The lost Thing is a fifteen minute animated film based on the Picture book by author and illustrator Shawn Tan. An unusual story with a unique aesthetic that incorporates both film and picture book. It took around three and a half years to finish the film but when it was realised it became an international sensation winning awards at short film festivals all around the world and eventually being nominated and wining The Academy Award for Best Short Film (Animated) in 2011 this is not thanks to the art style of Shawn Tan and directing by Andrew Ruheman. The Lost Thing is a simplistic yet complicated story that follows a boy who finds a strange creature on the beach while collecting bottle tops. He plays with the creature and befriends it later realising it is lost he tries to find where it comes from and where it belongs. But as he tries to seek help from …show more content…
those around him it becomes apparent that the people don’t notice or care for this uninvited interruption of their day –to- day lives. This is where the film touches upon the themes of belonging and alienation the creature is not noticed or cared about anyone except the boy this presence itself it the scene when the boy takes the creature home and she believes it would make a mess and leave dirty footprints on the floor while the boy’s father believes he could catch a disease from the creature. In that same scene there is a moment when the creature knocks down the table lamp without even looking up or removing her eyes from the tv the boy’s mother catches the lamp before it falls this further shows alienation because she doesn’t acknowledge the creature just cleans the mess it creates they treat it like it is nothing more than a nuisance this affects me because I know what it feels like to be fell alienated because as a child I found it hard to make friends and had trouble in social situations. Shawan Tan created a story that from outside looks simple and childish but under that are subtle messages about are social culture whether; we are looking for social injustice that are happening, are we including people and are we all so willing to go along with the crowed. Throughout the film we see characters who are the same no difference in personality no difference in actions and no difference in the character art. This is Sawn Tan way of showing what the world would be like If we has humans were all the same this this get the audience to think because are society is so focused on individuality. In corresponding with this the setting also creates a perspective of what our land will end up as if we keep the culture of high rise buildings and the mentality more is more. The buildings are all tall and square and are similar in shape and design their colours of brown and grey give a futuristic lifeless appearance this is juxtaposed against the bold red colour of the creature reinforces the idea of isolation. But the creature also manages to connect with the audience as a scene of light and hope for this dark and sad world. Throughout the film there are messages and repeated sigs and imagery this includes various stamps with slogans such as “sweepus underum carpate" meaning to ignore it and the old math and physics papers are collaged in the background all of this is symbolising society obsession with organization and conformity. Arrows are used and repeated throughout the entire film the arrows are always pointed in the opposite direction of where the boy and creature are going this is until they arrive at the ‘’Federal Department of Odd and Ends” the place where society believes the creature belongs this shows how society doesn’t want the creature and how the young boy is unknowingly defying society and going against its rules of conformity by helping the creature. The story has a great way of using the juxtaposition between the boy’s world and the creature and how it could be a way of hope to this world.
The particular scene when the boy is throwing things into the lost thing's "head", a bright glow illuminates the area around the creature and the boy while the background is faded to black. This symbolises the point at which the boy and the lost thing make a connection, therefore a sense of connection is established. Creating a connection with the creature and trying to help is symbolizing the boy not wanting to succumb to the pressure from society to conform. The creature is a representation of the boy childhood innocence almost like an imaginary friend he doesn’t want to let go off. This is supported by the ending when the boy finds the place where the lost thing belongs compared to his world that is dark and sad the creature is bright and colourful were each creature there is happy and as a chance to be themselves without prejudice. This is the exact opposite to the boy’s life and world so he doesn’t want to let go of his only escape from his dark and lifeless
world.
In her story “Currents” Hannah Vosckuil uses symbolism, and a reverse narrative structure to show the story of how unnamed sympathetic and antagonistic characters react differently to a traumatic event. Symbolism can be found in this story in the way that Gary does not mind sitting in the dark alone at the end of the day as well as how both of his girls are affected by the symbolism of hands. One holding a boy’s hand for the first time and the other becoming sick after seeing the dead boy’s hand fall off the stretcher. The sympathetic and antagonistic manner of these characters is shown when both girls are told by their grandmother that they must return to the water to swim the next day. The grandmother sees this simply as a way of encouraging them and keeping them from becoming afraid of the water. However, the girls see this as a scary proposition because of what had happened, showing the grandmother as an antagonist character to the little girls.
As a 10 year old boy in My Losing Season the state of loss is different as it goes on due to the matter that he develops an attitude of how he goes along with ever disaster he encounters.To Pat Conroy his meaning of loss refers to as “ I felt like I was being kidnapped
"The Loss of the Creature" starts off with the definition of beautiful, which is a key point throughout his essay. Next, he moves in to his example of a family of tourists, and their experience (through his eyes) at the Grand Canyon. He describes his theory of the sightseer, and the discoverer; "Does a single sightseer, receive the value of P, or only a millionth part of value P" (pg 1) Value P, being the experience, and the beauty in which that person collected. Following the sightseers was a couple who stumbled upon an undisturbed Mexican Village. The couple thoroughly enjoyed their first experience, but could not wait to return with their friend the ethnologist. When they did return with him, they were so caught up in what his reaction would be; there was a total loss of sovereignty. Due to their differences of interest in the village, the couples return trip was a waste. The second part of the essay includes a Falkland Islander who comes across a dead dogfish lying on the beach. Furthermore, he explains how a student with a Shakespeare sonnet, has no chance of being absorbed by a student due to the surrounding's or package of the class room. The two students are receiving the wrong messages, on one hand we have the biology student with his "magic wand" of a scalpel, and on the other hand the English student with his sonnet in its "many-tissued package". Both students are unaware of the real experience they could undergo, and the teacher might as well give the dogfish to the English student and the sonnet to the biology student because they will be able to explore and learn more within the different setting, and without the surroundings and expectations (pg 6).
Symbolism In "The Things They Carried" In Tim O'Brien's story "The Things They Carried" we see how O'Brien uses symbolism in order to indirectly give us a message and help us to connect to what the soldiers are thinking and feeling. During a war, soldiers tend to take with them items from home, kind of as a security blanket. The items they normally take with them tend to reveal certain characteristics of their personality. Henry Dobbins is the guy who loves to eat, so he made sure he took some extra food. Ted Lavender was the scaredy cat of the group, so he carried tranquilizers with him.
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.
because the author is saying that you need to repent and ask for forgiveness to
Written by author Tim O’Brien after his own experience in Vietnam, “The Things They Carried” is a short story that introduces the reader to the experiences of soldiers away at war. O’Brien uses potent metaphors with a third person narrator to shape each character. In doing so, the reader is able to sympathize with the internal and external struggles the men endure. These symbolic comparisons often give even the smallest details great literary weight, due to their dual meanings. The symbolism in “The Things They Carried” guides the reader through the complex development of characters by establishing their humanity during the inhumane circumstance of war, articulating what the men need for emotional and spiritual survival, and by revealing the character’s psychological burdens.
In the book The Giver, Louis Lowry uses symbolism to induce the reader to think about the significance of an object or character in the book. She uses symbolism using objects or characters to represent something when she wants readers to think about its significance. She chooses not to tell her readers directly, but indirectly, by using symbolism. For example, she used light eyes, Gabriel and the sled as types of symbols with different meanings.
A.S. Byatt uses symbolism in her story “The Thing in the Forest” to show how children in England during World War II, like herself, felt and reacted to the events that they knew where bad but didn’t understand. This can easily be shown through the sequencing of the plot, the deeper meanings behind characters and places, and the post effects it had the main characters.
These parallels between the creature and a developing child help to explain many of the mysteries of the book. As we see, the creature goes on a terrible killing spree. There are two reasons for this. First, the creature desires revenge for its isolation. But it seems that the creature is also not aware of its own strength - it is easy for the creature to accidentally commit a murder. What two-year-old would not dream of this power? The creature's identification with mythological figures has some fantastic aspects - children fantasize incessantly. This makes sense. The creature, being new to the living world, is chronologically a child - physically strange as it might be, we can only expect it to act its age.
How is symbolism used in ‘All I Ever Wanted’ to convince readers that appearances can be deceiving?
Another of the symbols that was used to present the theme of the novel is the beast. The boys believed that the beast is an external source of evil. Though, in reality, it represents the evil present within them, which is causing life on the island to worsen. Simon begins to realize this even befor...
Many define drama to be a literary work that is to be performed in front of an audience. But to truly define drama one must comply with its themes in order to understand it fully. Drama is a form of art that is visually presented. It displays key characteristics of human emotions to give deeper meaning to what is being presented. Sometimes drama brings out what a person is truly feeling through a tragedy play or a play portraying good fortune. Drama plays are sometimes taken out of real life instances to extend the controversy of the event or elevate the excitement of the situation. Much like in Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles”, where a woman is being put on trial for killing her husband. Trifles are small insignificant things that can be ignored. Women are being ridiculed in this drama due to their lack of voice in society; however their superiority is shown through their keen eye for evidence. Symbolism in this play acts as a precursor to predestined events that take place. It can be observed by looking at anything that has specific significance to a scene, which Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters methodically point out. The unfinished quilt, the strangled bird, and fruit are the symbols that give insight what really happened between Mr. and Mrs. Wright, and what went wrong during their marriage to result in such a dreadful end.
The beast symbolizes the growing fear that lies dormant, deep in the children’s souls and turns the boys into uncivilized beings. William Golding uses the beast to instill fear in the souls of the boys. While everyone is scared of the beast and questioning what it exactly is, Simon suggests something else. He agrees with everyone that the beast might just exist. But unlike everyone else, Simon comments, "maybe it's only us.” (Golding 89) This comment shows that the beast might just coexist in their bodies. The beast is just made up and not real, and only a product of their increasing fear of the unknown. The fear of the beast activates their primal instincts and makes them lose all grasps of civilization. Without the mindset to survive, the boys struggle to find food and build shelter efficiently. They slowly lose everything they had when they came to the island. The boys are acting like Native Americans in a sense because their actions resemble the Native Americans through the chanting, dancing and face painting to represent power and fierceness. The settlement on the deserted island triggers the fear that lies deep in them. Each person on the island comb...
The Stranger, by Albert Camus, depicts a man who is going through life with an existential viewpoint on things that he does. The protagonist, Meursault, insists on going through life as if nothing in his life matters at all, and the point of his existence continues to escape him on many different levels. Through the death of his mother; the relationship with Maria, and the killing of an Arab; Meursault still finds that the meaning of his life escapes him. While many people believe that Camus uses symbolism with the weather and various other devices, I believe he uses a different approach. In The Stranger, Camus shows through symbolism that the true meaning of life is found when facing one’s own death.