For my Spanish Cultural Project, I decided to watch and review the movie El laberinto del fauno, which in English is more commonly referred to as Pan’s Labyrinth. Following the viewing of the film, I researched background information, so that I could better understand the symbolism represented in the movie. By many, this film is considered to be one of the greatest Spanish-spoken films of all time and one of the reasons why I wanted to watch it. The version of the movie that I purchased off of youtube, had permanent English subtitles. However, during the reviewing of the film I was able to block them with post-it notes; that is to say that I watched the film twice, once with the English subtitles and once without. Overall, the experience left
When reading The Hunger Games, one might not read and think deeply enough about something like symbolism. Looking into it, however, the characters in this novel by Suzanne Collins seem to be named after historical figures, words that are descriptive of their characters, and even plants. Realizing this really makes reading the novel much more interesting, because now the reader has something or someone to compare each of the main or supporting characters to.
Pan’s Labyrinth and how Escapism can Ruin you. In Pan’s Labyrinth, the character of Ophelia represents how escapism’s disconnect from reality might cause damage to relationships and severe injury or death. Towards the beginning of the story, Ophelia’s discovery of the fawn and the revelation of her being, “The daughter of the king of the underworld,” shows how she uses escapism as a means of creating a fictitious world that helps her avoid the new, horrible life that she endures under her stepfather. However, the adventures that this fantasy sends her on creates a strain in her relationships with her mother and stepfather, which becomes evident when her mother reprimands her saying, “You have disappointed me, and your father too.”
A person’s environment hugely impacts who they are, what they believe in, and the manner in which they present themselves to the world. Prince Prospero from “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe, and Captain Vidal from the film “Pan's Labyrinth” come from very similar environments. As a result they have similar personality traits, and their views and beliefs about the world are alike.
In The House of the Scorpion, Nancy Farmer states, "No one can tell the difference between a clone and a human. That's because there isn't any difference. The idea of clones being inferior is a lie." Members of the Alacrán household try to choose Matt's destiny before he is created and impose false allegations on him throughout his life. The belief that Matt is dangerous, a useless clone, and will become like El Patrón leaves him no room to create an identity of his own. In the House of the Scorpion, Matteo Alacrán is faced with the internal conflict of what his real identity is and the author interprets that he does not have his destiny chosen for him but he becomes his own person through his experiences.
When you see Pan’s Labyrinth starring Ivana Baquero as Ofelia and Sergi Lopez as Captain Vidal, prepare to take your emotions for a ride. As the movie is a fantasy/drama film set in Spain of 1944, during the civil war. Yet, it still captivates its audiences with its selection of an unconventional fairytale. While, keeping some of the same elements such as a princess and fairies of a traditional fairytale. Not to mention the sudden dark twists and turns of a ruthless stepfather, heartbreaking losses, and the horrifying unseemly creatures which the legendary lost princess Ofelia must prevail. While, taking on an expedition to completing three dangerous tasks.
Obedience is a recurrent theme in El Laberinto del Fauno, discuss at least two examples and what they represent.
Pan’s Labyrinth, originally titled El laberinto del fauno, was published in 2006 by the Spanish director Guillermo del Toro. The story is set in the year 1944, in the country-side of a post-Civil War Spain. A young and imaginative girl named Ofelia, played by Ivana Baquero, travels with her pregnant mother, Carmen Vidal, who is very ill; in order to meet and live with her stepfather, a cruel and sadistic man named Capitan Vidal (Sergi Lopez). During the first night of their stay, Ofelia meets a fairy that leads her to a pit in the center of a labyrinth where they soon meet a faun (Doug Jones). The faun tells Ofelia that she is a princess from a faerie kingdom
Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth tells the story of Ofelia who experiences magical encounters in this fantasy. One night, a fairy leads her into a hidden labyrinth where she meets a faun who tells her that she is a lost princess. He assigns her three dangerous tasks to prove herself and to claim immortality alongside her father. Meanwhile, her step-father, the captain of a merciless, violent army in fascist Spain attempts to stop a guerrilla uprising. Ofelia struggles to meet the demands of the faun before time runs out. Through this quest, she interacts with creatures and challenges that create a monstrous environment.
Have you ever thought about further meanings being held by symbols in books that you’ve read? Symbolism is defined as the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. The definition of symbol is a thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract. In Nancy Farmer’s novel, The House of the Scorpion, several symbols are utilized; each of these symbols provide greater insight into the characters of El Patron, Celia, and Esperanza, allowing a reader to deeper understand both the characters and the novel. A few of the characters in The House of the Scorpion are shown through symbols in the novel.
"In the beginning there were thirty-six of them." This marks the creation of Matt's life. Matt's "birth" may not have the mystery of many traditional heroes, but it is certainly no less important to the novel. In then novel House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer, Matteo undergoes the harsh treatment of a clone, slave, and even a sub human before the age of fourteen. However, he also defeats a powerful tyrant, exposing who his real allies are. Finally, Matt faces a heroes welcome home, where he settles into his rightful place.
Award-winning filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro delivers a unique, richly imagined epic with Pan’s Labyrinth released in 2006, a gothic fairy tale set against the postwar repression of Franco's Spain. Del Toro's sixth and most ambitious film, Pan’s Labyrinth harnesses the formal characteristics of classic folklore to a 20th Century period. Del Toro portrays a child as the key character, to communicate that children minds are not cemented. Children avoid reality through the subconscious imagination which is untainted by a grown-up person, so through a point of an innocent child more is captured. The film showcases what the imagination can do as a means of escape to comfort the physical trials one goes through in
The film Pan's Labyrinth is a fairy tale told with the confines of reality. It is the story of a young girl, Ofelia, living in post-Civil War Spain under the oppression and structure of her step father, the Captain. Ofelia walks a fine line between this harsh world and one of fantastia with the hopes of fully joining it. Throughout the film, Ofelia's shoes are used as a motif, representing her rebellion towards society's order as she completes three tasks.
The director Guillero Del Torro uses many motifs and parallels in his film Pan's Labyrinth. The most obvious parallel in the film is the parallel between the real world and the fantasy world of the character Ofelia. Both worlds are filled with danger. At any second in both of these worlds your life could be lost. Del Torro separates the real world from the fantasy world with many visual motifs.
CRACK THUD ¨Throw him in the labyrinth.¨ said the dark voice, And then darkness fell over my memory obliterating it. Ouch geez, Where am I? Who am I? While I was sitting up I rubbed the back of my head to ease some pain from it and a painful flash of my memory returned briefly I remembered A storm, a cursed ruby, and a gang of thieves.
The phrase, "There is more than meets the eye" presents an idea that heavily applies to literature. Observing or reading without purpose only provides a general understanding, but with the purpose of looking for motifs and ,more importantly, symbols a true understanding can be found. Symbols, whether they play a large or small role in a literary work, add to the understanding the reader takes from the work. In the novel Metamorphosis and the play Death of a Salesman, symbols are abundant throughout and each serves to give insight and clarify themes that are present. The play and novel both share symbolism that clarifies themes in the novel and provide an understanding of the actions characters make in both works. The meaning behind actions