Lit. Crit. Essay Test

When using terms and concepts of Structuralism to criticize a piece of work, one looks at the underlying structure of a story and only the archetypal text is considered significant. If one story is based off another then the second story will said to be worth nothing; as only the original will be important. The film Unbreakable (2000), is about David, a man who is in a fatal train crash and miraculously survives it. With the aid of a man diagnosed with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, David slowly begins to discover why he lived through the accident, and how he can become a hero for people who need one. Though one could say that Unbreakable is very original in its storyline, it does in fact have many similarities to the 1999 film, The 6^th Sense.

In both The 6^th Sense and Unbreakable the main characters, Malcolm and David, have a condition which they do not believe exists. By choosing not to accept what they are, the people around them are affected, often by negative aspects. Ghosts in The 6th Sense are unaware they are dead and that they dwell as ghosts. Cole explains this to Malcolm during the movie, and as a ghost, Malcolm is rather unaware. But, being dead affects Cole, at first who is terrified of him. As the movie goes on, Cole begins to look forward to meeting with Malcolm and slowly problems begin to resolve. Malcolm’s wife is shown as being tormented, and having depression. Malcolm views this as part of the problems in their relationship, while in truth it is his death that has distressed her.

Following a similar line in Unbreakable is David, who cannot die, get sick or hurt. He is exceptionally close to having invincibility. This is shown after he was in two bad crashes; one that should have proved fatal and the other very close. Because of his love for his wife, David acted as if he had been injured in the accident, and fooled himself into thinking he was. Though in reality, David came out of both disasters with nothing as small as a scratch. The only way that David is able to be hurt is through water. David’s son, Joseph is in awe of his father, who he thoroughly believes is invincible. Yet he is also disappointed by the fact that David refuses to take any action towards finding out if he does indeed have some sort of superhuman powers. David’s relationship with his wife, Aubrey is as well falling apart. The beginning of the film shows them as distanced, and Aubrey admits later on that she desires to leave her husband.

Throughout the movie the main characters have a relationship with their significant other which is unstable, and a relationship with a young child, where the main character seems to tread very carefully when around them. The 6^th Sense has Malcolm trying to help Cole deal with what her believes are hallucinations. Not being able to see them, or identify that he himself is one, Malcolm does not believe that Cole actually sees, speaks to, and is sometimes harmed by ghosts. Malcolm also is in what he sees as an unstable relationship with his wife. He sees her doing what he considers cheating, and while he tries to fix the relationship, he cannot achieve anything. There exists what feels like a silent gap between the two.

Likewise, David’s young son truly accepts that his father has heightened strength and that he cannot die. Joseph tries many times to prove this to his father, almost shooting him with a gun at one point. This makes for a tense relation between them, as David tries to find a balance for his son’s expectations. David does little in his marriage to keep it together, admitting that he does keep his wife at a distance, and he’s not sure why. Aubrey can tell that he does, and admits to wanted to leave him. David does, however, love his life and after he talks with her, they decide that they need to work out problems to fix their relationship.

In both films there are many clues, some which are in plain sight, that lead up to a surprise ending. Many of the hints are linked by colours in The 6^Th Sense and Unbreakable. Both twists similarly result in an important character turning out to be something that they didn’t first appear to be. When the main characters discover these unexpected truths, they realize that it had a large impact on their lives in ways that had not thought of. The finale of The 6^th Sense shows Malcolm as he comes to the awareness that he had been dead during his time spent helping Cole. Throughout the whole film, the watcher is deceived into thinking that Malcolm is living so that the shock is shared with said character at the end.

At the end of Unbreakable, David meets one last time with the man who persuaded him to look into his potential hero characteristics. As they stand talking together, David shakes hands with him, and is shown that he was in fact the one who set up the train crash. Everything had been done simply so that he could find David. When watching the film, initially one sees David’s friend as someone who just feels strongly that they are connected in many ways. At the climax, it is shown that instead, all he wants it to become David’s arch nemesis—like something out of a comic book.

While Unbreakable has much to do with comic books, and The 6^th Sense has no relation to them, these two movies do have similar aspects to them from their character’s journeys to the problems and characters that Malcolm and David must face. As well, the unexpected twists that their lives take and the conclusions that they arrive at. So from using Structuralism to study Unbreakable, it is not an archetype, but rather a very well produced film based off The 6^th Sense.

SHORT ISU ESSAY

In Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, the protagonist, Dorian Gray desires eternal youth and receives it. Those around him admire his beauty which never fades; or that which everyone believes to be his beauty. With Gray’s wish fulfilled and his image staying the same, what was inside of him grew ugly. Dorian Gray was envied for his youth and admired for his “perfect” life, but in reality, if one knew Gray’s true face, they would no longer be envious.

Because of the choices Dorian makes, deaths occur around him, one after another. Some of people he knew well—and all were of those connected to him. Knowing that all of these deaths related in one way or another to him, Dorian constantly has the guilt and remorse in the back of his mind, and showing on his painting.

“I have no doubt it was not an accident, Dorian, though it must be put in that way to the public. …[Sybil] said she had forgotten something upstairs. They waited for her, but she did not come down again. The ultimately found her lying dead on the floor of her dressing room.” (Wilde, 101)

Dorian breaks Sybil Vane’s heart when he tells her he doesn’t love her anymore, and chooses not to marry her. He does it in such a harsh way that Sybil is severely heartbroken and kills herself rather than suffer the pain. Dorian realizes he was cruel, and while he had planned to make it up to her, she died before he got the chance. This guilt followed him, along with other deaths, including a warrant for his own.

The next casualty was by Dorian himself of his friend, Basil Hallward, who sparks anger when he realizes how horrid Gray’s life has become. He attempts to get Dorian to repent, however Dorian refuses to believe it is possible. In his anger, he murders Hallward instead.

“He rushed at [Basil] and dug the knife into the great vein that is behind the ear crushing the man’s head down on the table, and stabbing again and again.” (Wilde, 165)

After his death, Dorian carries the worries of being accused of murder, and required a way to make all the evidence disappear. This was on his mind all the time until he could resolve the issue. Even after, the though of his death plagued him.

“The whole thing is hideous and cruel. Is the man…?”

He could not finish the sentence.

“I’m afraid so.” Rejoined Lord Henry. “He got the whole charge of the shot in his chest. He must have died almost instantly.” (Wilde, 212)

All along James Vane had disliked Dorian, and vowed to kill him if any harm came to his sister, Sybil. The man in the above quote is found afterwards to be James Vane.

“A cry of joy broke from [Dorian’s] lips. The man who had been shot in the thicket was James Vane. He stood there for some minutes looking at the dead body.” (Wilde, 218)

Though this was the only death the comforted Dorian, the events leading up to James’ death made Dorian fearful for his own life. As well, until the identity of the man was discovered, Gray felt badly about the death, more so than most of the other men.

Dorian Gray was miserable. He receives the eternal youth which he had so desired, yet it made him unhappy. He had been expecting that his life would be simple, as the picture carried all of his sins, and that he could get away with anything. However, his actions still shaped what his life was to be like, and it was not at all what had been imagined.

“Dorian Gray was lying on a sofa…Life had suddenly become to hideous a burden for him to bear.” (Wilde, 216) Less and less did Dorian enjoy his youth, as life for him becomes heavy.

“‘Each of us has a Heaven and Hell in him, Basil!’…

‘My God, if it’s true,’ he exclaimed, ‘and this is what you’ve done with your life, why, you must be worse even than those who talk against you fancy you to be!’” (Wilde, 164)

There are people who disliked Gray, and as his life falls apart, more people begin to dislike him. Close friends refuse to believe such a beautiful person could be so horrid, until Basil sees Dorian’s true face and recognizes that indeed the young man could not ever be happy.

“‘I wish it were fin du globe,’ said Dorian with a sigh. ‘Life is a great disappointment.” (Wilde, 188)

Instead of enjoying his life, Dorian Gray constantly was reminded of all his wrongdoings and crimes. As Dorian chooses thoughtless actions for himself, over the better for others, there was the subconscious realization that he was not making himself feel any better. Further and further into the novel, his past begins to haunt him.

“He was imprisoned in thought. Memory, like a horrible malady, was eating his soul away. From time to time he seemed to see the eyes of Basil Hallward looking at him. Yet he felt he could not stay. The presence of Adrian Singleton troubled him. He wanted to be where no one would know who he was. He wanted to escape from himself.” (Wilde, 197)

Dorian is still followed, even years after the incidence, by the guilt of Basil’s murder. And although his painting received the wear of evildoings and sins, these still got to his soul.

“What sort of life would his be, if day and night, shadows of his crime were to peer at him from silent corners, to mock him from secret places, to whisper in his ear as he sat at the feast, to wake him with icy fingers as he lay asleep! As the thought crept through his brain, he grew pale with terror, and the air seemed to him to have become colder.” (Wilde, 210)

Panic attacks seize Dorian Gray many times when his wrongdoings come to mind. They constantly follow him everywhere and they never release him.

“There is no one with whom I would not change places, Harry. Don’t laugh like that. I am telling you the truth. The wretched peasant who has just died is better off than I am.” (Wilde, 213)

In the end, everyone who wished they could be like Dorian Gray came to dislike him. All the roles were reversed. He longed to be normal; like everyone else.

Dorian's life was miserable and was spent less in pleasure and more in suffering. Every misconduct he had committed stayed with him and was not discarded into the painting. From the people surrounding him he could hide his sins; not from himself, however. For one to know that they were the cause of the deaths of so many people would be troubling. For Dorian Gray, this was a large factor in his disconcertment. So for most people, the life of Dorian Gray would not fit the definition of the ideal life.

Bibliography:
Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Tor Publishing, New York: 1999.

Essay writing is coming along.

And it's going better than usual. Hmm... I don't know why that is. I usually strain for enough information to write my essay on--or maybe it's because I always leave it until the last minute? Ha ha.

I think I'm going to end up with more than enough pages. That's a comforting thought though. Better to remove writing, than try to strain for enough!

ISU Essay #1 -- Outline!

*EDITED on October 11th. Noticed a few spelling errors... so I fixed them up. I'm sure to find more later on.

Here's my *updated* thesis along with my outline.

Thesis: Dorian Gray was envied for his youth and admired for his “perfect” life, but in reality, if one knew Gray’s true face, they would no longer be envious.

Reason 1: Because of the choices Dorian makes, deaths occur around him, one after another. Some of people he knew well—and all were of those connected to him.

“I have no doubt it was not an accident, Dorian, though it must be put in that way to the public. …[Sybil] said she had forgotten something upstairs. They waited for her, but she did not come down again. The ultimately found her lying dead on the floor of her dressing room.” (Wilde, 101)

“He rushed at [Basil] and dug the knife into the great vein that is behind the ear crushing the man’s head down on the table, and stabbing again and again.” (Wilde, 165)

“The whole thing is hideous and cruel. Is the man…?”

He could not finish the sentence.

“I’m afraid so.” Rejoined Lord Henry. “He got the whole charge of the shot in his chest. He must have died almost instantly.” (Wilde, 212)

Reason 2: Dorian Gray was miserable. He had gotten the eternal youth which he had so desired, yet it made him unhappy.

“Dorian Gray was lying on a sofa…Life had suddenly become to hideous a burden for him to bear.” (Wilde, 216)

“Each of us has a Heaven and Hell in him, Basil!”…

‘My God, if it’s true,’ he exclaimed, ‘and this is what you’ve done with your life, why, you must be worse even than those who talk against you fancy you to be!” (Wilde, 164)

“‘I wish it were fin du globe,’ said Dorian with a sigh. ‘Life is a great disappointment. (Wilde, 188)

Reason 3: Instead of enjoying his life, Dorian Gray constantly was reminded of all his wrongdoings and crimes.

“He was imprisoned in thought. Memory, like a horrible malady, was eating his soul away. From time to time he seemed to see the eyes of Basil Hallward looking at him. Yet he felt he could not stay. The presence of Adrian Singleton troubled him. He wanted to be where no one would know who he was. He wanted to escape from himself.” (Wilde, 197)

“What sort of life would his be, if day and night, shadows of his crime were to peer at him from silent corners, to mock him from secret places, to whisper in his ear as he sat at the feast, to wake him with icy fingers as he lay asleep! As the thought crept through brain, he grew pale with terror, and the air seemed to him to have become colder.” (Wilde, 210)

“There is no one with whom I would not change places, Harry. Don’t laugh like that. I am telling you the truth. The wretched peasant who has just died is better off than I am.” (Wilde, 213)

Thesis

Oh my, it's been a long while since I've done any blogging. Probably not the best thing. Well here's my thesis for my first ISU essay, on Oscar Wilde's The Picture Of Dorian Gray. (It was quite a good book!)

Thesis:

Though Dorian Gray was envied for his youthfulness and admired for his “perfect” life, proof showed that a darker Dorian Gray existed beneath his image, shown through his actions, recklessness, and reactions in different situations