Can a handsome and well-behaved fellow be someone or something that he is not? The audience is not shown Norman Bate’s mother directly, but because of the dialogue, the composition, and the props of the stuffed birds, we come up with the conclusion that Norman Bates is actually his murderous mother and more boyish than manly which contrasts with Marion’s personality in the scene where Marion eats dinner with Norman in the parlor.
The dialogue featured in this scene helps us see Norman’s boyish nature. When Norman talks to Marion, he tends to nervously stutter on certain words like a child learning the alphabet for the first time. For example, when Norman mentions the phrase “eats like a bird,” he tries to say that it is a falsity, but he has trouble pronouncing it. The viewer can the see the child-like determination and frustration on his face to pronounce it correctly. In a way, you can say that Norman is trying hard to impress Marion with intelligent words, but he is failing terribly at it. In addition, the word falsity is defined as a fact of being untrue or incorrect. This is ironic because Norman himself is a falsity. Norman is not normal. He has two personalities, which include him and his mother’s personality and by the end of the movie, he fully transforms into his mother. Having two personalities makes Norman a completely different person. His supposed masculinity figure is downgraded into a boyish appearance because of his mother’s influence on him especially when Norman mentions, “a boy’s best friend is his mother” when Marion asks him “if he has any friends?” This in fact reveals that Norman is definitely not your normal manly figure and that he is actually a momma’s boy. Norman’s response causes him to appear shy and ...
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...cular objects help the viewer feel at ease and safe when Marion is in the frame opposed to the angular monstrosity of Norman’s frame. On the other hand, the pheasant that is placed behind him on the drawer represent Norman’s timid and shy personality. These birds are very cautious of their surrounding and easily frighten when startled likewise, to how Norman is shy when he nervously converses with Marion. The birds of prey that represent his mother overshadow the pheasant. In short, each character reveals a different personality using the bird’s meaning paired with the way the characters are place and lit in the composition.
Overall, the viewer can tell that Norman Bates is actually his murderous mother and more boyish than manly which contrasts with Marion’s personality through the use of the dialogue and the composition along with the props of the stuffed birds.
The dual personalities of Norman Bates and Marion Crane are shown through the vivid use of Irony. Hitchcock uses this technique to capture the foreshadowed future of events that arise between Bates and Crane. For instance,
The tile of the poem “Bird” is simple and leads the reader smoothly into the body of the poem, which is contained in a single stanza of twenty lines. Laux immediately begins to describe a red-breasted bird trying to break into her home. She writes, “She tests a low branch, violet blossoms/swaying beside her” and it is interesting to note that Laux refers to the bird as being female (Laux 212). This is the first clue that the bird is a symbol for someone, or a group of people (women). The use of a bird in poetry often signifies freedom, and Laux’s use of the female bird implies female freedom and independence. She follows with an interesting image of the bird’s “beak and breast/held back, claws raking at the pan” and this conjures a mental picture of a bird who is flying not head first into a window, but almost holding herself back even as she flies forward (Laux 212). This makes the bird seem stubborn, and follows with the theme of the independent female.
I don’t believe Bates to be a ‘bird of prey,’ or “born killer.” Birds of prey are not disgusted by the sight of blood or death, because it is in their nature. When Bates finds out that his mother killed Marion, he screams and almost becomes ill by the sight of Marion’s lifeless body. The last scene of the movie concludes with Bates sitting in a police interrogation room. Bates’ mother can be heard talking about how the police know it wasn’t her who killed those people because she is dead, after which Bates looks up at the camera and smiles. I believe this indicates Bates’ mother knows she still has control over her son because he allows her personality to take over his, and that she got away with killing those people because Bates will have to suffer the consequences as she is dead. Bates’ staring in to the camera also indicates to the audience that he knows we are watching him, fulfilling our voyeuristic
... come across a police officer following them, Marion continues to do the opposite of normal in her frazzled state. Much like how Marion’s paranoia develops once she is in her car, Norman’s paranoia intensifies and becomes much more evident within his first, and continuous encounters with people. In meeting his first, and only, customer for the night, Norman becomes edgy and nervous and constantly tries to engage Marion in conversation. Knowing fully well that his mother would disapprove of such interactions, Norman becomes protective, obsessive and deranged at the mention of his sick mother. Norman’s sickness combined with his obvious paranoia of people coming around him and his “mother” only leads to him committing several murders all being blamed on his mother. This sickness that each character suffers from can only leads to a greater downfall; obvious insanity.
After Norman is physically attracted to Marion, he feels guilty for betraying his alter ego who is that of his mother, whom I would label as Norma.
The bird and the cage are the two most important symbol in this play because it symbolizes the oppression of Minnie Foster, and it can also mean the death of her husband (Mr. Wright). Minnie Foster is sometimes compared to the bird by Mrs. Hale saying that she was real sweet, pretty, and that she like to sing just like the bird, but then Mrs. Hale asks: “How she did change?”(1074). The bird symbolizes Minnie Foster before she got married, but everything changed about her after she got married with Mr. Wright. The reader can clearly see how abusive Mr. Wright was to Minnie Wright to completely change the way she is. For example, one way that Mr. Wright kept Minnie Foster oppressed is by preventing her from singing. As the reader knows Minnie really liked to sing, but Mr. Wright hated a “thing” that can sing ,as a result, he didn’t let Minnie to sing anymore.
The character of Norman Bates deviated from the book's original character, a forty year old pervert, to Anthony Perkins' character 'a tender vulnerable young man' one could almost feel sorry for. Perkins plays Norman Bates as if the role were written for him, with his nervous voice used throughout the movie and his awkward appearance and actions. A distinct part of Norman's character is his subtle lapses in which he shows signs of the ever present 'Mother'. The parlour scene is an excellent example of these lapses. The lines 'a boy's best friend is his mother' and 'we all go a little mad sometimes' are e...
The females begin responding “stiffly” rather than “quietly”(7) as before. This adjective usage serves to support the speech even more by allowing readers to see the progression from silence to a bold rebellion in the women regarding their husbands, for “by hiding the canary Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are also going against their husbands” (Bee2). Indeed, this act was the major act of defiance that secured the women’s strengthened devotions to each other rather than their husbands. Peters especially undergoes a drastic transformation when she eventually joins in as “support of her fellow oppressed women” (Block B 1). When, at the climax of the story, the bird is hidden from the men in the sentimental tin box, Glaspell exhibits the tension with the selection of detail. She chooses to focus on the clammy hands of Mrs. Peters as she stuffs the tin away and the quivering voice of Mrs. Hale as she denies knowing any information about the crime. The descriptions of the seemingly miniscule and weakening objects around her house match the “quiet desperation” (Schotland 3) Foster repressed until it overflowed the night before. Considering that the adjectives show how burdensome it is for the women to conceal the evidence, it truly demonstrates how strong the relationships between them has grown based
In Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Psycho, he uses the symbolism of eyes and birds to manipulate the audience’s emotion and to create suspense throughout the film. The mis-en- scene of the scene where Marion and Norman are talking while she eats dinner in his parlor demonstrates this statement farther. She is surrounded by two birds and a table in front of her to hint how she is now trapped by Bates’s mother and won’t be able to leave the motel. During the same scene, the birds that are placed in the room powerfully represent the two characters. An example is the owl that is mounted on the wall above Bates, while a small song bird and crow are near Crane. The owl symbolizes his mother’s watchful eyes and how she disoriented her son’s mind. The small songbird represents Crane’s vulnerability and helplessness compared to the large owl. The song bird like Crane is unaware that Norman’s mother, the owl, is out ...
Annie Dillard portrays her thoughts differently in her passage, incorporating a poetic sense that is carried through out the entire passage. Dillard describes the birds she is viewing as “transparent” and that they seem to be “whirling like smoke”. Already one could identify that Dillard’s passage has more of poetic feel over a scientific feel. This poetic feeling carries through the entire passage, displaying Dillard’s total awe of these birds. She also incorporates word choices such as “unravel” and that he birds seem to be “lengthening in curves” like a “loosened skein”. Dillard’s word choice implies that he is incorporating a theme of sewing. As she describes these birds she seems to be in awe and by using a comparison of sewing she is reaching deeper inside herself to create her emotions at the time.
You see “The Lodger” and Daisy, but it not “The Lodger” who is in control, but Daisy. Daisy is the one that saves him from being arrested and comforts him when he is sitting down outside on the bench handcuffed. This man who will not break the door the door into Daisy bathroom, who buys her expensive dresses. Hitchcock shows him as a sort of effeminate shy men, he is broken and in despair but not evil. He comes here to avenge his dead sister and to keep his word to his mother who's dying wish was for him to find the fiend that took his sister away during her coming out ceremony. The truth this character actions are revealed, “The Lodger” repulsion of the portraits is understandable, it reminds of his sister and overcomes him with the guilt that he could not save her. You don’t feel anger or fear toward “The Lodger” you see him falling for Daisy and you see “The Lodger” through Daisy eyes as this prince charming. “The Lodger” the man that will save this beautiful, innocent girl for her. Cop boyfriend Joe which you can see is not nice. Joe is this common man. He feels comfortable with the family on the ground surface. Nevertheless, as soon as Joe traveling to the new world upstairs, he becomes uncomfortable and hides this with aggression and authoritarian acts. The
Norman Bates is the antagonist of the movie Psycho. Norman Bates is a handsome young gentleman-like individual. However, even though he has a shy but eerie persona, we can’t imagine that this turns into a creepy murderer. The reason that ultimately leads to his insanity is his strange attachment to his mother. Besides being plain old Norman Bates, Norman’s other character is his mother. Norman dresses like his mother and can even have a conversation with himself shifting from one persona to the next. In the movie, we find out that Norman killed his mother and the mother’s partner because he was jealous of her. After killing his mother, he coped with the murder by physically having his mom’s corpse in the house and mentally absorbing per personality. The significant point in Psycho comes when Marion’s comments in the lounge threaten Norman’s mother, when she refers to him leaving her forever. Norman leans forward to defend his mother/himself from Marion. Throughout their discussion his posture changes, his emotions and words alternate between passive and aggressive. Although the slight sexual references between Norman and Marion are nothing more than harmless flirting, Norman is unable to separate his desires from his mother’s judgments. Norman is unable to mention words that are associated with sex. The bond Norman has with his mother is so strong that it makes it impossible for him to have an intimate relationship with women, the exception being that his brain has been programmed to move from words to action, white to black with nothing in between. His mother’s influence has caused all sexual thoughts to trig...
Charles is actually Laurie which means that Laurie is arrogant because he talks about himself a lot. Every day, Laurie comes home and tells his parents about the day’s events, the topic that always comes up is Charles. The way Laurie talks about Charles makes him sound like he is someone who makes a great friend or that he is actually popular among other school children but his parents think that Charles is made up of “toughness and bad grammar” (1). Laurie talks about Charles to the point that it has become a “routine” (2). When children talk about someone very much, it usually means they either admire that person or the complete opposite like a child would go on and on about a superhero. The language he uses to describe Charles to his parents also suggests that he thinks Charles is not a bad influence. He mentions to his mother that even though Charles gets into trouble and the teacher warns the class not to play with him, everybody still does. Laurie makes it sound as if everybody thinks Charles is likable enough for everybody else t...
The canary and the birdcage are symbolic to Mrs. Wright?s life in the way that the bird represents her, and the cage represents her life and the way she was made to live. Mrs. Hale compares the canary that she and Mrs. Peters discover to Mrs. Wright, when Mrs. Hale refers to Mrs. Wright as ?kind of like a bird herself?real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and?fluttery.? Minnie Foster was a distinctly different woman than Minnie Foster ...
Norman’s mind housed two personalities, his and his mother’s. After his father had died, Norman and his mother had lived “as if there was no one else in the world.” A few years later, Norman’s mother met a man that she planned to marry. Driven with jealousy, Norman murdered both the man and his mother because he had felt replaced. The guilt ate him up and caused him to pretend that his mother was still alive. In order to do this, half of him became his mother. Just as Norman was jealous of any man who came near his mother, the mother half of Norman was also jealous of anyone that aroused Norman himself. Therefore, when Marion came to stay at the Bates Motel, owned by Norman, he was attracted to her, and his attraction spurred the mother half of him to become jealous and murder Marion. Sometimes Norman would dress up as his mother when reality came too close and threatened his illusion. Since his mind was housing two personalities, there was a battle, and eventually his mother won and completely took over Norman. Norman was gone, and his mother has fully taken over (Psycho). The viewers realize that Norman Bates never meant to hurt anyone. It was his jealous emotions stemming from his mother that caused him to murder Marion. In Norman’s case, his mental illness was to blame for his vile crime. Through this portrayal, the viewers are more likely to view mental illnesses negatively. Because Norman’s