Contrary to the image of Christ as the calmer of the wind, P summons forth the wind on various occasions throughout Part Three. He directs the winds to safely navigate the Elizabethan ships home and to help his daughter Violet sleep at night (191, 235). Instead of surrendering to God’s calming authority, P rejects the traditional salvation found in Christ and takes matter into his own hands. He drops out of the play, and moves away from his family. Ruhl uses the symbol of wind in Part Three to further develop the meaning of P and J’s characters from Part One and Two. She has placed them in opposition of one another, and metaphorically portrays P’s shamanistic journey throughout the entire scope of the play. In the final scene, P rides a boat off the stage to signify the completion of his personal journey. Instead of striving to find salvation and cleansing from all of his guilt, he …show more content…
Her scriptural symbols serve as a means to guide the audience towards a deeper understanding of the counter narrative she is presenting to the traditional Passion story of the Christ. In each Part, the eleven actors portray similar characters that play the same biblical characters in their own passion play. Through this repetitive style, Ruhl creates a Buddhist approach to the story of the Christ by focusing more on the element of rebirth rather than redemption. Certain elements are carried throughout each Part to reflect on the connections between each character from part to part. Instead of presenting the all-powerful image of Christ, Ruhl bestows divine powers and qualities upon numerous biblical symbols. From fish puppets passing Pontius on to the next phase of life, to a little girl being able to control the sky, Passion Play “disrupts the tragic depiction of the passion with versions of the second coming” (Al-Shamma
... of all time, with a protagonist that is plagued with indecision, but spurred by a desire to avenge his father’s death. At the time of the play’s writing, religion was by far the largest influence on the lives of ordinary people, and the protagonist’s defiance of God for most of the play could only end in tragedy.
Henry Christ points out that the play is like a lock with many keys. Each key presents just a portion of the possibilities. Every new version opens up new vistas, without stopping new interpretations. Every generation studies the play, but never comes up with all relevant answers (Christ, 321).
Another major theme in the play is that characters are reluctant to tell the truth because they are afraid of the consequences. In the play there are several occasions when one or more characters don’t want to tell the truth because they are afraid of the consequences. For example, Jocasta says, “Stop- in the name of god, if you love your own life, call of this search! M...
The pointedness of the play is created through a distinct plot path. The observer is lead through the story, seeing first how greatly Amanda Wingfield influences her children. Secondly, the play-goer notes how Tom Wingfield desperately struggles and writhes emotionally in his role of provider- he wants more than just to be at home, taking care of his all-too-reminiscent mother and emotionally stunted sister. Tom wants to get out from under his mother’s wing; his distinct ambitions prevent him from being comfortable with his station in life. Lastly, Laura struggles inside herself; doing battle against her shyness, Laura begins to unfurl a bit with Jim, but collapses once again after Jim announces his engagement and leaves her, again. Each character struggles and thrashes against their places in life, but none of them achieve true freedom. This plot attests to the fact that true change and freedom can only come through the saving power of God Almighty and Jesus Christ, and by letting go of the past.
The narrator has shifted in style. Jesus is still at the center. His death remains the main focus, but now the topics of miracles act like loaded exclamation points to the subject of the crucifixion.1 The temple, the center of the Jewish universe, is split, the veil torn in two, the captives are set free. God has spoken.
"The Passion of the Christ" by Mel Gibson, recounts the last twelve hours of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, portraying his arrest, trial, crucifixion and death. One of the most popular religious movies in modern times, it therefore becomes susceptible to criticism. Although the film is based upon the stories within the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, there are many exaggerations and non-biblical elements present in the movie. This is not unexpected, since it is a movie, but the vivid detail of the brutality in the movie as well as the Anti-Semitic theme are the most publicly criticized elements of the movie. The Passion emphasizes the brutality Jesus endured to give himself for his people, but at the same time in the movie the Jews are the ones that cry for his death. During several scenes of The Passion of the Christ, there are elements such as characters, themes, and motifs that are not found within the gospels, but are in the movie to add more dramatic elements.
The story “Inherit the Wind” holds many themes which are revealed in many ways throughout the story. It is important to know the different themes of a story so there is a better understanding of the book. Appearance vs. reality, the importance of free thought, and man vs. society are few of the major themes that are revealed more than once throughout the story.
intended to help reinforce the importance of God and religion people's lives (Everyman). The play
Sinclair Ross uses vivid imagery of nature to reflect and influence the emotions of his characters in his short story The Lamp at Noon. The wind is a powerful force that changes with the emotions of Ellen and Paul. Sinclair describes the wind as two separate winds: "the wind in flight, and the wind that pursue[s]" (Atwood/Weaver, 74). Like the wind in flight which cannot escape the wind that pursues it, Ellen cannot escape her isolation. The wind in flight always returns to "quake among the feeble eaves, as if in all this dust-mad wilderness it knew no other sanctuary" (74). Ellen is also forced to seek refuge within her small home, which is also the place where she feels the most secluded. The wind outside often contrasts the silence that is encased inside. During an argument between Paul and Ellen, there is an uncomfortable silence, "a deep fastness of it enclosed by rushing wind and creaking walls"(76). This noise around them makes the silence within even more uncomfortable. Paul later finds the silence comforting when he is in the stable. It is described as a "deep hollow calm within, a vast darkness engulfed beneath the tides of moaning wind" (78). The silence protects him and brings him relief from the dangerous world outside. Unfortunately, the walls seem to weaken against the powerful wind, and "instead of release or escape from the assaulting wind, the walls [are] but a feeble stand against it" (78). Paul begins to understand what Ellen is feeling, and the wind screams like Ellen's cries. As he thinks of ways to restore the land and make Ellen happy, the wind starts to slacken. For a short moment, he feels relief. When he returns to the house, he realizes that Ellen is gone. At this point, the wind whimpers and moans as if it knows Ellen's isolation and Paul's despair. The imagery of the wind is used by Sinclair to intensify the characters' emotions and help the reader understand what the characters are experiencing.
The presentation of Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson’ The Passion of the Christ, while certainly dramatized, largely stays faithful to the presentation of Jesus in the canonical Gospels. The majority of the differences between this film and the Gospels can be considered creative choices that do not substantially change the narrative, making this film by and large an accurate representation of the scenes in the Bible. However, its near-exclusive focus on Jesus’ trial and death omits much of the context and significance of this event in the life and teachings of Jesus and his greater mission of the salvation of humanity.
...est: An Interpretation." In The Tempest: A Casebook. Ed. D.J. Palmer. London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd., 1968. 225.
The scene that introduces the audience to Matthew Harrison Brady, in Inherit the Wind, (Dir. Stanley Kramer. With Spencer Tracy, Frederic March, and Gene Kelly. MGM. 1960) uses dialogue, composition, camera work and music to develop Matthew Brady. Kramer reveals important information about the plot of the film in this scene. The scene opens with a bird's eye view shot of the town of Hillsboro, and focuses in on the movement of the parade below. The camera comes to rest on the convertible that transports Brady and his wife. The town of Hillsboro welcomes the well-known politician. He will serve the town by being the prosecutor in a trial about evolution, similar to that of the historical Scopes Trial. This scene, where we first meet Brady, reveals his strong character, and the role of savior that the town expects him to play. Through the development of Brady, Kramer also introduces us to the issues of religion and politics. Stanley Kramer, the director, introduces the audience to two key ideas in the very first shot of the scene. He does this through the use of background tools, like music and scenery. As the camera fades in from the previous scene, music begins to play, and a group of women sing a religious hymn, "Give me that old time religion." The extremely loud music continues for the duration of the parade. At first the audience doesn't know the source of the music, but as the parade comes to an end, the camera focuses on a group of militant looking women, who march and sing. This song draws the audience into the impending controversy over religion. It expresses the entire town's point of view on the issue. The audience can see that religion affects the soc...
In the film “The Passion of the Christ” by Mel Gibson the life of Jesus Christ is portrayed to the audience using his interpretation of the historical moment in which Jesus Christ was crucified. In the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John the stories recounted about the life of Jesus Christ are different, because each one was centered to the particular needs of their community. By not following the Gospels word for word Mel Gibson is able to dramatically depict the mercy, love, and salvation Jesus Christ had for the children of God. In doing so Mel Gibson was also able to impact people and have them reflect on the sins they have inflicted on God.
Twelfth Night revolves heavily around the shipwreck plot device to split apart the siblings Viola and Sebastian, leading to the development of a bizarre love-triangle and a case of mistaken identity. Besides the rather literal importance of the sea as the driving force for the play’s plot, water appears to resonate as a recurring theme throughout many scenes; specifically, it becomes a living representation for the emotional status of various characters, and woven within the ebb and flow of the tides, qualities such as fate, grief, death (imagined or real), and reflection churn amongst the brackish waters of the play’s symbolic ocean. Of course, because Twelfth Night fails to meet definition of a tragedy outright, these elements will not lead
In this brief examination of the Tempest, it becomes obvious that the play is a mirror image of the progression of events in the Bible. This use of Christian elements in the play is not obvious upon first reading the play, but becomes undeniable as the action progresses. The motif of Christianity in other Shakespearean works is not as structured and in-depth as the motif found in the Tempest.