The Film : A Series Of Unfortunate Events By Lemony Snicket

In Ken Kesey’s book, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, there were two main characters that were in a battle to have the majority of control over the ward. Throughout the story, they engaged in different acts of stubbornness to see who could display the most power and which of the two could stand their ground the longest without giving in to the other. These two characters were: Randle McMurphy, a new patient who was determined to change the ways of the ward, and Nurse Ratched, the head nurse of the asylum who preferred to have complete control over everyone and everything.

High school, the stage of life when young adults begin to learn of their place in society and the lessons of life. The harsh conditions of being thrown into an ocean of peer pressure, social status, world issues and varying opinions causes rapid growth to occur. Some gather into groups, called cliques, to overcome these hardships, while others fight them head on by themselves. In the coming to age movie, The Breakfast Club, five different high school teenagers are forced to be together one Saturday morning and afternoon in detention. Brian Johnson the brain, Andrew Clarke the athlete, Allison Reynolds the basket case, Claire Standish the princess and John Bender the criminal, are all forced to be caged together and think about who they

Social stratification is a concept used within sociology that explains the divisions and social inequalities of large groups of people within a particular society. The Hunger Games (2012) is a film that demonstrates this through amplifying how the power of the rich members in a polarised society are taking control of the poor and separating them in different districts which create specific social rankings. This essay will use the perspective of conflict theory to examine how Australian society is also effected by social stratification and therefore divided in social classes which effects their access to social equalities.

In his novel, The Fault in Our Stars, John Green describes the hardships, endless love, and a tragedy, that two teenagers must push through to find their forever. Hazel Lancaster, an intelligent, aware, and selfless young girl, has struggled with cancer since the early age of thirteen. Augustus Waters, a smart, metaphor loving, cancer stricken kid, falls completely in love with Hazel Grace, but a great misfortune cuts their time together short. “Some infinities are bigger than other infinities (Green, 260).” Both Hazel and Gus learn to appreciate the time they spend together and make their small infinity one to remember. This novel is based off of a girl by the name of Esther Earl, she and Green met at a Harry Potter convention and Green thought her story would be an amazing way to spread the word about this dreadful disease. Green’s purpose of this novel is to bring awareness of the horrible disease called cancer and how it not only affects the patents life, but others as well. Since this book is narrated by Hazel, it has a tone of being very frank, Hazel tells it like it is and does not sugar coat anything with the fear that if she does she will hurt someone even more. With the use of ethos, logos, and pathos, Green appeals to his audience of young people who may not realize how extremely well off they are and inspire the people who are struggling to find themselves.

Ken Kesey portrays McMurphy as a Chris-like figure in many different parts of the book, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. In the book, McMurphy is viewed by some as a Christ-like figure, and for some, he is not. Ken Kesey intended for McMurphy to be a heroic, Christ-like figure because of events that occurred and the battle between McMurphy and the "evil" Nurse Ratched. A few events that occurred that demonstrated McMurphy's heroic, Christ-like figure was the Electro Shock Therapy and the fishing trip.

Many times throughout one of Ken Kesey’s most famous novels, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the book uses animals as symbols to represent the story’s plot. The animals usually relate to individual characters and their current struggles within the story. Animal imagery provides us with great insight to the themes that Kesey is trying to have us explore, and is a very good tool that the reader can use to help better understand and relate to the characters.

The play Cyrano de Bergerac, written by Edmond Rostand, was written based on the life of the real Cyrano de Bergerac. Even so, the setting of the story itself contributed greatly to the character Cyrano de Bergerac and the development of the story itself. Overall, the play has very specific stage directions and gives a very detailed description of the setting for every scene. This helps the character develop as the story continues, while also giving background and mood to that scene in which it describes. For example, things like the season being autumn in act five, stage directions stating “the green lawn has turned red” (Rostand 199) and “spots of darker color formed by box shrubs”(Rostand 199) showing how death is coming. It is being represented by the falling leaves and its change in color. The setting of the play also gives cultural background to the society in that time period.

The play Cyrano de Bergerac written by Edmond Rostand was written based off the life of the real Cyrano de Bergerac. Even so, the setting of the story itself contributed greatly to the character Cyrano de Bergerac and the development of the story itself. Overall, the play has very specific stage directions and gives a very detailed description to the setting for every scene. This helps the character develop as the story continue and while also giving background and mood to that scene in which it describes. For example, things like the season being autumn in act five and “the green lawn has turned red” (page 199) and “spots of darker color formed by box shrubs”(page 199) showing how death is coming and being represented by the falling leaves and it’s change in color. The setting of the play also gives cultural background to the society in that time period.

“The attempt to impose upon man, a creature of growth and capable of sweetness, to ooze juicily at the last round the bearded lips of God, to attempt to impose, I say, laws and conditions appropriate to a mechanical creation, against this I raise my sword-pen,” Anthony Burgess in his novel ‘A Clockwork Orange’, which happens to be a scathing critique of totalitarian government, through the character of F. Alexander. Burgess is attempting to criticize the type of governments that try to limit the freedom of an individual through science and technology. To be more specific, the use of ‘Ludovico technique’, is one example of the government using technology to establish control in the dystopian world of the text. Although the government, in its defense, prioritizes the safety and well-being of society, it is imperative to note that this use of technology turns Alex, the protagonist into a creature devoid of moral choices. This is what Burgess is referring to by the term ‘mechanical creation’, Alex goes on living his life as a machine, his criminal reform is marked by his inability to make conscious moral decisions. How then, is this scientific measure of criminal reform pursued by the government justifiable? Good and evil are intrinsic part of any human being. An individual always has the moral conscience and choice of picking between the two, and this is what makes him human.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest A Christ figure is a person who has the ability to bring light to others and portrays the image of Jesus Christ. In the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, a healthy, normal man named Randle Patrick McMurphy was sent to the mental hospital as a patient because he did not want to work at the Pendleton Work Farm. At the ward he meets the other patients and challenges Nurse Ratched’s authority. This novel is a parable that shows how McMurphy represents Jesus Christ and how he became this figure of hope to the patients changed their lives.

In my book, The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket, I would say Sunny Baudelaire changed the most. In the very beginning, Sunny was a little baby who couldn’t speak more than one word at a time. In the book before this one, you got a hint that she could be developing culinary skills or hobbies when she decided to put cinnamon in the hot chocolate. Now, Count Olaf is making her cook them food and her culinary skills are growing. She is starting to use her resources very well. For example, she took what everybody thought was a cigarette (that was already lit), and warmed up the food with its heat. She is now transforming into a little girl not only physically, but also mentally. In the book it says, “‘I’m not a baby,’ Sunny said, and hugged her.

In the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest by Ken Kesey we are taken into the mind of a mental hospital patient who does not seem to cope well with reality. The whole book itself, revolves around the issue of either being sane or not. We are met with the thought of whether the narrator themselves are sane. But when it comes to our world today, we must ask ourselves how can we define someone as insane or sane? If if we can, who should be in charge of saying that they are?

In the novel, A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess argues how free will is empowered by society and the government. Through the character Alex, the author is able to explicate his ideas of how the government strips Alex’s freewill while being in presence of violence in order to force him to be good. But is Alex still considered human without choice? Is goodness considered good when it is not chosen? People have the right to choose right from wrong on their own, just like Alex did while committing his violence. Sadly he chose wrong from right, but that is what makes a person human, by having to right to decide.

‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ (Wes Anderson, 2014) combines a perfect mix of nostalgia and history. The film explores the themes of war as it recreates history through mise-en-scene. Anderson also incorporates other themes such as racism and elitism during pre-war Europe. The film widely explores Europe from many viewpoints, one of which is of Mr Moustafa. His nostalgia is seen through flashbacks of when he was a lobby boy that went by the name of Zero. As an audience the depth of his nostalgia is seen through mise-en-scene. With the help of cinematography and props we see can see the time and place that Moustafa acknowledges. Anderson shows how history is reimagined through ones nostalgia. Mr Moustafa recalls events, which he was not present in yet he explains them as if he were there. This also shows how one reimagines history from another due to emotions and personal attachment. Despite the outcome being the same there are many viewpoints it can be seen from.

In his novel, Les Miserables, Victor Hugo identifies the principle social evils of French society through the actions and qualities of his characters. By depicting each of his characters’ struggles through destitute and oppressed measures, Hugo is able to identify the social errors of 19th century France. The fact that characters such as Valjean, Javert, Fantine, and Cosette, attempt to rise above poverty and redeem themselves indicate that such inequalities did, and still do, exist to this day. Through the use of feminist ideals and the criminal injustice system, Hugo attacks the principle social evils that each of his characters face in Les Miserables.