Text Connections

I have chosen the genre of crime to study and make my connections with. The films I have chosen to study are Shawshank Redemption directed by Frank Darabont; a film about an innocent prisoner who manages to overcome all odds and escape from prison with no trace. The Green Mile again directed by Frank Darabont; this is a film about a prison guard working on death row who encounters a very different kind of prisoner who possesses super natural powers. Witness directed by Peter Weir is about an amish boy who, when visiting the modern world, witnesses the murder of a police officer and him and his protector have to be hidden to avoid being killed. And lastly Boy directed by Taika Waititi is about a boy who does not know his father and imagines him to be this very heroic figure and when he finally meets him he has to learn who he really is.

A connection I have been able to make between two of the films I studied was the idea of prisoner and guard relationships. I saw this idea in the films Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile both directed by Frank Darabont. One example of this in The Green Mile is when the guards are about to execute John Coffey. Tears can be seen rolling down the faces of most of the guards. The guards agree to grant John Coffey’s wish of not having the hood put over his face so he is not in the dark which he has a terrible phobia of. The head executioner Paul Edgecombe struggles to give the final command and just before he gives it he shakes the hand of John Coffey to say thank you for all he has done.  This is showing that the guards and John Coffey have a very deep and personal relationship. This is because over the period of his incarceration they have realised that John Coffey, although has the size and strength to kill, does not have anywhere near the demeanour. He is simple and naïve in nature and has a deathly fear of the dark but also possess a supernatural gift of healing and life. The guards begin to question whether or not he is truly guilty of his crime and as his execution nears he shows the head guard Paul Edgecombe what really happened. The guards are reluctant to kill what they call one of “God’s great wonders” but Coffey asks them to carry it out as he is tired of living with this responsibility. The connection of prisoner and guard relationships was also present in the film Shawshank Redemption. In Shawshank Redemption the guards start to protect the prisoner Andy Dufresne later on in the film from harassment from other prisoners and from the brutality of the guards. This is because of Andy’s skills that are very unusual to come by in a prison, and once these skills are uncovered Andy becomes a vital part of the prison warden’s money laundering schemes that Andy helped create for him. This led Andy to being one of the biggest assets in the prison and was very well looked after by the guards as long as he kept going with the Wardens money laundering scheme. One example of this is when Andy finds out one of the young prisoners he is working with knows the truth about the murder that Andy has been falsely accused of. When the warden finds out about this he very swiftly deals with it by killing the prisoner that has the information that could set Andy free. This is very different to the relationship between the guards in the film The Green Mile where the relationship is more of affection whereas the relationship in Shawshank Redemption is out of greed.

Another connection I have been able to make between two films I have studied was the idea of parent / child relationships. I saw this idea in the films Boy directed by Taika Waititi and Witness directed by Peter Weir. This idea is present throughout the film Boy and one example where this is clearly shown is when Boy his brother Rocky and their father Alamein are playing at the beach together. Alamein, their father has only very recently re-emerged back into their lives and the re integration has been a bumpy ride but this scene shows that they can be a family together and have fun and very clearly demonstrates the idea of parent / child relationships. The idea of parent / child relationships was also present in the film Witness. In Witness the parent / child relationship is between Samuel Lapp and his mother Rachel Lapp. This relationship is present throughout the film but one example of this is when the detective John Book is staying at the Lapp’s house and Rachel is still very protective of Samuel and keeps a very close eye on John Book as she is still very suspicious of him. The relationship between Samuel and Rachel Lapp in Witness is very different to the relationship between Boy and his father in Boy.

Another connection that I have been able to make between two films I have studied is how the main character of both Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile are both innocent and seem extremely out of place in a prison environment yet there are very few similarities between the characters themselves. John Coffey in The Green Mile is described as simple and naïve in nature and is a very stark contrast to the other prisoners being held on the mile like the crazy “Wild Bill.” It is very clear that even though he looks like he could be a very dangerous prisoner his persona is exactly the opposite and could hardly hurt a fly. On the other hand Andy Dufresne the main character in the film Shawshank Redemption is a very intelligent and well educated man that was a vice president of bank before prison. Again his persona is not one anyone would expect to be in a prison for murder especially when compared to the other prisoners. Throughout the film Andy is always dressed a lot more tidily than the other prisoners and always walks and stands in a noticeably different manner, this is to show that Andy is out of place in prison and really doesn’t belong there.

All four texts studied come under the theme of crime. The Green Mile as it was set in a prison and featured a lot of death, Shawshank Redemption as it as well was set in a prison as well as featuring murder and money laundering, Boy as it features abuse, Drug use and Gangs and finally Witness as it features murder and corruption. Under the main theme of crime we looked at the connections of prisoner and guard relationships, parent and child relationships and finally the alienation of the main characters in the prisons.

English – about myself

My name is Daniel Brown and i am a very keen sailor and steam engineer. I spend a lot of time with the Orewa sea scouts as a venturer and as an on water helper teaching younger kids how to sail and operating safety boats. i also spend a lot of time as a volunteer at the National Maritime Museum as a 1st mate on their two traditional rigged sailing ships as well as a steam engineer on their small steam powered launch.

underneath the bowsprit of the Brigantine Breeze off the coast of Whangauru after visiting the Poor Knights

underneath the bowsprit of the Brigantine Breeze off the coast of Whangauru after visiting the Poor Knights

comparisons essay

Hanna – job – blind side – of mice and men
Most if not all people in life face adversity and in this essay will compare four texts and films and analyse the theme of overcoming adversity present in each of them. The four texts I will be analysing are the film the Blind Side directed by John Hancock, the short story Job written by Dan Preston, the film Hanna by Joe Wright and the novel Of Mice and men by John Steinbeck. After reading and viewing these texts and films I came up with the thesis that all those that try hard to overcome the adversity they face may not always succeed.

In the film Hanna and the short story Job the main characters in the film use their very unique set of skills to try and overcome the adversity they face. In both of the stories the main characters face adversity brought upon them by their parents. In the case of the short story job the main character of job faces the adversity of his drug addicted and violent parents where as in the film Hanna the main character of Hanna faces the adversity of a deadly and relentless enemy that will use any means possible to kill her and her father. Both Job and Hanna possess unusual and unique skills. In the case of job he has his very high level of intelligence that is considered very unusual for a boy of his upbringing and low school grades. He uses these skills over time to overcome the adversity of his violent parents. In the case of Hanna she has an extraordinary set of combat and espionage skills acquired from a very young age from her ex CIA father. She uses these skills to overcome the adversity she faces. In both of these cases the characters have extraordinary skills that overtime allow them to overcome the adversity they face and start a new, free life.

In the film the Blindside, Michael Ore faces the adversity of the setting that he was brought up in. This is similar to the story Job and the film Hanna as they were both heavily affected by the adversity of the environment they were brought up in. However the difference between the film the Blindside and the other stories is that Michael is given the opportunity to break free of the adversity he faces in the environment he lives in. this is unlike the other two stories as they have to fight hard to overcome their adversity. In all three stories the characters are very young and the adversity they all face is the mostly the older generation and once they all overcome their adversity they are free to live their lives the way they want.

In the novel Of Mice and Men the characters George and Lennie face adversity. The main difference between Of Mice and Men and the other stories previously mentioned is that George and Lennie do not overcome the adversity they face whereas the characters in the other stories all overcome their adversity. Another difference is that the other stories all have one main character that is trying to overcome their adversity whereas in Of Mice and Men George and Lennie try and overcome their adversity together. It could be said that George faces two adversities in the Of Mice and Men. One of them is the adversity that both he and Lennie face and another is the adversity of looking after Lennie and trying to overcome the adversity they both face together. This is similar to the other three stories studied as they all have one person trying to overcome their adversity the difference is that George is choosing not to overcome the immediate adversity he faces but chooses to try hard at overcoming the other adversity he faces and even though he tries hard he does not succeed

Over all the four stories studied have many connections but not all the stories agree with the thesis. The film The Blindside the short story Job and the Film Hanna all agree with the thesis statement while the Novel Of Mice and Men does not. This means that my thesis statement has been disproved and that all those that try hard to overcome adversity will not necessarily overcome the adversity they face.

English connections

Most if not all people in life face adversity and in this essay will compare four texts and films and analyse the theme of overcoming adversity present in each of them. The four texts I will be analysing are the film the Blind Side directed by John Hancock, the short story Job written by Dan Preston, the film Hanna by Joe Wright and the novel Of Mice and men by John Steinbeck. After reading and viewing these texts and films I came up with the thesis that all those that try hard to overcome the adversity they face may not always succeed.

 

In the film Hanna and the short story Job the main characters in the film use their very unique set of skills to try and overcome the adversity they face. In both of the stories the main characters face adversity brought upon them by their parents. In the case of the short story job the main character of job faces the adversity of his drug addicted and violent parents where as in the film Hanna the main character of Hanna faces the adversity of a deadly and relentless enemy that will use any means possible to kill her and her father. Both Job and Hanna possess unusual and unique skills. In the case of job he has his very high level of intelligence that is considered very unusual for a boy of his upbringing and low school grades. He uses these skills over time to overcome the adversity of his violent parents. In the case of Hanna she has an extraordinary set of combat and espionage skills acquired from a very young age from her ex CIA father. She uses these skills to overcome the adversity she faces. In both of these cases the characters have extraordinary skills that overtime allow them to overcome the adversity they face and start a new, free life.

 

In the film the Blindside, Michael Ore faces the adversity of the setting that he was brought up in. This is similar to the story Job and the film Hanna as they were both heavily affected by the adversity of the environment they were brought up in. However the difference between the film the Blindside and the other stories is that Michael is given the opportunity to break free of the adversity he faces in the environment he lives in. this is unlike the other two stories as they have to fight hard to overcome their adversity. In all three stories the characters are very young and the adversity they all face is the mostly the older generation and once they all overcome their adversity they are free to live their lives the way they want.

 

In the novel Of Mice and Men the characters George and Lennie face adversity. The main difference between Of Mice and Men and the other stories previously mentioned is that George and Lennie do not overcome the adversity they face whereas the characters in the other stories all overcome their adversity. Another difference is that the other stories all have one main character that is trying to overcome their adversity whereas in Of Mice and Men George and Lennie try and overcome their adversity together. It could be said that George faces two adversities in the Of Mice and Men. One of them is the adversity that both he and Lennie face and another is the adversity of looking after Lennie and trying to overcome the adversity they both face together. This is similar to the other three stories studied as they all have one person trying to overcome their adversity the difference is that George is choosing not to overcome the immediate adversity he faces but chooses to try hard at overcoming the other adversity he faces and even though he tries hard he does not succeed

 

Over all the four stories studied have many connections but not all the stories agree with the thesis. The film The Blindside the short story Job and the Film Hanna all agree with the thesis statement   while the Novel Of Mice and Men does not. This means that my thesis statement has been disproved and that all those that try hard to overcome adversity will not necessarily overcome the adversity they face.