The film, The Graduate, tells a story about a new college graduate and his experience upon returning home to expectations of his peers and a fear of his own future. Produced in the 1960’s, The Graduate, depicts topics such as isolationism and alienation through the protagonist, Benjamin Braddock. The main theme of the movie is the idea of Benjamin’s isolation being caused by the pressure from expectations that the older generations lay upon him; he does not know what he wants to do with his future, yet his father and peers continues to hound him and question him on his future plans. A common fear for most college students and newly college graduates, many college students are unsure of where their lives will lead them and without a certain answer, can be nerve racking. Benjamin’s father and peers make this idea apparent to Ben when they often ask him “What are you gonna do now?”. Our protagonist does not seem to have a positive answer for them almost every time. Mr. Braddock also parades Benjamin to his friends by buying him extravagant gifts …show more content…
The Graduate has greatly expressed theses themes throughout several scenes in the movie through the mise en scene such as lighting, camera angles, and sounds. Scenes such as Ben’s birthday party, and of Ben drifting in the pool contain symbolisms of water being the “isolation” and eventually “comfort” that Ben eventually submerges into when feeling frustrated or alienated. The different camera angles in the film allow us to see through Ben’s POV and also the low angles that were shot of Mrs. Robinson created a sense of dominance from her. The diegetic and non-diegetic sounds of the film including the famous song ,Sounds of Silence, enhances the feelings of Ben’s anxiety as though they are his own
Richard Rodriguez?s essay, Hunger of Memory, narrates the course of his educational career. Rodriguez tells of the unenthusiastic and disheartening factors that he had to endure along with his education such as isolation and lack of innovation. It becomes apparent that Rodriguez believes that only a select few go through the awful experiences that he underwent. But actually the contrary is true. The majority of students do go through the ?long, unglamorous, and demeaning process? of education, but for different reasons (Rodriguez, 68). Instead of pursuing education for the sake of learning, they pursue education for the sake of job placement.
In Paul Toughmay’s “Who Gets to Graduate,” he follows a young first year college student, Vanessa Brewer, explaining her doubts, fears, and emotions while starting her college journey. As a student, at the University of Texas Brewer feels small and as if she doesn’t belong. Seeking advice from her family she calls her mom but after their conversation Brewer feels even more discouraged. Similar to Brewer I have had extreme emotions, doubts, and fears my freshman year in college.
In Jennie Capo Crucet 's essay, “Taking My Parents To College,” Crucet describes her own experience as a freshman college student who was faced with many challenges that were unknown to her, as well as the cluelessness of what the beginning of her freshman year would look like. I felt like the biggest impression Crucet left on me while I was reading her essay, was the fact that I can relate to her idea of the unknown of college life. Throughout her essay, she described her personal experiences, and the factors one might face as a freshman college student which involved the unknown and/or uncertainty of what this new chapter would bring starting freshman year of college. Crucet’s essay relates to what most of us
On May 21, 2005 David Foster Wallace delivered the commencement address at Kenyon College to graduating seniors as a realistic look at life after college. This speech discusses the importance of having a degree and the real values of an education which is not only about the knowledge we learn but also about having a sense of awareness. Wallace’s speech also talked about the transitions we go through in our lives and how it changes our prospectives while getting more aware about the reality we live in and what makes some people feel like they are the center of the universe. Adding to that his speech simply illustrates the life of pessimists as miserable and unable to move forward as long as they lack aspirations and view things in a negative
Say you finished on top of your high school year. You were set up for success, but you still felt lost after high school and reality smacks you in the face and invites you to the real world. In The Graduate by Mike Nichols the main character has finished high school and is lost about his future. Straight out the gate you see to two symbolic item in water and glass. Throughout the film you need to think about the third and that is openness. Each time these symbolic item are shown there is a sense of fear and
Being a “scholarship boy” is not something to be proud about, claims Richard Hoggart, thus it is inevitable that Rodriguez tries throughout the essay to make a generalization of the way he has learned. Nevertheless, the “scholarship boy” is too specific a state-of-mind and situation for Rodriguez’s story to be universal. It is not easy for many readers to understand how Rodriguez felt “moving away from a life of closeness and immediacy...with his parents, growing older” (Rodriguez 550), as the experience is not overly common. Rodriguez’s essay, shown in his conclusion, can only suggest that, as students experience education, they should reflect on how their school and home life are interconnected, so “the end of education” (Rodriguez 550) is not a result of an epiphany or full of regret. Moreover, Rodriguez does not offer a concrete solution to being a “scholarship boy.” Instead, he dwells on what not to do as a student. In terms of the concluding paragraph, Rodriguez does a mediocre job in comparison to both Freire and Rios. Notably, Rodriguez’s story becomes impersonal due to the lack of dialogue between the reader and the writer, and it is too
“Majoring In Fear” by Mark Shiffman analyzes a certain shift in the attitudes of today’s youth. He claims that students are choosing more practical pathways out of fear, sacrificing their genuine passions and interests in order to attain a safer career. Shiffman believes this sacrifice is detrimental to students because a liberal arts education catalyzes introspection and spiritual growth. By leaving behind opportunities for such growth, the youth of today lacks the capacity and resources for reflection on their lives. Shiffman further illustrates this idea with the claim that students who initially show an interest in the humanities later choose to further their education in Economics or Spanish (Shiffman 5). He recognizes that students forge
Isolation is a critical theme in the film The Graduate, directed by Mike Nichols. The film centers around twenty-one year old Benjamin Braddock who has just graduated from college. Ben is facing adulthood and realizes that he doesn’t fit in with his generation nor does he fit in with his parents generation. He feels so lost that he resorts to having an affair with the wife of his father’s business partner, Mrs. Robinson. Whether it’s moving himself to a separate room or hiding at the bottom of the pool, Ben isolates himself because it’s his way of coping with his inability to connect with those around him and his uncertainty of the future. The director and cinematographer use stylistic techniques such as various camera shots, a unique soundtrack
Jason works as a bagboy, customer service and cashier at his local grocery store. At times he does tend to get bored, but like he said “it's what gets the money on the table”. One of his biggest regrets was not going back to college. He had fears of the past repeating itself. Back in 2008, Jason decided
Love is one of the most liberating connections two people can hold between each other when it is authentic and sincere. Many find completion and satisfaction when they find this ideal, true love in another. However, when love is turned into a façade in order to create the image of an perfect, fulfilling relationship, it can be alienating and destructive. In Walker Percey’s essay, The Man on the Train, he claims that love is ultimately a source of alienation instead of an escape into wonderful satisfaction. This theory is exemplified in Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night, a story of a woman, Ellie, on a journey to fill her void of true love and escape her feelings of alienation. only exacerbates her sense of alienation instead of functioning as a cure. Until Ellie can find real love within herself she will never be fully satisfied with her life. In the mean time she involves herself in many different scenarios with various men seeking some form of love, her distraction from alienation.
and his need or desire to be alone all the time, he doesn’t like to be
Alienation is the state or experience of being isolated from a group or an activity. Someone can be segregated even though they have someone in their life. What has happened to a person can cause them to feel isolated and it can’t be measured by the amount of people in one's life. Alienation is a main theme in the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Steinbeck uses the theme of Disaffection a fair amount of the time in this book to show that any one person can be secluded from others. Alienation is present in the characters Crooks, Curley's Wife, and Lennie from when they are first seen.
The graduate is based on Charles Webs novel. After World War II, baby boomers enjoyed good financial health, it’s in those revolutionary years that the young Benjamin graduated from College and has been the center of attention for his parents and his acquaintances. Ben’s wants his life different from these empty materialists because then his life will take on a meaning. The film takes place in 1967, Benjamin returns home on vacation and The Robinson couple, friends of their parents for years, are interested in him. The husband wants him to go out with his daughter Elaine, while his wife, Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) wants to have intimacies with him. At first, he is terrified of the idea, but under the demeaning control of his eccentric parents,
Brooks starts by acknowledging the stigma there is against college students, calling them more accomplished, but saying at the same time, they lack the emotional resolve that generations before them possess. He criticizes students for giving affirmations to one another freely. He also talks about “helicopter parents” and mentions the “desire for trigger warnings and safe spaces” in a way that gives the reader the idea that the current generation, is oversensitive.
It was difficult to accept that I was going into college undeclared. It seemed as if everyone else in my grade already knew their true calling in life; several of my classmates were planning to major in psychology, another in business, and even one friend going into a specialized art therapy program. Being an immigrant and a soon-to-be first-generation college student, I felt the pressure to choose something, anything, just to prove that I had at least stepped foot onto the path of success.