"The Short History Of Night" by John Mighton fervently seeks to expound upon the idea that societal disorder will eventually affect all levels of society despite any purposeful attempts to be detached, whether physically, using status or otherwise. Throughout many facets of the play this thought is effectively echoed, more particularly in the areas of set design, sound and light design, and character development.
The utilization of levels in the set design is sensibly used in what I believe, a twofold purpose. First, and more obviously, to create various physical levels on stage with the use of the raised circular portion as in the scene with Kepler and his soon-to-be wife sitting on a hill awaiting his "prophesied" comet or with the depiction of Tycho's observatory. On the other hand, this rise in physical level also produces a platform for a higher level of observation or rationale. Kepler's wife, while standing on this upper level, would begin to ponder and question her husband on various topics possibly beyond her character's intelligence level as inferred by her husband's response. It is ironic that she is also placed at this level as she is "raving" during her interrogation on her involvement with witchcraft. Therefore, following the same train of thought, the use of this arrangement suggests that her examiners, namely the Inquisitor, are merely acting out of ignorance.
Most tangible however, is the complete black appearance of the set that helps considerably to establish the notion that the play is a representation of place in a period of discord. The darkness of the set creates a sense of eerieness and obscurity that draws the audience into the social upheaval of this period. More interestingly, over the course of the play this "blackness" extends into the allusion of the lurking evils of the society and its possible infiltration at any time on the unsuspecting.
Working in conjunction with the set, to completely produce the aforementioned effect, is the sound and lighting design. Strikingly impressive, is the use of shadows to create scenes and evoke mood, as with the shadow representation of the forest creating the setting and generating a harrowing atmosphere -- perfect for Kepler's secret journey to Tycho's observatory. The sound and music successfully accentuate the growing conflict in the play with the extensive use of tension chords, particularly during the arrival of the Inquisitor and the scene changes, creating dissonant, chaotic-sounding tones.
This is the summary of the book Night, by Elie Wiesel. The subject matter of the book takes place during World War II. In this summary you, the reader, will be given a brief overview of the memoir and it will be discussed why the piece is so effective. Secondly, there will be a brief discussion about the power of one voice versus the listing of statistics. The impact of reading about individuals struggling to survive with the barest of means, will be the third and final point covered in this summary, with the authors feelings as commentary. The author’s own experience with the book is recommending you to read this summary of Night, and hopefully convince you to read the book itself.
One of the main themes throughout the book is the title of the book “Night”. There are references from Eliezer about night during the book, which are full of symbolism. The word “night” is used repeatedly, and Eliezer recounts every dusk, night and dawn through the entire book. For instance, Night could be a metaphor for the Holocaust—submerge the family and thousands of Jewish families in the darkness and misery of the concentration camps.
“The Hungarian police made us climb into the cras, eighty persons in each one … A prolonged whistle pierced the air. The wheels began to grind. We were on our way.”
Madame Schacter- Madame Schacter is a crazy woman is on the train with Elie to Birkenau. On the train she screams and says she sees flames burning. She is constantly beaten by other passengers just so she would be quiet.
For setting, the scene takes place in a completely white room which is known as ‘the construct’, where depth perception is not relevant, it simply never ends. This is intended to represent a different world other than reality. No room on Earth could be like this. This message is successfully delivered. His costume is, of course, a green shirt with a black coat. Morpheus, who is explaining what this ‘construct’ is, is also wearing green. Character and actor expressions and body language also come into play as you can see the confusion and disbelief in his facial expressions and the questioning looks on his face. Composition or the arrangements of elements in a frame are also used in this scene. There are only two chairs, a table, a remote control, and an old television set in the white room. The chairs are symmetrically placed and are exactly identical with red and brown colors. It was ironic that the television set was an older version as well, not an up-to-date one. This scene is a perfect example of how all five of the elements of mise-en-scene can be used to make a huge impact on the viewer.
The section in the novel night that painted a dark and angry picture of human nature is when the Jews were fleeing Buna and hundreds of them were packed in a roofless cattle car. The Jews were only provided with a blanket that soon became soaked by the snowfall. They spent days in the bitter cold temperatures and all they ate was snow. For these reasons, many suffered and died. When they stopped in German towns, the people stared at that cattle cars filled with soulless bodies. “They would stop and look at [the Jews] without surprise.” It was a regular occasion for the German people to see suffering Jews and not feel pity. The dark and angry picture of human nature was when a German worker “took a piece of bread out of his bag and threw it
“Night” by Elie Wiesel is a horror and survival story told at a nauseating scale. The author, with this autobiographic masterpiece, opens a small historic window to the systemic genocide committed by the Nazis against humanity. He offers the reader a very personal and painful narrative about his travel throughout the darkest chapters of human history. Finally, “Night” represents the travails of a boy that gets his innocence destroyed, that gets physically decimated, but that ultimately wins over his abductors.
“There is no longer any reason to live; any reason to fight” (Wiesel 99). In the book “Night”, worte by Elie Wiesel, it depicts the many struggles of the prisoners of the Holocaust. Elie writes about his own experiences and his own struggles. Elie’s life changed and was influenced by what happened during the Holocaust. His life changed by his faith cheapening, having only his father, and the things he had seen.
In the memoir, Night, author Elie Wiesel portrays the dehumanization of individuals and its lasting result in a loss of faith in God. Throughout the Holocaust, Jews were doggedly treated with disrespect and inhumanity. As more cruelty was bestowed upon them, the lower their flame of hope and faith became as they began turning on each other and focused on self preservation over family and friends. The flame within them never completely died, but rather stayed kindling throughout the journey until finally it stood flickering and idle at the eventual halt of this seemingly never-ending nightmare. Elie depicts the perpetuation of violence that crops up with the Jews by teaching of the loss in belief of a higher power from devout to doubt they endure.
In the poem “Acquainted with the Night” by Robert Frost, the Romantic poet explores the idea of humanity through nature. This sonnet holds a conversational tone with a depressing mood as the man walks in the dark city trying to gain knowledge about his “inner self”. The narrator takes a stroll at night to embrace the natural world but ignores the society around him. His walk allows him to explore his relationship with nature and civilization. In “Acquainted with the Night”, the narrator emphasizes his isolation from the society by stating his connectivity with the natural world.
Edwin Louis Cole once said, “God never ends anything on a negative; God always ends on a positive.” In Elie Wiesel’s memoir Night this quote is very significant to me. He wrote the book to inform people about the horrific nature of the Holocaust in a way that was more real than a few sentences in a history book. The biggest themes are loss of religion, destruction of self, and the darkness which Wiesel felt internally, but in the end Elie wins his well-deserved liberation. Therefore, Wiesel wrote Night to show us readers how he lost his once, close knit faith during his imprisonment along with many other things.
It is said that no man is an island, and no man stands alone. Hence, true human existence can not prevail positively or productively without the dynamics of society. Yet, this concept is very much a double-edged sword . Just as much as man needs to exist in society and needs the support and sense of belonging, too much social pressures can also become a stifling cocoon of fantasies and stereotypes that surround him. He becomes confined to the prototype of who or what he is expected to be. Thus, because society is often blinded by the realms of the world, its impositions in turn cripples humanity. If he does not conform, he becomes a social out cast, excluded and excommunicated from the fabric of life. The theme alienation in a small society is depicted primarily through setting by both authors Conrad and Kafka in Metamorphosis and Heart of Darkness. This depiction demonstrates how this isolation has a negative impact on the individual and ultimately leads to his destruction and decadence.
I have made a mistake. And this mistake took away thirty years of my life away from you. I won’t be able to pack your lunch on your first day of school, and I won’t be able to see you walk across the podium to receive your diploma. Because of my mistake, your life will be more difficult, and I only hope to make it up with this story. You may hate me or miss me, but no matter what you are feeling, I hope that you will have this story to accompany and guide you when I am gone.
By the use of visual design elements, the overall production of the play can be considered abstract. For example, the set design uses very little props and forces the audience to focus more on the actors and costumes. In addition, the set designer used very dark and dreary color such as black and grey to display the plague that was taking over the city of Thebes. During this time period that the play produced, the plague has made the people in the city weak, bitter, and unhappy. By using colors that represent this internal feeling that the characters are experiencing, the actors move in a certain way that coincidentally goes hand and hand with the set design. In further detail, the costume designer did a fantastic job of portraying certain status ranking by the color of robe they were wearing. For example, Oedipus was wearing a silk, garnish robe that represented royalty and a sophisticated man. Whereas, the ordinary people of Thebes were wearing dull, grey robes that displayed their lack of social ranking. All in all, the visual design elements were used in an appropriate manner that allowed the audience to get a better understanding of the abstract world that this play took place
Whilst the concept of autism and what it means to be autistic is still widely unrecognised by many, Mark Haddon’s use of conventions of prose fiction and language amplifies the distinctive qualities of the text. Haddon exemplifies key themes such as the struggle to become independent, the nature of difference and the disorder of life through the strategic placement of literary devices.