Samantha Keegan ENGH 372 Midterm Part 2 10/26/17 Pan’s Labyrinth: Ofelia's Fantasy world and its metaphoric connection to Fascism In the Film Pan’s Labyrinth, the main character Ofelia goes through a journey in her self created fantasy world that not only runs parallel to the hardships she faces in the real world at home with her new stepfather, Captain Vidal, but also is very metaphoric in relation to the resistance to fascism itself that was taking place in actuality in 1940’s Spain under the rule of Francisco Franco. Ofelia’s journey through the Labyrinth showcases the two main choice that come about when faced with overwhelming odds, just like members of fascist countries that tried to resist against the ruling powers. People living …show more content…
In the film, the symbolism of Captain Vidal as a pseudo Franco and pure fascism is established early in the film, so when Ofelia comes across the Pale Man the film sets the stage by placing the Pale Man in a visually similar position to Captain Vidal. At dinner earlier in the film, Captain Vidal is seated at the head of the table filled with food and in the first scene with Ofelia and the Pale Man, the Pale Man is also seated at the head of a table filled with food. Following the fascist motif, the Pale man uses fear and violence in his ruling and has no patience for disobedience. For example in that same scene, the Pale Man eats the heads off of two fairies as punishment for Ofelia eating the two grapes off the table. He is brash and cruel in his words and his mannerism throughout the scene and his response to the disobedience shows an attempt to establish control and dominance via methods of fear and intimidation. This further enforces one of the main tennent associated with fascism, ruling with extreme fear to discourage any disobedience or resistance. On the other side for Ofelia, this is later in her journey in the fantasy world and she has moved farther away from the path of just trying to get through the maze and is now showing deliberate resistance to the monsters in the maze. Not only does she show disobedience to the …show more content…
We do see this first when Ofelia disobey the Faun by eating the grapes and thus he won't give her the final task. This is eerily parallel to how resistance and disobedience under fascist regimes would lead to consequences, even though the severity of the punishment in both instances is not necessarily equal. The Faun again pushed Ofelia to obey him and harm her brother in order to open the door the the Underworld and in consequence when she refused to do as she was told, the Faun again refused to help her due to her disobedience. Like in real rebellion movements horrible traumas, in this Ofelia’s case like the death of her mother, can also spawn acts of resistance by giving people/characters the strength they need to push past fear. In this case the death of her mother gives her the strength to take her baby brother. In the final scenes, Ofelia's death via martyrdom is steaming from her choice to spill her own blood and not her baby brother. Not only is this another act of disobedience and resistance but the notion of martyrdom and sacrifice is huge in resistance movement in general not just resistance to fascist regimes. The metaphor is compounded by the ultimate innocence of her baby brother. Him being so young and new is not only representative of innocence but also as a symbol of the next generation, the notion that many
The movie the Labyrinth tells a story about a group of unlikely heroes trying to make their way though a maze in order to defeat the Goblin King. The story starts out with the main character Sarah whom, without even realizing it, wishes her baby brother to be taken way by Jareth the Goblin King. He tells her that if she wants her brother back she will have to make her way through the labyrinth and to the castle beyond the Goblin City. She only has 13 hours to complete the seemingly impossible task or her little brother Toby will be turned into a goblin. While making her way through the twisted and endless maze Sarah runs into many weird characters. The first person she encounters is Hoggle a very untrustworthy dwarf whom is under the influence of Jareth. He is selfish and does things only if there is something for him to gain. He betrays Sarah many times throughout the movie, but in the end he proves himself to be more than a traitorous coward. Ludo is a yeti and despite looking vicious is a gentle and caring monster. Ludo also has the power to control rocks. Sir Didymis is a loudmouthed, but noble knight who displays his valor throughout the movie. The four heroes manage to fight their way through the perilous labyrinth. The Goblin King Jareth is defeated and Sarah’s brother Toby is saved. Though the characters in this movie seemed to be nothing more than ordinary, and if not odd, they fought their way through labyrinth and conquered an entire army of evil goblins and their king. (Labyrinth 1986)
Like all the fairy tale will have a happy ending. "Pan 's Labyrinth" is no exception, but this layer of happiness is immersed in the bitter and depressed in the deep. Too much blood and tears, too many memories, too much darkness. Ofelia finally found her parents, returned to the eternal sweet home, but not one can really happy together. A fairy tale is hope, is the dream, is the comfort, is the ideal country. "Pan 's Labyrinth" is such a fairy tale, Ofelia through the murky darkness of the labyrinth find her happiness, just as experienced the cruel history 's Spanish people. Guillermo applied a metaphor in the end. The end of the tragedy is the film 's surface cover, in essence, is the protagonist Ophelia 's comedy
The author, William Golding, shows many forms of symbolism in the novel, Lord of the Flies. Symbolism means use of symbols to represent an idea from its actual meaning. In this novel, Golding uses symbolism from the beginning to the end of the novel. During the novel, these symbols continue to change and give a new meaning. Three significant symbols from the novel include the conch, the fire, and the beast. Each symbol changes throughout the novel and revolves around the evil that is inside people. There is always a beast within when the darkness comes out.
In the novel Fahrenheit 451 there are many literary topics. One of the main parts of this book is symbolism it uses this to some of the most gratifying results; it does this through the way that it uses the representation of blood and how it reflects a humans soul, also when the author uses fire as a key symbol for many different points as well as using a phoenix to describe mankind towards the end of the novel which has a great effect on how mankind can be adaptable. All of these symbols work together in the novel to help bring more of the characters to life and to give a deeper meaning to the novel, as well as to make the
What is considered evil? Is a person truly ever evil? If so, what leads into walking down this path? Could it possibly be a life-alternating event or influence from another outside force? Anti-transcendentalists believed in this presence of evil in humanity and that it was predominant in the lives of individuals. Anti-transcendentalists were the opposite of transcendentalists in terms of their overall views on life. Transcendentalists believed in the good or in other words, positive outlooks in life. Dark Romantics as anti-transcendentalists were sometimes referred to as being extremely popular during the mid-1800’s. This saw the rise of many prominent anti-transcendentalist’s writers, not just in America but abroad. Dark Romantics used symbolism in their literary works to show the prevalence of evil in society contrary to transcendentalist’s beliefs.
Lord of the Flies, a suggestive name for the Devil, a devil whose name proposes that he is devoted to decay, destruction, demoralization and panic, exactly what William Golding had in mind when using symbolism in this novel. The Lord of the Flies (1954), is a novel in which interpretating the symbols are a main key to not only understanding, but also enjoying the novel. After tying many of the symbols together, you can figure out more about what the author is trying to depict, the overall scene.
The film Pan’s Labyrinth, has several common concepts with Joseph Campbell’s theory on heroes in Hero with a Thousand Faces. His theory emphasizes on tests that show their moral and basic instincts for the rite of passage to their threshold, in this case, the underworld. Campbell’s theory is a concept that surrounds an individual’s journey to heroism. This concept pertains to Ophelia due to her circumstances as a child who ventures out on thresholds, tests, and so forth. Campbell’s depiction relates to Ophelia as he describes the levels in which one must attain and accept as a female heroine. Furthermore, his theory exaggerates on the making of a hero to the resurrection in terms of physical and spiritual transformation. Ophelia’s character depicts a hero who has been resurrected as a human. Thus, she begins her journey to cross the threshold, “pass from the everyday world in the world of adventure,” (Campbell). There are many stages in the film that depicts Ophelia’s introduction to the stages of being a hero. More so, it focuses on tasks, which Ophelia must pass or fail in order to determine her role in the film; Princess of the Underworld or just a human soul. This is lead by the faun who simply reassures a place of ‘paradise’ for Ophelia only with her cooperation to listen and follow her morals.
The reason why William Golding chose to write his work “Lord of the Flies” is because the book was based on his own emotional views of mankind and his disconnection with his parent’s view of the world. His emotional views of mankind also stemmed from being a part of WWII as a member of the Royal Navy where he witnessed many deaths. Golding wanted to share with his readers the true complexity of the rise and fall of social order and the concept of survival of the fittest. Ironically, at the end of the book, a naval officer was their savior.
The character Jane from Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Carmen from Del Toro’s Pan's Labyrinth, are both faced with the pressures from society or dominating individuals. Both have the choice to look within themselves for strength to overcome these pressures. Jane shows the power and independence gained when making this choice, Carmen in contrast shows the consequences and loss of dignity when we allow society to dictate our life. When pregnant Carmen arrives at the mill, Vidal her new husband in an over the shoulder shot , demands that she uses a wheelchair. Carmen insists that she does not need the wheelchair, but soon sits in the wheelchair, giving in to her husband's commands. Also as the film progress and Vidal’s control over Carmen increases,
Many other characters alter his viewpoint of the world. Some of these characters die, one is a murderer, and another introduces him to local myths. The heroine in Pan’s Labyrinth is Ofelia, a girl trapped in the middle of a revolution and escapes into a world of fairytales through books and imagination. Ofelia’s mother, Carmen, is pregnant and very sick. Under the influence of her husband, she encourages her daughter to stop reading childhood fantasies and to obey her new husband....
Light, especially fire, and darkness are significantly reoccurring themes in Fahrenheit 451. Guy Montag, the main character, is a fireman, but in this futuristic world the job description of a fireman is to start fires wherever books are found; instead of putting them out. Montag takes a journey from a literary darkness to a knowledgeable light. This journey can be compared to the short story Allegory of the Cave by Plato, in which a prisoner experiences a similar journey. An example of light, in reference to knowledge, occurs just after Montag meets Clarisse for the first time. "When they reached her house all its lights were blazing" (9). Since Montag had rarely seen that many house lights on, I interpreted those lines as saying "that house is full of knowledge and enlightenment; not like the rest of the houses around here which are always dark." Clarisse went on to explain to Montag that her mother, father, and uncle were just sitting around and talking. This was also something that wasn't very commonplace in the city. Fire is an important element of symbolism in Fahrenheit 451. Fire consumes minds, spirits, men, ideas, and books. Fire plays two very different roles in this book. The role of a destructive, devouring, and life ending force, and the role of a nourishing flame.
In the title “In This Strange Labyrinth”, the labyrinth is symbolic of love’s maze-like qualities. The speaker describes her predicament by saying, “In this strange Labyrinth how shall I turn/Ways are on all sides” (1-2). A different path on every side surrounds her, and every way seems to be the wrong way. She is confused about which way she should go. Wroth is conveying the theme of love in a decidedly negative way, for according to myth, the Labyrinth was where the Minotaur lived and before it’s demise, death was evident for all visitors of the maze. The speaker is struggling with every choice she may make and cannot rest or find aid until she finds the best way: “Go forward, or stand still, or back retire;/ I must these doubts endure without allay/ Or help, but travail find for my best hire” (10-11). She has several choices and each one is confusing and leaves her feeling helpless.
Personally, I feel that Ofelia was using her creative imagination as a form of escapism: her mother was extremely ill and her new father was a sadistic and malevolent man, who takes pride in his status and the fact that he is the highest authority figure there. Del Toro's narrative is particularly disturbing since fairy-tales are incorporated into the story (such as
Chapters nineteen through twenty-two detail Christ’s final victory over sin. Over the course of the final chapters of Revelation, the process of Christ’s ultimate victory is detailed using an abundance of powerful images and symbolism. Some examples of symbols used are referring to Christ as “the Lamb,” and to His church as His “Bride.” Though symbols play an important part of these final chapters contained within Revelation, imagery is by far the most prevalent. At multiple points during Revelation imagery and symbolism are used in conjunction with each other, to complement and strengthen their respective ideas. Throughout the final chapters of revelation, both imagery and symbolism are used in abundance in order to show the glory and power
Jorge Luis Borges’ thought provoking and fantastical literature stems from his philosophical mind. His stories, especially “Death and the Compass”, focus on labyrinths and identity. Borges fascinates his audience with his analysis of reality. He combines fact and fiction to create the perfect genre of mystery. His characters’ conquest for the unknown defines his use of detective fiction.