William Goldman's Princess Bride

Good morning/afternoon, peers and members of the Emmaus community, I am standing here before you today, to discuss the wonders of literature and the impact it has on one’s life. Throughout the first 17 years of my life, I have encountered many books, novels, and spectacular films. Especially during my education, we study and analyse an array of different texts which all have meaningful themes and teachings that make them relevant to people who are growing and learning at school. In the next several paragraphs I will be discussing the life lessons I have learned from literature and how it will help me on my life journey.

A very beautiful woman by the name Buttercup in The Princess Bride A Fantasy Romance novel written by William Goldman ends up falling in love with her family servant that is not wealthy whatsoever and begins to gain feelings towards him out of the blue with much jealousy . Buttercup to many other people from their city believe that she is the most beautiful girl ever yet that lives in a farm. But unfortunately goes through a very tough situations throughout the novel .

The Princess Bride by William Goldman is a metafictional story that questions and honors various aspects of traditional romance narrative stories. The romance narrative aspect of this story is presented in The Princess Bride through a heroic tale of fantasy, adventure and happy endings. However, the author William Goldman acts as the narrative in this story allowing him to question and challenge the romance traditional storyline, letting viewers rethink the elements of traditional romance stories that they are so familiar with. Every character in this story represents an archetype of a common fairy tale. Most of the characters take traditional stereotypes; the beautiful slow-learning heroine, the love of the heroine, the giant who is afraid

It’s amazing when you find the perfect book. When the perfect book is found, you take off in an adventure of someone's imagination. When the perfect book is found you can read about anything in this world. When the perfect book is found you could find faith. Some may say that books are just a waste of time and are unhelpful, but it’s better to be knowledgeable whether you could use it now or in the future.

The director Tim Burton, has a characteristic style which could be described as eccentric and distorted. His films are inspired by German expressionism and gothic fairy tale. Burton's films tend to explore the idea of two different worlds and misfits in society. The strange and quirky storylines usually end up having similar morals concerning individuality and freedom. In the films, Alice in Wonderland and The Corpse Bride Burton shows the ideas of two different worlds and misfits in society. To show these differences he uses contrasting colour filters and unusual shapes and proportions.

There are few books that can transport us to another world, truly make us feel for the characters and evoke a sense of loss when the characters are stripped viscously from the pages. Though a book does not have to take away a beloved character to make you feel, it tends to evoke more feeling when you truly feel like you lost a part of yourself when the character disappeared. Books that we can relate to are the ones that are the most provocative, ones that involve us in the character’s story and truly arouse a connection to an experience, whether it be recent or 10 years ago. A book should truly change us and engrave its message into our soul, showing everyone who we are. If a book can do this, than it can truly change someone’s life, requiring

Literature, a body of written works, is something that I sometimes find myself leisurely immersing in. It allows for the limitations of my own ordinary situations to be seized momentarily whilst I let mind be free and my own imagination wander. The pursuit of self-discovery is present within many forms of literature and can be told through plots and central characters. I often discover new societal universal longings that arise from the novels pages which encourages me to reflect on my own sense of self. The unique interpretations and individual thoughts made by readers allows for a diverse range of reactions to literature. It allows for the words on a page to transform from still words, into a journey of personal expedition, where individuals deepen their connections to the characters as well venturing on a self-discovery expedition. I can relate with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s claim that “you discover that your longings are universal longings, that you’re not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong”. I have recently read both a novel, The light between oceans by M.L Stedman, and a memoir, Reckoning by Magda Szubanski, that have allowed me to reflect upon my own sense of self and question my own societal universal longings.

Plot Summary: As a young child, Buttercup never worried about anything. She just rode her horse and teased the farmhand, named Westley. Then, one day, something happens. The girls of her village stop talking to her, won’t even look her way. When she asks why, she is told it is because she has stolen the boys of the village away. Every day, the young men crowd around her house and make fun of her, saying that she thinks she is too good for any of them. One day, Buttercup realises that she is in love with Westley, and runs to him, begging for his affection. He admits he too felt something for Buttercup, but has to go away. While he is gone, news spreads around that Westley is dead and that the Dread Pirate Roberts has killed him. At the same time, the prince of Florin hears of Buttercup’s beauty, and wishes to marry her. Although Buttercup does not love the prince, she agrees to marry him because he threatens to kill her. When Buttercup is kidnapped, a man in black goes to take her from the kidnappers, and it turns out to be her supposedly dead love, Westley. This tale of passion, death, and high adventure will leave the reader wanting to read more.

Sometimes dubbed a classic by its fans, The Princess Bride, perfectly combines the fantasy of a fairy tale with relatable humor, that can make even the most indifferent, smile. As this movie made its debut in theaters the year 1987, it has been viewed by generations all the while increasing in fans.

I have learned that life is about learning new and exciting things and allowing your self to open your mind to the possibility of new perspectives. In my life, I have always found that it’s important to learn something new every day. With that I make it my goal to learn something new every day. When I began this class, I knew that there would be many opportunities to learn. From grade school, I had a basic understanding of the world and how the perspectives of others varied from my own. After reading the pieces I would then choice to write about, I realized that they were written on an more emotional level. This especially changed my way of looking at the past specifically the era that these pieces were written. It has made me very grateful for what I have in my life, opening my eyes to the world we live in now. Of the numerous pieces I have read so far in this class it was difficult to decide what pieces to choose for this assignment, but I managed to choose. First “The Chimney Sweeper” by William Blake (pg.129). Next is “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid (pg.121). Lastly “Bartleby, The Scrivener” by Herman Melville (pg.235). These three pieces of literature certainly spoke to me as a person, mother and friend. And I plan to tell you how these wonderful literary works have changed my perspective on the world.

In the fairy-tale within a tale, The Princess Bride produced in 1987 by Act III Communications, with an amazing cast, begins when a young boy becomes ill and is visited by his grandfather. His grandfather brings a storybook to cheer up the little boy. The story is about a beautiful woman, Buttercup, the hero who is in love with her, Westley, and an evil prince, Humperdinck, who is there to ruin the day. Buttercup, a former farm girl, had been chosen as the prince’s bride, although she does not love him. Westley is still her one true love. Westley was a hired hand on the farm where Buttercup lived, his constant answer “as you wish” to any request she made to him was his way of expressing his love to her. Westley went away only to be rumored to have been killed by the Dread Pirate Roberts. On a horse ride to clear her mind of the upcoming marriage she was soon to face, she was kidnapped by a band of bandits. The bandits include a Spaniard named Inigo Montoya, who has trained himself his entire life to be an expert swordsman for the revenge on a six-fingered man who killed his father, Vizzini who was the witty one, and a giant named Fezzik who works on his strength. The trio are in return being chased by the Dread Pirate Roberts, who turns out to be the beloved Westley, and the Prince’s men led by Count Tyrone Rugen. The adventures of the characters eventually lead to the palace of Prince Humperdinck where the fairy-tale plays out as

About five years ago in an Indian village, three girls would be married at sundown. Their names, Radha, Gora and Rajani. This marriage like so many others like them is illegal, see Radha and Gora are 15 and 13, but Rajani is 5. Cynthia Gorney a reporter for the National Geographic reported the events of the day stating the two older ones where able to understand that they would be wed within hours but sweet little Rajani was to young to fully understand. Later she describes the impulse to save the children from this tragic night and runs the scenarios of her rescue in her head. Sadly this story is not surprising or shocking many women because this story holds traits of their wedding day (Gorney). According to Girls Not Brides, ”Each year, 15 million girls are married before the age of 18. That is 28 girls every minute”(About).

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett is an eye opener to many in the modern age as millennials like myself who have dispersed of reading and have moved on to the modern age of technology. The Uncommon Reader demonstrates how reading can attract many non-readers and break certain stereotypes toward reading. As someone who was an avid reader and has gradually left the books for videos and social media. I hope to rediscover a connection with reading unlike the dying age of readers in this era. Reading growing up has always fascinated me because with every book you never know what to expect, further leading you to continue reading. Having this said, as time went on I grew fonder of reading and started to explore many genres(fiction, nonfiction, fantasy). Books became a world where I could escape and embody these characters who were facing many obstacles or adventures. By reading The Uncommon Reader I surprisingly found myself reflecting the Queen, she ultimately found herself disregarding the power of reading and soon turned out to become fond of it. Even though the Queen led a life of royal responsibilities, through reading she gathered a new perspective of the world. Having this said myself at a young age being only able to gather very minimal experience from the world, reading allowed me to discover certain backgrounds that were being conveyed from different points of view. Reading is more than just words on paper it is the idea that one can challenge the normalities of

In today’s society, everyone feels obliged to conform to society. Everyone feels that they have to live up to the societal norms so that they could be “accepted”. Dina Goldstein’s image, Fallen Princesses, presents the idea of how someone’s action can be heavily influenced by other people. If you are different from the majority, you are likely to feel left out as almost everyone will treat and view you differently. In order to fit it, you have to change yourself; you have to pretend and be someone you’re not. However, trying too much to fit in come with a cost; it makes you lose a sense of yourself. Everyone should not live for others, they should only live for themselves; everyone should have a choice to do whatever they want to. Our lives belong to us; it is our own unfinished book that is to be filled by none other than ourselves.

The technological advancements of the twentieth century and the proliferation of publishing houses enabled the story to capture a person’s imagination like never before. Whereas, in the days of Yore, the story had to rely on word of mouth, stage and theater artists to reach a wider audience; now through the medium of books and paperbacks, it could reach a far greater and greatly dispersed humanity. As the spread and reach of stories increased, so did their mesmerizing influence on man. Books and paperbacks ensured the hitherto unknown writer, author, poet, sage, thinker and philosopher to emerge from the pit of anonymity and catapult him/her to the forefront of mass consciousness, commercial success and fame.