Review of Shirley Valentine by Willy Russell The screenplay Shirley Valentine was written as a monologue by Willy
Russell. The play set in Liverpool, which is Willy Russell's home,
tells the story of a lonely and bored housewife who is sick of the way
she is treated by her narrow minded and inconsiderate husband. Using
devices such as flashback the screenplay shows how Shirley becomes a
confident and positive woman after traveling to Greece and fulfilling
her ambitions. In this essay I will be examining how Shirley has
changed during the course of the play, and how the play has been
organised to show the importance of these changes.
Willy Russell has organised the use of devices so we can see how
Shirley has changed over the years and how she has been effected by
certain events in her life. As the opening credits are shown a song is
being played. The lyrics of this song suggest this is a film about
change, a change that enables Shirley to be herself. During the
credits pictures are being shown the, these are pictures of Shirley
doing household jobs such as washing dishes. Cleaning the house and
cooking. This makes us think that the movie will be about a housewife
changing to show her true self. This is a very clever use of sound and
images, as it is trying to tell us about the story before it has even
begun.
As the film begins the setting alone is enough to show the mood
Shirley is in and ...
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...n that Shirley does find some fulfillment at the end
of the play.
At the end if Shirley Valentine we see Shirley has really changed
because she has started to make decisions on her own without worrying
about Joe. Shirley has become happier, confident, and more
independent. As in the last scene we see Joe looking for Shirley.'
Shirley: would you like to join me for a drink? Joe: Er…. Thanks.'
From the start of the play we learn that Shirley hated herself which
caused her to lack in confidence and put less effort into things she
does. During the end of the play she starts to like herself and is
more confident and comes across as a better person. The structure of
the play has shown the gradual change in Shirley's life and by showing
the view of more than one person the play also shows the reasons of
those changes.
In society, the motives behind people partaking in violence and crime vary. Individuals may act for survival, peer pressure, religion, or even culture and tradition. Two short stories, A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner and The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, both portray tradition in their themes. By exploring violence, brutality, and death within these traditions, similarities and differences emerge between the two tales.
Karen Cushman’s The Midwife’s Apprentice is about a young homeless girl who doesn’t know anything about herself. This girl is found sleeping in a dung heap by a village and the village’s Midwife decides she’ll give her shelter if she’ll work as her apprentice. From that moment, her new life starts and she finds an identity that fits her and a new name, occupation and a place she belongs to. Alyce’s smartness, empathy and curiousness are a great combination that leads her to become a midwife’s apprentice, and as she works she starts to learn how the world works.
involved troubling situations. Look at how she grew up. The book starts off during a time of Jim
The cover of this book looks like a painting of a black & white picket fence, with trees in the background behind the fence, and a purple bougainvillea hanging in the front. It suggests the book will be about a family- because of the stereotype of white picket fences in front of traditional family houses, the families that live in the suburbs with two kids and both parents, a canine and a “happy” life. But because behind the fence there are, what look like, pine trees, it prompts to suggest that the story isn’t set in the suburbs. What made me choose ‘Painted Love Letters’ was the thickness. Indeed a bit shallow, I wasn’t in the mood for a thousand paged, completely engaging novel.
There are more than three billion people living on Earth; however, not everyone adores each other. On the other hand, if people met Bill and Bud, two main characters from The Tender Bar, they would find them charming. J.R. Moehringer wrote an emotional autobiography about himself and his devastating life, in The Tender Bar, J.R. walked into a bookstore in an unhabituated mall, and met Bill and Bud, who changes his life forever. Many youth, teens, and adults would find Bill and Bud likeable, because the pair of them are smart, optimist, and loving.
How Willy Russell Uses Dramatic Devices to Allow the Audience to See Many Different Sides of Shirley Valentine's Personality
Shirley's Changes in the Course of Shirley Valentine by Willy Russell "Shirley Valentine" was primarily written as a monologue to express the emotions of a bored middle-aged housewife. The monologue was originally performed by the actress Pauline Collins. The monologue was adapted by Willy Russell and converted into a screenplay. Willy Russell kept most of the original devices such as the voiceovers and the flashbacks to narrate the story. Furthermore he added other character to the screenplay.
High Fidelity tells the story of a young man in his thirties who is struggling to find real love. Though the central character, Rob Gordon has an issue with commitment. All of Rob's past girlfriends have a common element. All of his past girlfriends pursued the relationship. This has led to Rob's issue with commitment. He likes his girlfriends, maybe even loves them. But, they all chose him to be their boyfriend while he only conceded to choosing them to be his girlfriend.
center around one woman and her fall from reality and life due to the shackles of marriage.
The writer uses imagery, because he wants to let the readers into his mind. By describing the scene for the readers, makes the readers fell like they were there. Therefore, it gives us a better ability to emphasize with him.
Throughout the story, Walker uses brilliant imagery in describing each detail of what the mother sees through the eyes of her world. This imagery in turn creates a more interesting and imaginative story, and allows the reader to experience what the narrator is experiencing. The theme of imagery is not within the story, but how the story is told. However, the theme of love of one's family heritage is within the heart and not on the wall.
If my life had no purpose, no individuality, and no happiness, I would not want to live. This book teaches the importance of self expression and independence. If we did not have these necessities, then life would be like those in this novel. Empty, redundant, and fearful. The quotes above show how different life can be without our basic freedoms. This novel was very interesting and it shows, no matter how dismal a situation is, there is always a way out if you never give up, even if you have to do it alone.
Instead of proclaiming her feelings out loud, she suppresses them. The result is a series of recordings, which describes her life, and the things she wishes she could change.
The Foxy Widow is set in the 18th century in Venice, Italy; where Rosaura, a widow, is seeking a suitable match so she can be a widow again someday. After spending most of her youth on an arranged marriage with an old wealthy man, Rosaura searched for “true” love with no boundaries and make up for lost time with a young man instead. After a party, four young men had fallen for the widow Rosaura. Each one of the four men had different backgrounds, cultures, personalities, and passions. The four men consisted of a Frenchman, Spaniard, Englishman, and an Italian man. Rosaura is very skeptical on who will be her next husband. After having a few one-on-one encounters with each suitor, she questions their love for her. Rosaura than meets each suitor wearing clothing that hid her identity and gave her the appearance of someone from each suitor’s home country. After attempting to divert each one from Rosauara, she demanded an item from each suitor. After gathering everyone, she declares her love for the Italian suitor who had passionately defended her while the other suitors caved into other desires.
The phrases she chose are also significant because they allow us to see that her shift in language represents, and coincides, with her shift in emotion and tone. Ph...