Tender Napalm by Philip Ridley

From the words of C.S. Lewis, “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny”. Facing hardships and breaking free from their normal world allows the hero inside of people to come out. Many stories document this journey of a hero through the Hero’s Journey Archetype. In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, a man named Rainsford stumbles upon an island where humans are hunted by a crazed man. The hero’s journey archetype is implemented throughout Rainsford’s experiences in the story. Richard Connell used the Hero’s Journey Archetype to structure the plot and develop the theme that with clever thinking and lots of hope, one can succeed at anything.

Titus Andronicus is a play renowned for its bloodshed and human suffering. Shakespeare’s strategic use of diction, literary devices such as alliteration and rhyme heightens the dark ambiance. The dark and lifeless images which pervade Tamora’s monologue explores the breakdown of human goodness and familial relations and loyalty. Titus Andronicus demonstrates the dangerous force of vengeance. Furthermore, Shakespeare’s underscores the complexity of gender roles that can impede female liberties through enduring patriarchal societal values who elevates a prudent woman over the ‘wildly’ lustful woman susceptible to her sexual appetite.

Underestimation and cruel actions lead to many things. In “The Most Dangerous Game,” author Richard Connell reveals a conflict between the main characters, General Zaroff and Rainsford. Rainsford was to play the most dangerous game created by Zaroff, because the only way to survive, is to win it, otherwise death is the only other option. As demonstrated through the use of personification, symbolism, and repetition in the story, it conveys that one should understand to never underestimate another person and remember that there will always be a consequence for the wicked things that one has done.

In order to feel satisfied, humans naturally find an activity to do when they encounter themselves no longer entertained. In the case of “The Most Dangerous Game,” written by Richard Connell, General Zaroff creates exactly what the titles states, the most dangerous game, a game of hunting the only animal that can reason: humans. This is quite ironic because Zaroff has all the wealth and power to do anything, but creates this game only to escape his boredom. Connell wrote “The Most Dangerous Game” with Rainsford as the main character, a role most typically associated with the archetypal hero. However, with an understanding of the story, readers question whether Rainsford really is the hero, his values of humans and animals, and the possibility of him becoming the villain, provoking readers to realize that the cycle of violence and oppression goes on even if believed to already be conquered.

C.S. Lewis one said “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny”. Facing hardships and breaking free from their normal world allows the hero inside of people to come out. Many stories document this journey of a hero through the Hero’s Journey Archetype. In the short story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, a man named Rainsford stumbles upon an island where humans are hunted by a crazed man. The hero’s journey archetype is implemented throughout Rainsford’s experiences in the story. Richard Connell used the Hero’s Journey Archetype to structure the plot and develop the theme that with clever thinking and the use of past experiences, one can succeed at anything.

Also the excessively violent actions of the characters shock the audience at times and works to show a bloody part of American history. Furthermore, the film feels as if you are thrown into history with wood constructed sets and men armed with clubs and knives. These elements work to enhance the thematic content of the play and the viewer’s intense experience of an untraditional period piece that relates a different version of American history, one darker and more anarchic. They sets, accents, and character actions all add to the authentic feel of the movie, which makes the film feel like it is a historical narrative, while also being interlinked with an individual story of vengeance that provides not only a historical account, but entertainment for the

Theatre is a complex art that attempts to weave stories of varying degrees of intricacies with the hope that feelings will be elicited from the audience. Samuel Beckett’s most famous work in the theatre world, however, is Waiting for Godot, the play in which, according to well-known Irish critic Vivian Mercier, “nothing happens, twice.” Beckett pioneered many different levels of groundbreaking and avant-garde theatre and had a large influence on the section of the modern idea of presentational theatre as opposed to the representational. His career seemingly marks the end of modernism in theatre and the creation of what is known as the “Theatre of the Absurd.”

The setting and imagery used in Louis Nowra’s play ‘Cosi’ explore the turbulent time that took part in Australia. The play is set in a mental institution in Melbourne, in the 1970’s. Using the ominous presence of the Vietnam War, Nowra explores the insanity of the war; and the need to condemn war and to protest against Australia’s involvement in Vietnam. The main presence of the institution and involving patients explored the inhumanity and ineffectiveness of the mental health system in the 1970’s in Australia. Nowra used the ‘play within a play’ to explore the Importance of theatre, as a way of enriching

To the United States, World War II is believed to be a good war, and why wouldn’t it be considered as such? During World War II, in addition to stopping mass genocide and stopping the spread of Nazism and Fascism, the United States beat Japan after their attack on Pearl Harbor. As a result, the U.S. was no longer in the Depression and the United States became a world power. However, in “The Best War Ever,” Michael C.C. Adams argues that as a result of Hollywood’s glamorization of the war, government propaganda/censorship, and the widespread of economic prosperity, Americans were kept in the dark about the truth regarding World War II resulting in the popular belief and myth that World War II was a good war.

When one is hunting, do they ever stop to think about how it feels to be the prey? In Richard Connell’s short story, “The Most Dangerous Game”, the character Rainsford has a change of opinion and feelings to this very question. In the beginning of the story, Rainsford is on a ship with a colleague and expresses that he is only concerned about the feelings of himself as the hunter and not those of the “huntee”. Not long after falling off the ship and arriving to a nearby island is it that Rainsford experiences what it is like to be the huntee. Connell uses many transitions within in the story that leads the reader in suspense and encourages them to keep reading. The transitions are first when Rainsford falls off the ship and approaches the island, when allows him to come into his house and stay, and when the hunt results in the two going against each other.

Whenever people go to the movies or read a book, they long for an interesting story to be entertained by. Whether it is action filled or suspenseful, they want a stimulating plot that makes them feel good. In 1952, Carl Foreman wrote the screenplay for a movie called High Noon; a classic tale of when the hunter becomes the hunted. Then in 1924, Richard Connell wrote another classic, called "The Most Dangerous Game". Although both stories demonstrate similar examples of the setting and conflict, the main characters react very differently to the unusual situations they find themselves stuck in.

Dr. Alistair Brown’s article discusses humanity’s amazing ability to make violence entertaining. Dr. Brown suspect’s laughter is a defense mechanism activated when a moment is too horrific. He also believes how and why the death of a character occurs will determine the audiences emotional response. What’s most uncomfortable about Titus Andronicus is the really terrifying, brutal, and monstrous deeds done happen in real life. Dr. Brown addresses Lavinia’s rape, Chiron and Demetrius’ violent acts, Aaron’s sly self-loyalty, racism, and clashing beliefs against Taymor’s ancient/modern Rome, and believes this is a metaphor for violence and its lack of respect for time. Our responsibility as the audience is to figure out whether or not the acts

"Nowadays the plays' meaning is usually blurred by the fact that the actor plays to the audiences hearts. The figures portrayed are foisted on the audience and are falsified in the process. Contrary to present custom they ought to be presented quite coldly, classically and objectively. For they are not matter for empathy; they are there to be understood and politely added

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman is a classic work of military science fiction depicting a war between the human race and an unfamiliar alien entity known as the Taurans. The overall plot line follows a fairly typical path, but Haldeman’s real genius is realized through the interactions that take place between the protagonist, William Mandella, and the Earth he returns to between military operations. Developing beneath the ever-present war of the two species lies a much subtler conflict between generations of human thought and culture. Brought about by the way troops are transported in space, time dilation creates an interesting dichotomy between the early soldiers of the war and the rapid evolution of human society and culture remaining on Earth. The Forever War questions the stability of human nature by creating a scenario where its fluidity is exposed through an invariable link to time. The expression of human nature changes as cultural and personal identities adapt to new situations; viewing these changes through Mandella, we begin to see how different expressions of human nature can impact human nature itself.

Caryl Churchill’s play Far Away and Jane Taylor’s Ubu and the Truth Commission are two plays that both concern violent, corrupt political systems, but each playwright goes about confronting these issues in a quite different style. Jane Taylor structures her work with an omniscient perspective that allows the audience to see the reality of what is happening at all times, while Churchill utilizes a limited perspective that leaves the audience as unaware of the truth as her characters. These approaches result in two plays that are very different in character, but at the same time, both of the works successfully create a similar uneasy, frightening atmosphere