Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Author's Note
I am aware that my essay is unformatted and is not at all what it should look like. Which is why i will be handing in a hard copy so that no marks are lost a a result of the stupidity of the blog site. Many thanks
Take home test- Essay
The Wizard of Oz
By: Tyler Keith
ENG 4UE
October 18, 2008
In Warner Brother’s The Wizard of Oz, a girl named Dorothy Gale gets caught in a tornado and swept away to a magical place called Oz. While there she meets up with people she can consider friends, and they point her towards a man known as the Wizard who will help her find her way home to Kansas. As she begins her quest, she comes across a character by the name of the Scarecrow. As time and the journey progress, the two meet their other two compatriots, the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Man. This journey is stereotypical because, as is typical to most fantasy setting journeys, there is a villain intent on stopping the hero and the road is long and full of hardships. Due to the unique nature of the characters the movie can be analyzed a number of different ways. One of the ways that this movie can be criticized is by using Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis theory because it has characters that exemplify the concepts of Id, Ego, and Super Ego.
According to Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis there are three components that all humans are born with. Those components are Id, Ego, and Super Ego. They begin to grow and develop within the first five years of a person’s life. The factors that influence how these fractions of the human mind mature are the people that the individual looks up to as role models, as well as who they were raised by and how they were raised. For example, one who was raised thinking it’s ok to take what you want whenever you want will more than likely have a more dominant Id, while someone who’s taught to watch out for other people and their needs are will be more lenient on the area of Super Ego. These three work together to form a person’s psyche. This will affect a person’s behaviour towards other people. Ultimately it influences a person’s entire life, their entire state of being. The existence and the individuality of the human race in based on, and revolves around the individuality of the Id, the Super Ego, and the Ego.
The Id portion of the mind primarily deals with the want of an individual that controls a persons wants. If the Id were the primary controller of the brain than a person would do whatever is needed to get what they want with no regard to the feelings others or how it would affect them. Although the Id is typically portrayed as bad, it is not. It is typical, however for the villains in most movies to have the Id being the dominant fraction of their brain. The Wicked Witch of the West is one such example. She is the villain and is willing to do anything to get the red slippers of her later sister, The Wicked Witch of the East. Those slippers are on the protagonist of the movie, Dorothy. In her attempt to get the slippers from Dorothy she causes much fear among the main character and her friends.
While she is the dominant expresser of the Id fraction, she is not the only one with the Id in the forefront of her mind. Dorothy and her friends, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow, also exhibit the qualities of the Id. Throughout their entire quest, their goal is to get something for themselves. Dorothy begins her quest because she wants to go home. She gives no thought to how it would affect others, she just wants to get home. Her friends join her quest to “…see the wizard,” (Dorothy, Wizard of Oz) for very selfish reasons. The Scarecrow wants a brain, the Tin Man wants a heart, and the Cowardly Lion wants courage. In the beginning all join the journey for personal glorification. Although these characters do not have their Id being dominant throughout the entire movie, they do, just as all humans do, have moments of weakness, in which they succumb to their desires.
The Super Ego is a person’s conscience. The sense of what is right and what is wrong comes from the Super Ego. People who exhibit a dominant Super Ego will tend to be more shy/timid. It is also responsible for the feeling of guilt. It is also the desire to please those that the person/character considers important. While it is dominant in certain characters all people, possess the Super Ego.
The character who’s Super Ego is very visible in this movie is the guard at the Wizard’s Emerald Palace in Oz. In a moment of weakness he denies Dorothy and her friends access to the palace. As Dorothy sits down, and begins to cry because she thinks that her quest has failed, the guard opens his peephole and sees her. He is overcome with grief and for that reason alone, that couldn’t bear to see her cry or quest fail, he opens the door and allows them access to the wizards palace.
Another character who has a somewhat dominant Super Ego is the Good Witch Glinda. She is only seen at the beginning, the end and for a brief part during the middle of the movie. It was this Good Witch who pointed Dorothy on her way in the first place and told her where to go and what to do to find her way home. This can be seen as shy because otherwise she would have gone on the quest with Dorothy to help her find her way home. As a result of her timid behaviour and her eagerness to please, the Good Witch can be classified as having a dominant Super Ego.
The third and final characteristic is the Ego. The Ego is the side of a person’s mind that is shown to the world. It makes decisions and therefore action based on what is wanted by the Id and Super Ego. It tries to appease one party’s desire while keeping the other party content. It could be said that the Ego acts as a moderator between its two counterparts.
Dorothy is the character, in the movie, whose Ego faction is most visible. She knows that her friends have needs, and that she need has to get home too. Thus the Ego shows itself by finding a way to placate the Id with her desires of getting home, and at the same time it is able to satisfy the Super Ego. An example of this is when the group confronts the Wizard in his palace. Dorothy tells him that “[He] promised Mr. Scarecrow a brain”(Dorothy, Wizard of Oz). Her Ego side does this action for two reasons. One of the reasons is to suit the Super Ego with the pleasing of someone else. It does this because it can pacify the Id with the knowledge that her turn is coming to have her wish granted.
Another person who shows a dominant Ego is the Wizard himself. After he has given the wishes to Dorothy’s companions he finds a solution to her wish in which he leaves the magical Land of Oz with her. He agrees to bring her with him in his contraption, which will take them both back to Kansas, he being a “…native to Kansas [himself]…”(the Wizard, Wizard of Oz). This action pleases both his Super Ego, because he’s helping someone else, and his Id because he is fulfilling his desire to leave the Land of Oz.
As can be seen, the combination of the Id, Super Ego and the Ego form how a person thinks and acts. Since all three of these are formed at an early age, and draw on the person’s life experiences to change and grow everyone’s lives are different. Everyone will have a different Ego, Super Ego and Id. As is obvious, Dorothy must have had a good mentor or parent figure when she was a child to have the strong Ego that she does. The Wicked Witch of the West on the other hand clearly did not have any role model from which to learn from. That or she had an example that was also deficient in the areas of Ego and Super Ego. This is why Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychoanalytic criticism is applicable to the movie the Wizard of Oz. It has characters that exemplify the portions of the mind know as the Id, the Super Ego and the Ego.
Bibliography
http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Wizard-of-Oz,-The.htmlThe Wizard of Oz, Unknown,
By: Tyler Keith
ENG 4UE
October 18, 2008
In Warner Brother’s The Wizard of Oz, a girl named Dorothy Gale gets caught in a tornado and swept away to a magical place called Oz. While there she meets up with people she can consider friends, and they point her towards a man known as the Wizard who will help her find her way home to Kansas. As she begins her quest, she comes across a character by the name of the Scarecrow. As time and the journey progress, the two meet their other two compatriots, the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Man. This journey is stereotypical because, as is typical to most fantasy setting journeys, there is a villain intent on stopping the hero and the road is long and full of hardships. Due to the unique nature of the characters the movie can be analyzed a number of different ways. One of the ways that this movie can be criticized is by using Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis theory because it has characters that exemplify the concepts of Id, Ego, and Super Ego.
According to Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis there are three components that all humans are born with. Those components are Id, Ego, and Super Ego. They begin to grow and develop within the first five years of a person’s life. The factors that influence how these fractions of the human mind mature are the people that the individual looks up to as role models, as well as who they were raised by and how they were raised. For example, one who was raised thinking it’s ok to take what you want whenever you want will more than likely have a more dominant Id, while someone who’s taught to watch out for other people and their needs are will be more lenient on the area of Super Ego. These three work together to form a person’s psyche. This will affect a person’s behaviour towards other people. Ultimately it influences a person’s entire life, their entire state of being. The existence and the individuality of the human race in based on, and revolves around the individuality of the Id, the Super Ego, and the Ego.
The Id portion of the mind primarily deals with the want of an individual that controls a persons wants. If the Id were the primary controller of the brain than a person would do whatever is needed to get what they want with no regard to the feelings others or how it would affect them. Although the Id is typically portrayed as bad, it is not. It is typical, however for the villains in most movies to have the Id being the dominant fraction of their brain. The Wicked Witch of the West is one such example. She is the villain and is willing to do anything to get the red slippers of her later sister, The Wicked Witch of the East. Those slippers are on the protagonist of the movie, Dorothy. In her attempt to get the slippers from Dorothy she causes much fear among the main character and her friends.
While she is the dominant expresser of the Id fraction, she is not the only one with the Id in the forefront of her mind. Dorothy and her friends, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow, also exhibit the qualities of the Id. Throughout their entire quest, their goal is to get something for themselves. Dorothy begins her quest because she wants to go home. She gives no thought to how it would affect others, she just wants to get home. Her friends join her quest to “…see the wizard,” (Dorothy, Wizard of Oz) for very selfish reasons. The Scarecrow wants a brain, the Tin Man wants a heart, and the Cowardly Lion wants courage. In the beginning all join the journey for personal glorification. Although these characters do not have their Id being dominant throughout the entire movie, they do, just as all humans do, have moments of weakness, in which they succumb to their desires.
The Super Ego is a person’s conscience. The sense of what is right and what is wrong comes from the Super Ego. People who exhibit a dominant Super Ego will tend to be more shy/timid. It is also responsible for the feeling of guilt. It is also the desire to please those that the person/character considers important. While it is dominant in certain characters all people, possess the Super Ego.
The character who’s Super Ego is very visible in this movie is the guard at the Wizard’s Emerald Palace in Oz. In a moment of weakness he denies Dorothy and her friends access to the palace. As Dorothy sits down, and begins to cry because she thinks that her quest has failed, the guard opens his peephole and sees her. He is overcome with grief and for that reason alone, that couldn’t bear to see her cry or quest fail, he opens the door and allows them access to the wizards palace.
Another character who has a somewhat dominant Super Ego is the Good Witch Glinda. She is only seen at the beginning, the end and for a brief part during the middle of the movie. It was this Good Witch who pointed Dorothy on her way in the first place and told her where to go and what to do to find her way home. This can be seen as shy because otherwise she would have gone on the quest with Dorothy to help her find her way home. As a result of her timid behaviour and her eagerness to please, the Good Witch can be classified as having a dominant Super Ego.
The third and final characteristic is the Ego. The Ego is the side of a person’s mind that is shown to the world. It makes decisions and therefore action based on what is wanted by the Id and Super Ego. It tries to appease one party’s desire while keeping the other party content. It could be said that the Ego acts as a moderator between its two counterparts.
Dorothy is the character, in the movie, whose Ego faction is most visible. She knows that her friends have needs, and that she need has to get home too. Thus the Ego shows itself by finding a way to placate the Id with her desires of getting home, and at the same time it is able to satisfy the Super Ego. An example of this is when the group confronts the Wizard in his palace. Dorothy tells him that “[He] promised Mr. Scarecrow a brain”(Dorothy, Wizard of Oz). Her Ego side does this action for two reasons. One of the reasons is to suit the Super Ego with the pleasing of someone else. It does this because it can pacify the Id with the knowledge that her turn is coming to have her wish granted.
Another person who shows a dominant Ego is the Wizard himself. After he has given the wishes to Dorothy’s companions he finds a solution to her wish in which he leaves the magical Land of Oz with her. He agrees to bring her with him in his contraption, which will take them both back to Kansas, he being a “…native to Kansas [himself]…”(the Wizard, Wizard of Oz). This action pleases both his Super Ego, because he’s helping someone else, and his Id because he is fulfilling his desire to leave the Land of Oz.
As can be seen, the combination of the Id, Super Ego and the Ego form how a person thinks and acts. Since all three of these are formed at an early age, and draw on the person’s life experiences to change and grow everyone’s lives are different. Everyone will have a different Ego, Super Ego and Id. As is obvious, Dorothy must have had a good mentor or parent figure when she was a child to have the strong Ego that she does. The Wicked Witch of the West on the other hand clearly did not have any role model from which to learn from. That or she had an example that was also deficient in the areas of Ego and Super Ego. This is why Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychoanalytic criticism is applicable to the movie the Wizard of Oz. It has characters that exemplify the portions of the mind know as the Id, the Super Ego and the Ego.
Bibliography
http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Wizard-of-Oz,-The.htmlThe Wizard of Oz, Unknown,
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Brighton Rock
After Pinkie Brown murders a man, in retribution for the killing of his friend, he must cover his trail so that he is not caught. He has all points covered except for two. One of them is a woman by the name of Ida Arnold, a woman intent on proving Pinkie’s guilt. The other, a girl called Rose, witnessed something she was not supposed to. Rose shares Pinkie’s view of Catholicism, salvation, and damnation. Ida Arnold does not. She believes in right and wrong and justice. She believes that what Pinkie did was wrong and that he should be brought to justice. Gary Greene's Brighton Rock revolves around the opposition between the concepts of spirituality and mortality. It does so by continually mentioning how certain characters views an act, the main character's expected judgment, and his changing moral values.
Pinkie, or the Boy, as he is referred to for the majority of the novel, murders a man by the name of Franks Hale, a reporter, in revenge for the murder of his friend, one known as Kite. Hale’s job with the newspaper was to place cards in certain locations and provide a prize to anyone who found the winning card. Though Hale was not the one to murder Kite, he was an informer for the rival gang, Colleoni, which was responsible for the murder. After killing Hale, Pinkie has one of his gang members take the cards that Hale was responsible for placing and put them where he would have been, in a restaurant, had he been living. Rose worked as a waitress at that certain restaurant and was the one to witness the member of Pinkie’s gang putting the card there. In order to keep Rose from talking Pinkie begins courting Rose. When he feels he has no other option “Pinkie marries her in a civil ceremony that both know to be an offense against the Holy Ghost”(Greene, viii). Although both know this to be wrong and damning for the both of them, they go through with it anyways. He does it because he is certain that he can either convince her or force to keep quiet. She does it because she loves him and was willing to have herself and her future children damned just to be with him.
The woman Ida Arnold is also frequently trying to persuade Rose to leave Pinkie and that life behind. She feels that it is her duty to save Rose. Rose however thinks that Pinkie loves her and would do nothing to hurt her. She also would not leave Pinkie because she loves him. Ida tries to convince Rose of what’s right and wrong, but the words have no effect because “…their taste was extinguished by stronger foods- Good and Evil. She knew…that Pinkie was evil…”(Greene, 217)
Ida Arnold was with Frank Hale the day he was murdered. Although because of how he acted the day he was going to die, for he knew “that they meant to murder him” (Greene, 3), she came to the conclusion that it was not a death of natural causes as the papers had said. She thought she knew it was Pinkie and was just trying to find a way to get evidence and prove him guilty. While she is looking for evidence, she gets a friend of hers, Phil Corkery, to assist her. After a while, and working hard to find evidence, they one day find themselves in hotel after a hard days work. That night they sleep together, even thought they’re not married. Ida does not feel that this is wrong because “it’s only fun…fun to be human”(Greene, 158). This also shows how she views religion because to some, sex before marriage is considered a sin.
As a result of his lifestyle and the acts he has committed Pinkie believes he is damned even though he is only seventeen. One of the factors is that he married Rose when she was sixteen, and that they didn’t get married in a church. Another thing that causes this belief within his marriage is the fact that he killed two men. One of them being Hale and the other being a member of his own gang who he thought knew too much, and who he thought was “sour and milky”(Greene, 58). First he tried to have the man, Spicer, murdered by some men from another gang but they turn on him and attack him as well. As he was running away, Pinkie began to think briefly of his salvation. He thought of repenting but couldn’t bring himself to “repent for something that made him safe”(Greene, 116). Pinkie does care about his salvation, however it does seem that he’s more concerned about his mortal safety than he is about his eternal salvation. He wanted to make a “confession, when he was safe, to wipe out everything”(Greene, 117). One of the things that somewhat drives Pinkie away from the thought of salvation is, after he has consummated his marriage with Rose, he wakes up and goes for a walk to get some air, and as he is walking he saw
“an old woman…the rotting and discoloured face…like the sight of damnation. Then he heard the whisper, ‘blessed art thou among women,’ saw the grey fingers fumbling as the beads. This was not one of the damned: he watched with horrified fascination: this was one of the saved.” (Greene, 204)
It begins with Pinkie, though he’s a hardened, resolute mob leader, who doesn’t drink, and is horrified of sex, which he refers to as “the game”. He stands by his values until one night, he and his gang members are going out to a bar. There they meet the late Spicer’s now ex-girlfriend. She is overcome with grief and commands Pinkie to have a drink. He does so and then begins dancing with her. It is after that, that he almost breaks his other moral value of staying away from “the game.” He goes with the woman into the parking lot to find a car. Before the act can be completed, or even started for that matter, Pinkie flees, the thought of sex being too much for him to bear. He later breaks that rule when he sleeps with Rose after their marriage. One of the things that does not change within Pinkie is his determination to become safe from the law in his mortality. He is always willing to do whatever it takes, kill whomever he needs to, (“…have I got to have a massacre?” (Greene, 264)) in order to not get caught.
Through these things we see that the opposition between spirituality and mortality is what the novel revolves around. Pinkie and Rose represent the spiritual angle of the novel, with their fear of damnation and salvation. Ida Arnold represents the mortal/physical side with her desire for what she considers right giving no thought to whether she offends God or not in the process. Their views, Pinkie’s expected judgment and his moral values are where the contrast is exemplified the most.
Bibliography
Greene, Gary. Brighton Rock. Vintage. Great Britain: Vintage, 2004
Pinkie, or the Boy, as he is referred to for the majority of the novel, murders a man by the name of Franks Hale, a reporter, in revenge for the murder of his friend, one known as Kite. Hale’s job with the newspaper was to place cards in certain locations and provide a prize to anyone who found the winning card. Though Hale was not the one to murder Kite, he was an informer for the rival gang, Colleoni, which was responsible for the murder. After killing Hale, Pinkie has one of his gang members take the cards that Hale was responsible for placing and put them where he would have been, in a restaurant, had he been living. Rose worked as a waitress at that certain restaurant and was the one to witness the member of Pinkie’s gang putting the card there. In order to keep Rose from talking Pinkie begins courting Rose. When he feels he has no other option “Pinkie marries her in a civil ceremony that both know to be an offense against the Holy Ghost”(Greene, viii). Although both know this to be wrong and damning for the both of them, they go through with it anyways. He does it because he is certain that he can either convince her or force to keep quiet. She does it because she loves him and was willing to have herself and her future children damned just to be with him.
The woman Ida Arnold is also frequently trying to persuade Rose to leave Pinkie and that life behind. She feels that it is her duty to save Rose. Rose however thinks that Pinkie loves her and would do nothing to hurt her. She also would not leave Pinkie because she loves him. Ida tries to convince Rose of what’s right and wrong, but the words have no effect because “…their taste was extinguished by stronger foods- Good and Evil. She knew…that Pinkie was evil…”(Greene, 217)
Ida Arnold was with Frank Hale the day he was murdered. Although because of how he acted the day he was going to die, for he knew “that they meant to murder him” (Greene, 3), she came to the conclusion that it was not a death of natural causes as the papers had said. She thought she knew it was Pinkie and was just trying to find a way to get evidence and prove him guilty. While she is looking for evidence, she gets a friend of hers, Phil Corkery, to assist her. After a while, and working hard to find evidence, they one day find themselves in hotel after a hard days work. That night they sleep together, even thought they’re not married. Ida does not feel that this is wrong because “it’s only fun…fun to be human”(Greene, 158). This also shows how she views religion because to some, sex before marriage is considered a sin.
As a result of his lifestyle and the acts he has committed Pinkie believes he is damned even though he is only seventeen. One of the factors is that he married Rose when she was sixteen, and that they didn’t get married in a church. Another thing that causes this belief within his marriage is the fact that he killed two men. One of them being Hale and the other being a member of his own gang who he thought knew too much, and who he thought was “sour and milky”(Greene, 58). First he tried to have the man, Spicer, murdered by some men from another gang but they turn on him and attack him as well. As he was running away, Pinkie began to think briefly of his salvation. He thought of repenting but couldn’t bring himself to “repent for something that made him safe”(Greene, 116). Pinkie does care about his salvation, however it does seem that he’s more concerned about his mortal safety than he is about his eternal salvation. He wanted to make a “confession, when he was safe, to wipe out everything”(Greene, 117). One of the things that somewhat drives Pinkie away from the thought of salvation is, after he has consummated his marriage with Rose, he wakes up and goes for a walk to get some air, and as he is walking he saw
“an old woman…the rotting and discoloured face…like the sight of damnation. Then he heard the whisper, ‘blessed art thou among women,’ saw the grey fingers fumbling as the beads. This was not one of the damned: he watched with horrified fascination: this was one of the saved.” (Greene, 204)
It begins with Pinkie, though he’s a hardened, resolute mob leader, who doesn’t drink, and is horrified of sex, which he refers to as “the game”. He stands by his values until one night, he and his gang members are going out to a bar. There they meet the late Spicer’s now ex-girlfriend. She is overcome with grief and commands Pinkie to have a drink. He does so and then begins dancing with her. It is after that, that he almost breaks his other moral value of staying away from “the game.” He goes with the woman into the parking lot to find a car. Before the act can be completed, or even started for that matter, Pinkie flees, the thought of sex being too much for him to bear. He later breaks that rule when he sleeps with Rose after their marriage. One of the things that does not change within Pinkie is his determination to become safe from the law in his mortality. He is always willing to do whatever it takes, kill whomever he needs to, (“…have I got to have a massacre?” (Greene, 264)) in order to not get caught.
Through these things we see that the opposition between spirituality and mortality is what the novel revolves around. Pinkie and Rose represent the spiritual angle of the novel, with their fear of damnation and salvation. Ida Arnold represents the mortal/physical side with her desire for what she considers right giving no thought to whether she offends God or not in the process. Their views, Pinkie’s expected judgment and his moral values are where the contrast is exemplified the most.
Bibliography
Greene, Gary. Brighton Rock. Vintage. Great Britain: Vintage, 2004
Friday, October 10, 2008
Essay Outline
Thesis: The themes of good and evil are constantly opposed by the supposed right and wrong.
Reason: Though they appear to be the same they are not.
Example: Pinkie believe in heaven and hell, salvation and damnation, while the woman trying to expose his murderous ways, Ida Arnold believes in right and wrong.
Example: Good and Evil applies more to the spiritual side of mortality, while right and wrong applies to physical side of mortality
Reason: Good and evil applies more towards god and christianity, while right and wrong is more set on pleasing the law
Example: Pinkie and his wife feel they will be damned for not getting married in a church
Example: Ida Arnold believes that Pinkie must be brought to justice for murdering a man and doesn't care a whit whether he's married or not
Reason: What is good is not necessarily what is right and what is evil is not necessarily wrong
Example: Society today doesn't see there being a problem with getting married outside church, making it "right", but the main characters believe it to be an offense in the sight of the Holy Ghost making it evil.
Example: Ida Arnold does not perceive Pinkie's marriage to be right, but with the way Pinkie's wife feels he treats her, she doesn't see their being together as evil.
Reason: Though they appear to be the same they are not.
Example: Pinkie believe in heaven and hell, salvation and damnation, while the woman trying to expose his murderous ways, Ida Arnold believes in right and wrong.
Example: Good and Evil applies more to the spiritual side of mortality, while right and wrong applies to physical side of mortality
Reason: Good and evil applies more towards god and christianity, while right and wrong is more set on pleasing the law
Example: Pinkie and his wife feel they will be damned for not getting married in a church
Example: Ida Arnold believes that Pinkie must be brought to justice for murdering a man and doesn't care a whit whether he's married or not
Reason: What is good is not necessarily what is right and what is evil is not necessarily wrong
Example: Society today doesn't see there being a problem with getting married outside church, making it "right", but the main characters believe it to be an offense in the sight of the Holy Ghost making it evil.
Example: Ida Arnold does not perceive Pinkie's marriage to be right, but with the way Pinkie's wife feels he treats her, she doesn't see their being together as evil.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Thesis Statement
Gary Greene's Brighton Rock revolves around the contrast between the concepts of good and evil and right and wrong. It does so by continually mentioning catholicism, the main character's expected judgement, and certain character's views of an action as right or wrong, and good or evil.
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