Martin Scorsese's Film, Taxi Driver Essay

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams uses setting to illustrate various themes and messages as they pertain to the events of the play. The setting plays a crucial role in the story line and the outcome of the play.

“Stella has embraced him with both arms, fiercely, and full in the view of Blanche. He laughs and clasps her head to him. Over her head he grins through the curtains at Blanche.” (Williams 73) A Streetcar Named Desire written by Tennessee Williams exemplifies the theme of a struggle to attain happiness. The play not only portrays this theme in its characters and setting, but through the literary devices of Foil, Imagery, and Intertextuality. Williams took great care in applying each of these literary device techniques to the theme as he presents an intriguing contrast between Blanche and Stanley, vivid images both animalistic and broken, and imploring the use of the Odyssey to further

Unfortunately for Bickle, he is never able to get close enough to get to the candidate. After his plan completely fails, Bickle then begins to form an interest in saving a young 12-year-old prostitute by the name of Iris, played by Jodie Foster. In order to save her, Travis goes to the hotel that Iris works at and shoots her ‘pimp’ and murders him along with the hotel manager and the client of Iris. After seeing this film, Hinckley Jr. starts to form an obsession for Jodie Foster. He also began to believe that he saw himself in Travis Bickle. Hinckley Jr. was so infatuated with Taxi Driver that he saw the movie a total of fifteen times. He felt that in order to win Jodie Foster over, and to get her to even know he existed, was to assassinate the president of the United States. This would be the start of something that would lead to the attempted assassination of former President Ronald Reagan.

He often watches Betsy from his cab, and finally enters the office and asks her out. They meet for coffee, and Betsy finds him odd but intriguing, and agrees to see him again. He takes her to a porn theater he frequents. She is revolted by this and refuses to see him again. After Betsy rejection, Bickle realizes or found out that she is just like the others.

In Martin Scorcese's Taxi Driver, Travis Bickle repeatedly expresses two ideas that are central to the film. First, Travis has an undying wish to purify the world. He wants to rid his city of all the evil and scum that currently inhabits the city's cold and damp streets. Second, is the method by which Travis tries to obtain his goals. Travis Bickle tries to clean up his city by methods similar to those of religious figures. He even takes on a role as a savior figure. Travis Bickle's quest to save the world via religious ideas fails, and instead results is a bloodbath.

With lighting and props adding a great amount of depth to the realism behind Blanche’s character and her struggles, so do the sets in several scenes. The main set of the entire film, the Kowalski apartment, constantly provides a greater insight into Blanche’s life. For example, in the beginning, the small apartment is filled with loose and hanging wires, random clutter covering every table/countertop, and filthy windows. This overwhelming mess of a home represents all the stress that Blanche is under when she first moves in, as well as the overall danger of the environment. At first, she is very uneasy due to the layout of the home. This uncomfortable feeling goes beyond the screen as the audience almost immediately senses that she’s in danger when she first walks through the

This 1950's theatrical presentation was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Tennessee Williams. It is about a southern bell by the name of Blanche Dubois who loses her father's plantation to a mortgage and travels to live in her sister's home in New Orleans by means of a streetcar called Desire. There she finds her sister living in a mess with a drunken bully husband, and the events that follow cause Blanche to step over the line of insanity and fall victim to life's harsh lessons.

Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or in traditions. Choose such a novel or play and note briefly the particular attitudes or traditions that the author apparently wishes to modify. Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence the reader or audience’s views. Avoid plot summary.

The movie Driving Miss Daisy was a film created in 1990. Bruce Beresford directed this comedy/drama to be set in the 1950’s. Morgan Freeman stars in this movie as Hoke Colburn along with Jessica Tandy starring Daisy Wethan. The movie is set down south in Georgia focusing on the life of Miss Daisy. As the movie opens Daisy is in her car trying to back out when she accidentally backs her car into her neighbor’s yard. Due to the accident her insurance considered her a high risk driver and revoked her coverage. Her son Boolie insisted that she find a chauffeur but she was resistant to the idea of having a driver. Stubborn and determined to maintain her independence she sets out to do things on her own rather than heed her sons advice. While at work Boolie discovers Hoke during an incident with the elevators. Boolie hires Hoke as a

An outcome in the life of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire that is most obvious to the audience is her psychological downfall and her subsequent admittance into a mental asylum; however, the chain reaction of events that occur for her arrive at this outcome are very important to Blanche’s behavior in the story and must be examined in great detail. To begin with, Blanche grows up as one of two daughters of a French settler living in the southern state of Louisiana, and happens to be a wealthy plantation owner. Therefore, she was bought up in an aristocratic family and was taught how to live with upper class manners, and as discussed previously, was expected to live according to the Southern Belle figure. By the time she had reached 16 years of age, Blanche had already fulfilled the main goal of a Southern Belle by marrying her young love, Allan Grey. However, this marriage did not last long as through some unfortunate circumstances, she came to find out that he was a homosexual man. Blanche did not take this news well and condemned his behavior and sexual orientation, leading to Allan committing suicide, and leaving a psychological wound in her mind. Following the suicide of Allan, Blanche had to deal with many more unfortunate events such as the many deaths of relatives, including her parents, abandonment by her sister, and poor decisions by her distant family which eventually caused her to lose ownership of the family plantation in the town of Laurel. After all

Desperate and lonely, Blanche arrives at Elysian Fields in New Orleans to seek refuge with her sister. Stanley resents her presence and her interest in Mitch. He and Blanche engage in a struggle for Stella's loyalty- a struggle which Blanche cannot win. Stanley reveals the sordid details of Blanches past to Mitch: she has been fired from her job and driven out of Laurel. Mitch later refuses to marry Blanche. On her birthday, Stanley presents Blanche with a one- way ticket back to Laurel and Blanche's instability veers towards madness. Alone in the apartment when Stella goes into the hospital to give birth Blanche is raped by Stanley. Blanche is forcibly escorted to an asylum as Stanley plays cards and Stella weeps inconsolably.

Compare how the authors of Death of a salesman and “street car named desire explore the conflict between truth and illusion

"The Highwayman" is a narrative poem written by Alfred Noyes that portrays ill-starred romance between the highwayman, a thief and Bess, the landlord's daughter. Everything is going well until Tim calls the authorities and sets a trap to catch the highwayman, because he's a thief. Tim, Bess’s father's ostler is in love with Bess and goes out of his way to ensure that Bess’s relationship won't last. After Tim tips off the authorities Bess warns the highwayman and in the process she perishes.

Scene three, the poker night, an extract from Tennessee Williams’s renowned play Streetcar Named Desire the play was written in 1947 and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948.

The film, The Godfather, was released on March 24, 1972. The time period that the movie was set in was 1945, which was the time period of the Mafia. This film is based around two families fighting throughout the film. One of the main characters, Michael Corleone, changes throughout the movie deciding whether or not he should join in on the family business and take his fathers position (Vito Corleone) as Godfather. As a viewer, I did not enjoy this film due to the darkness and wickedness behind it. Although, many believe it to be one of the greatest movies of all time, in my opinion, the film was not a success.