that is completely consumed with evil, is all mysteriously portrayed in a philosophical way. In his movie, Rear Window, not only does Hitchcock use his characters to divulge the guilty Lars Thorwald of murdering his nagging, sick wife, but he also uses them in order to prove that the presence of sin lies within everyone; even the neighbors who are just observing from a distance.

In the short story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor the words, meanings, and purposes transcend. The stories in the past had themes and meanings that were clear. However, this story is not ordinary it implies certain aspects to be true when the meaning is undeniably false. Nevertheless, this is not a story built around reality but based on the possibilities of fiction. When fiction and reality clash the story itself slips between time and space.

The Man Who Was Almost a Man, tells the story of a young seventeen year old teenager, named Dave Saunders, who finds himself struggling with the need to be taken seriously as an adult, while still being seen by his community, as merely a boy. Published in 1961 and written by Richard Wright, this short story focuses on the common struggle of young African American men in the South trying to find their identity outside of the box that the United States society put them in at the time. Dave felt that in order to prove that he was a man; in order to receive the respect he thought he deserved from Black and White Americans alike, he needed to purchase a gun. This, of course, proved to be of more harm than good, as Dave found himself incapable of using the gun correctly, and what resulted was the death of his employer’s mule. Dave then, after creating a nonsensical lie that does not convince anyone, decides to skip town in order to avoid the responsibility of taking up for his actions. When taking into consideration the story line and its relativity to the South during the 1920s, when the story is set, it’s clear to see that Dave Saunders’ story is more than what it seems to be on the surface. Dave Saunders’ story is a reflection of common coming-of-age struggles, and even more than that, the common African American struggle of trying to find power when everything surrounding you, and society as a whole, is telling you that you’re powerless; a struggle that is still very

The film Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles, is a great example of how a man can be corrupted by wealth. Through the characters in the film we can observe how Charles Foster Kane, an idealistic man with principles, can be changed and misguided by wealth and what accompanies wealth. The film takes places during the late 19th century and early 20th century, a time in American history when the world is changing and wealth is a great power to change it with. Through the story telling of Kane’s life we are able to see how wealth changes, not only Kane’s ideals, but his actions and how he perceives the world.

“Inside Man” was released in 2006 and would later become the highest grossing film for the director Spike Lee. The film is a crime-drama, located primarily in a bank in New York City run by multi billionaire Arthur Case. Although the film is a thriller and contains bits of action and suspense, the movie focuses heavily on the difference between good and evil. The movie begins with a shot in medias res of Clive Owen’s character Dalton Russell explaining the difference between being stuck in a tiny cell and being in prison while he moves around a small room