Silence and the Avoidance of Persecution
In the film Silence, the characters of Kichijiro, Rodrigues, and Ferreira illustrate the idea that a person’s outward actions fail at conveying their inward beliefs. Throughout the film, Kichijiro consistently claims that he is a Christian but then denies Christ whenever serious opposition arises. However, the film uses the discovery of Kichijiro’s crucifix at the end of the film and his continuous declarations to Father Rodrigues of, Forgive me Father for I have sinned,” as a method of suggesting that even though Kichijiro outwardly apostated many times, he still had a strong faith on the inside. Moreover, the character of Rodrigues extends the film’s theme through the line, “Even if God had been silent my whole life to this very day everything I do, everything I’ve done, speaks of Him,” and through his possession of a crucifix when his body underwent cremation. The aforementioned quote and the possession of the crucifix illustrate that even though Rodrigues committed the act of apostasy he never truly apostatized in his heart. Finally, when the fallen priest Ferreira mentions to Rodrigues, “Only our Lord can judge your heart,” it evidences that even though Ferreira openly apostated and helped the Japanese in their attempt at attaining Rodrigues’ apostasy,
…show more content…
Consequently, Ferreira’s proclamation serves as the perfect representation of the film’s theme because it reinforces the importance of a person’s internal thought and beliefs over their external actions because God judges works
No one can truly understand sympathy until they have suffered. In his The Chosen, a postmodern novel, Chaim Potok surveys the meaning of compassion learned through suffering. Danny Saunders, a brilliant Hasidic Jew, lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn along with his friend, Reuven Malter, in the 1940s. With his photographic memory, Danny aspires to become a psychologist, but he knows that he will have to inherit his father’s position as the rabbi of their community. In addition to this, his father, Reb Saunders, will not speak to him about anything other than the holy book of Talmund. Danny is forced to keep his ideas and experiences to himself, leading to him suffering because of this silence. Chaim Potok’s The Chosen uses Danny’s gradual shift
Everyone believes in something or someone to a certain extent. That extent is revealed when consequences are laid out on the table. In the intriguing novel Silence, by Shusaku Endo, the pathway of the Jesuit priest, Sebastian Rodriguez, is followed as he embarks to Japan during the height of the country's persecution of Christians in the 1600s to perform missionary work. One of his goals for this trip was to find out why one of his old teachers renounced their faith after being captured and tortured. However, as time would tell, Rodrigues found himself in a position of torture where he too had to decide whether or not he would renounce his faith by stepping on the fumie in front of the Japanese men.
His declaration is a poignant moment in the novel, as it encapsulates the central theme of individuality versus conformity. This quote is a powerful statement about the importance of being true to oneself, even if it means facing unpleasant aspects of one’s nature, rather than living a superficially content life devoid of personal identity.
Driving through Charlestown will take you just three minutes. The kids on street corners will stare at your car, while adults will yell out your name and wave. The friendly atmosphere can make you feel welcome if you are a part of the neighborhood. But it vanishes if you are an outsider or a local victim of a crime.
“Silence is violence” is a common phrase used by people nowadays which references people who lack initiative when it comes to speaking out against oppression. The same phrase could be applied to the ideas within Shusaku Endo’s novel, Silence. Endo was clever to name his novel Silence, because the word is a very prominent symbol within the story. In fact, it plays a crucial role to the development of the main character. Although some readers may argue that the role of silence in the book is neutral, I claim that silence plays a negative role for the characters because it is what causes protagonist Rodrigues to renounce his faith. In the story, it represents the silence of God, which induces Rodrigues to question his religion through the torture of innocent Japanese Christians.
In life, one may make many mistakes due to bad decisions, but the way you handle it and what you do to redeem yourself is what counts the most. The Crucible, a story by Arthur Miller, which later was made into a play, is a rendition of what occurred during the witch trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. This practice has a great involvement throughout the entire story when the young group girls accuse random townspeople of witchcraft without any evidence to back their stories. John and Elizabeth Proctor are two of the main characters. They are a married couple that is going through a very difficult
For example, the shot at approximately 9:05 that shows an image of naked, skeletal prisoners waiting in line where the voice-over narrates “nudity strips the inmates of all pride in one stroke” demonstrates this authoritative position as the voice is dry and matter-of-fact in contrast to the horrifying image, yet it is somber with empathy. Together with image choice, music and cinematography, this ‘Voice of God’ narration personifies the films perspective in order to not only show but to explain to the viewers the meaning of what is on the screen.
Rodrigues needed Kichijiro's consistent return to realize the importance and mercy that Christ played. It makes you wonder why he still denounced his faith. For Endo, I think that was something he wanted to get across and a reason why he had Kichijiro coming
While reading The Call of the Wild, I noticed that Buck’s experience with all of his handlers and caregivers impacted him by being kind to others. Buck was willing and open to being kind and helping humans as well as dogs. Buck was able to help by either showing emotions or just by helping them in a physical way.
Throughout the Novel Silence, Shusako Endo depicts the cultural clash between Christianity and Japan. We feel the frustrations that this brings, and are provoked to ask questions such as, why is God silent in the midst of his people’s suffering? But the greater question it begs is what cultural implications have we placed on Christ? Do we expect him to act as a hero in our culture would? He transcends time and culture, but do our expectations and experiences cast a shadow on our impression of God? The theme of the silence of God, suggested by the title is brought to light throughout the novel, and perhaps the reader can see this as one cultural expectation placed on Christ by a particular group of people based on their perceptions or experiences. Their experiences in life cast a shadow on their impression of God, and Jesus is to be a cultural hero in their frame.
The Truman Show is a movie about a television show staring Truman Burbank, an average, ordinary man who has no clue that he is the star of a television show. His entire existence is within a giant dome, and all the people in the small town are actors, including his best friend, mom, dad, and wife. Overseeing this giant production is “The Truman Show” creator, director and screenwriter, Christof. Immediately, we can see that the movie is clearly a retelling of “The Allegory of the Cave”. Moreover, it explains the dilemma of free will and determinism, and giver a visual for the common contemporary view of God. Before addressing the dilemma of free will and determinism, we need to look at Christof’s role in Truman’s life.
The author shows the theme “People are not meant to be perfect, they are meant to be themself,” by using imagery and
The theme of this movie suggests mortality, which concerns the distinction of doing bad or good behaviors. Mortality shows us that life is fragile. This idea makes us question our purpose in life. An example is one of the most famous philosophers named Socrates, who had developed a Socratic method to ask questions about our assumptions and to stimulate critical thinking of what is right and wrong. He makes us reason through our opinions and beliefs to narrow down the truth.
Marijuana is a drug that has been actively used for centuries. This drug can be traced back to 2737 BC by the Chinese emperor Shen Nung. He spoke about the euphoric effects of Cannabis and even referred to it as the “Liberator of Sin.” Since early on, marijuana was seen as a medicinal plant that was recommended for medical uses. Marijuana is currently in schedule I, which means that physicians are not allowed to prescribe it in the United States (Hart, Ksir 2013). This drug is also considered to have a high potential for abuse. In New York, a recent law was passed that states the penalties of possession of marijuana. If a person is carrying less than 25 grams and it is his/her offense, a $100 fine will be given to the individual. Marijuana is a very popular drug and in a study called Monitoring the Future Project by the University of Michigan in 2011, they state that next to alcohol, marijuana is the second most popular drug used by college students (Hart, Ksir 2013). There are currently many ongoing debates on why marijuana should be legalized. Marijuana should be legalized for recreation use in New York State because it can bring many positive effects to one’s health and can improve the economy as well.
Halloween is a holiday, celebrated every year on October 31st. It can be traced all the way back to old European traditions. Halloween mainly originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. It was thought that if people were costumes, and light bonfires during the Samhain festive it would scare of any lingering spirits. During the eighth century, Pope Gregory III appointed November first as the day to honor all saints. All Saints Day combined nearly all of the traditions of Samhain. The night before All Saints Day, was called All Hallows Eve, and in the later years went on to be called Halloween. Over time, Halloween slowly changed into a night full of activities that many of us enjoy today, like carving jack-o-lanterns, throwing parties, and trick-or-treating. People all over the world continue to celebrate Halloween with treats, gatherings, and costumes.