John Travolta. Those two words used to send millions of women (and men) all around the world into a dancing frenzy back in the seventies. He could claim credit for the modern equivalent of the estrogen brigades (for the net crazy "X-philes") of Fox Mudler and Assistant Director Skinner. But nowadays, equipped with a paunch and that same disarming smile, he is proving himself to be more than a passing fever. Together with the great cast of this latest offering from the Disney studios, Travolta lifts "Phenomenon" (tele-kinetically, no less) above the mass of mediocre summer releases.
For doubting thomases who thought his brilliant gun-slinging portrayal in "Pulp Fiction" was just "luck of the draw", his portrayal of a simpleton with nothing but heart should re-categorise Travolta from "comeback kid" to "talented actor"; he did not allow "Phenomenon" to degenerate into "Forrest Gump Part 2". The similarities are obvious: a nice, simple fellow earns the favour of Lady Luck and does extraordinary things. Yet, that's all there is. "Phenomenon" packs a higher reality-density than "Gump". Countless scenes in "Gump" had me trying to pull wool over my eyes just to stop myself from laughing at the sheer ludicrousness. Despite the fact that going to the movies is about the suspension of disbelief, it should never be equated with treating the audiences as hoards after hoards of idiots. George Malley (Travolta), on the other hand, comes across very naturally (and believably) as a small town simpleton who doesn't know what to make of his very strange birthday "present". One flash of light and he flips through calculus books in a flash. It's not heavenly intervention, but unleashing the possibility of what the mind is truly capable of.
Yet, George quickly learns that he isn't capable of something: affecting what other people think. Small-town insecurities and parochialism soon turn once friends into dumber-than-simpleton fools; with the exception of three very well casted characters.
Kyra Sedgwick plays Lace, George's love interest. The agony of having gone through the loss of her perfect family show through her smiles. Despite being intent on keeping George at arms' length, head-strong Lace falls in love with George, with no small help from her two precocious kids. Gerard Dipego's choice of the two kids as parallels and inversions of the adults' relationship is simply brilliant. It is the little girl who extends herself to George when Lace plays the silent, "I want to keep my life simple" girl.
As much as generous and honest Nick Carraway is, he still needs a few important improvements in himself. Nick went to Yale, fought in world war one and moved to East of New York to work in finance. After moving to New York, Nick faces tough dilemmas throughout the story such as revealing secrets, and witnessing betrayal. His innocence and malevolence toward others was beyond his control. He did not have the ability or knowledge to know what he should have done in the spots he was set in. He seemed lost and having no control of what went on- almost trapped- but indeed, he had more control than he could have ever known. Because of the situations he has experienced and the people he has met, such as Gatsby, Tom, Jordan and Daisy, his point of view on the world changed dramatically which is very depressing. Trusting the others and caring for them greatly has put him in a disheartening gloomy position.
Behind George’s impulsive enigma you can see just how much he wants to be accepted and make friends. Isolated and lonely, George bullied children who were smaller than him and appeared as ‘easy targets’ because deep down he didn't feel good about himself and wanted to be accepted due to his learning difficulties and other assorted problems. George readily agrees to the invitation to Sam’s birthday, seeing the trip as an opportunity to finally make friends. You see a glimpse of his caring nature when he gives Sam a birthday present, using all his savings to purchase him a water pistol, and ensuring he likes it. However, he was unaware of the true purpose of his invitation by the resentful Sam, forcing you to sympathise further on George and expressing his innocence and desperation to form friendships. This is further demonstrated later in the film where he lies and tells the group that he smokes cigarettes in hopes to be accepted in the group and appear as ‘cool’ by doing the things they
As one can see, Harriet, Dick and Reverend Lewis Merrill, even though they are all minor characters, affect the major characters, such as Johnny and Owen with their identity, or personality. Without these characters, the novel would never be the same. As Alan Rudolph said, “Human identity is the most fragile thing that we have, and it's often only found in moments of truth.”
The physical symbiosis of George and Lennie is beneficial to Lennie but detrimental to George. Although George used to hurt Lennie, Lennie now needs George to bail him out of trouble. Lennie also profits because he needs a person to tell him what to do. “He can’t think of nothing to do himself, but he sure can take orders” (39). Lennie is “a hell of a good worker”(22) and able to “put up a four-hundred pound bale” (22) but is likely to get himself in trouble without George’s protective influence. George likes Lennie but would be better off without him because “you (Lennie) can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get” (11). Lennie hinders George while George helps Lennie.
The advice that Nick’s father gives him affects his understanding of other individuals, judgement of his friends, and
In fact, none of the characters in the Great Gatsby are necessarily likeable. However, when Nick enters the Buchanan’s Mansion
George a willfully ignorant man who has handicaps because of a society full of equality if one is not as good as another than the others have to have handicaps in order to be equivalent to everyone else. Hazel ignorant women who can only think of things in short bursts. George and Hazel are parents of Harrison Bergeron. George and Hazel are not likable people they unintentionally frustrate
Firstly, to understand George as a character it’s important to look at his appearance: both how he presents himself to the world and how that reflects his nature. When we meet George, the stage directions tell us that he is “typically good-looking, he has the best ‘looks’ of the family, [and he is] tall and elegant of figure” (255). He is wearing attractive clothing that we soon find out he inherited from his late cousin Sebastian, altered to fit him perfectly by “a little Jew tailor on Brittannia Street” (261), and he carries with him a tennis racket in a zippered cover.
Even though friends are often tested. In the relationship between Victor and Thomas, Thomas often gives in to peer pressure and abandons theirs friendship. This allows the reader to get a personal attachment to the characters and understand the emotional development that happen with each character.
Even from the very start of John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the uniqueness of George, as a character, is already noticeable. He is described as “small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp strong features” and has an obvious dominance over the relationship between Lennie and himself. This lets the reader know from a very early stage in the book that George is different, and probably the essential character. George’s character seems to be used by Steinbeck to reflect the major themes of the novel: loneliness, prejudice, the importance of companionship, the danger of devoted companionships, and the harshness of Californian ranch life.
Nick attempts to deceive the reader at the beginning of the novel by describing himself as a man who is inclined to reserve all judgments (3). But Nick actually evaluates everyone based off his own bias judgments. He describes Jordan Baker as an incurably dishonest (57) and careless person (58). Tom and Daisy are careless people who “smash-up things and creatures and then retreat back into their money or vast carelessness” (179), according to Nick’s description. He describes Mr. McKee as feminine (30). Nick also describes George Wilson as a spiritless man (25). He is effectively not reserving his judgments. This deception and lying from Nick is another reason why he is an unreliable narrator, which goes against how Nick generally describes himself as an honest man who reserves all judgments, showing his non-objective stance.
Thus, since everybody was equal, this leads to the elimination of each citizen’s unique qualities. Another characteristics of a dystopian society in this film is how the leader is controlling the citizen’s thoughts and communication. For example, George's intelligence level was way above normal. Therefore, he is required by law to wear a mental handicap radio in his ear. This mental handicap radio would send out sharp noises every couple of seconds to distrust and stop his thinking which ensures that George is not taking advantage of his brain. The news reporter would be an example of how the leader is controlling its citizens communication. As seen in the film, the first time the news reporter appeared to make an announcement, he almost had the inability to speak, almost like he has a serious speech impediment. Moreover, another characteristic of a dystopian society would be a figurehead or leader that is worshipped by the citizens of the society. This can be justified when Hazel enviously told George that she “would make a good Handicapper General” and how it is “very interesting” to hear all the different
Secondly, George experienced a depressive episode during his employment at the junior college once he found out that his assistant coach was leaving the track teams to pursue other opportunities. Throughout this episode, George exhibited symptoms of depression such as exhaustion, sleep issues, rumination, hopelessness, and guilt. He questioned his presence in the world and resorted to considering suicide as an option, which indicated the severity of his condition. Thirdly, George demonstrated manic symptoms during an important week for his track teams. He neglected his sleeping needs, talked egoistically and profusely about his reputable track teams to anyone around him, and engaged in risky behaviors, such as bringing a sword to a track meet. The climax of this episode occurred in an interview when George revealed that he would use the fundraiser money intended for the track sector of the college to go on a trip with of the female athletes to a meet in another state, which led to the department-wide search for George, a range of arguments, and delusions, where George claimed that he was given the
“Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” In this film however, when you see Tom Hanks as Forrest and Robin Wright as Jenny, you know you are going to get more than a few laughs and more than a few tears out of this film. In fact, Tom Hanks is probably the only actor who could have played this role as Forrest. Hanks makes Forrest to be a dignified person and so straight-forward. The way he plays Forrest Gump is so breathtaking. This film is not about a mentally retarded man. This movie is a movie of meditation on our times. The movie is seen through the eyes of a man, Forrest, who has no common sense and takes things exactly as they are. After watching the film, the viewer can now understand why some people get criticized or made fun of for being “too clever by half.” Forrest, in this movie, has just the right amount of cleverness to make things ...
3-4. The need for an omniscient narrator is enforced by one of the first lines in the story. “Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence[…]she couldn't think[...]except in short bursts.”(119) In today’s world, average intelligence means you’re not too smart, but not exactly dumb either. If only being able to think in short bursts is average, then most of the population is hopelessly, hopelessly dumb. The other stage of the unreliability of the first-person narrative comes from the example of George’s character. George is described as “way above normal”(119) in intelligence. As a result, the government handicaps him with headphones that scatter his thoughts every few seconds. Because of this constant torture, George can’t remember or think about much of anything. Worst of all, he is fully complicit in this to...