Emma's Online Journal

Justice Wargrave

what would you do if you committed a crime or sin but the law just couldn’t touch you ? would the guilt inside of you eat you up ?or would you have no remorse and continue with your life as if nothing happened ? For the characters in Agatha Christies novel, ‘And then there were none’ they experienced this scenario as all of them were exposed by the justice fanatic Justice Wargrave where he punished them and served the justice where he felt necessary for their crimes. In this essay i am going to analyse how Justice Wargrave used the concept of justice by breaking it down into three key ideas. these three ideas are retributive justice, procedural justice, and distributive justice which all show a different aspect into the concept of justice and how it was applied in the novel.

Justice Wargrave was clearly a big fan of the idea of retributive justice and believed in the theory that “the best response to a crime is a punishment proportional to the offense, inflicted because the offender deserves the punishment”. This theory of justice believes in the idea that when an offender breaks the law, justice demands that he or she suffer in return, and indeed Wargrave made sure they all suffered. Even though he had never met any of the guests that he summoned to the island, he felt the need to bring justice to the crimes they committed by punishing them resulting in death. Each of these characters in some way or another were the reason another life ended therefore according to the concept of retributive justice, death was the correct punishment. The main form of justice that is brought upon the guests is retributive justice as none of the characters survive and make it off the island meaning Wargrave succeeded in punishing the guests.

procedural justice-

distributive justice-

how is the poets reaction to the sound of the Haka being performed developed throughout the poem? support your answer with language features from the text that show how the haka is more than just a traditional war dance. you might consider… the poets physical response to the haka, the poets emotional response to the haka and the importance of the haka in the writers Maori culture.

The poets reactions to the haka being performed develop throughout the text as they have an affect on his whole body, mind and presence as a whole and this is shown through the use of quotes. At the beginning of the poem the author states “I feel it in my bones and in my wairua”. By saying he feels it in his bones, this suggests that he feels it deep within and we can see that he has a deep connection to the haka. your wairua refers to your spirit and is the non-physical part of you that holds your emotion in character. your spirit within you represents who you are which shows that the haka is part of who he is. The haka for him holds a lot of cultural significance and importance and it is a way of doing something that is historical and has been passed through generations. we can see that the haka is not only significant to just him but also to a whole nation and racial group of people who identify with the same background. as the poem continues on he states that “it is the dance of earth and sky”. This quote shows us that he believes the dance represents his whole world. I know this because the earth and sky are the two physical components of the earth. near the end of the poem the author states that”it is the first breath of life”by saying this it signifies that the haka is very important to him. I know this because your first breath is important for living and with out it you don’t exist. this suggests that he needs and relies on the haka to live and survive. the writer of this poem considers the haka as more than just a dance and has strong cultural ties with it. this dance is what draws groups of people together to share something they all believe in and enjoy. the haka connects everyone together and is a symbol of their heritage and culture.

symbols is a language feature

symbols and key idea- the green light/the dream and hope, water/time and the colour white/illusion 

symbols are everywhere, used to represent an abstract idea or concept, and they give us an insight into the meaning of key elements throughout the Great Gatsby. The Great Gatsby is a novel written by F.Scott Fitzgerald that used many symbols throughout to highlight key ideas to reinforce the messages of the novel. The green light, water and the colour white all revealed key ideas relevant to the novel such as Gatsby’s dream, the concept of time and Daisys illusion. 

The green light was a symbol that was heavily portrayed throughout The Great Gatsby as it embodied Gatsby’s hope and dream of being with Daisy. Ever since Gatsby fell involve with Daisy, he became fixated on a single dream which was being with her and living their lives together. he became so obsessed with the idea of being with her that he was unable to see that this desire was but only a dream. “involuntarily, I glanced seaward and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away”. Gatsby’s dream was one where you have to look very closely to determine and figure it out. the dream he had was singular and was his only focus and drive in life. he could not see that the actual possibility of the dream succeeding and happening was small and distant as he was so fixated on achieving it. Nick informs the reader that “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us”. Gatsby had faith in the green light, and that his dream of being with daisy would come true, he saw no reason why it wouldn’t. He envisioned the future he desired and did not see that as every year passed the reality of achieving his dream moved further and further away from his grasp. The idea of the green light and how it represented Gatsby’s dream can be linked to the American Dream. The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. For Gatsby, getting Daisy completed his ideal version of the American Dream. Gatsby never got Daisy therefore he never achieved the American Dream, so infact the reality of achieving the dream is false. Gatsby displays how the American Dream is an unachievable concept where people strive towards it but it forever remains out of reach.

The symbol Water in the great Gatsby was shown everywhere as it represented the idea of time and how it is a construct that we can not control. time is something that we cant rewind, pause or fast forward, but simply keeps on ticking continuously. Gatsby believed that the 5 year gap where him and Daisy didn’t see each other meant nothing and that they would be able to continue off exactly where they left it. the reality was that the the five year time gap was keeping them apart and would continue to keep them apart. “so we beat on, boats against the current borne back ceaselessly into the past”. this quote was said by Nick at the very end of the novel where he described how everyone continued soldiering on and fighting against time. a current is a movement of water which continues flowing forward and like a current, time continues moving forward and we can not change that. people fight against the current of time only to be brought back to the past where they try again. trying to go back is pointless as we can never control time, not even Gatsby could. Gatsby states while talking to Daisy that “if it wasn’t for the mist, we could see your home across the bay…” Mist is a form of water, and water signifies time. Although Daisy and the dream of being with her seemed close, the water and therefore the time separated them. Gatsby spent too much of his life trying to get back to the past to be with Daisy where he went to excessive lengths trying to go back and ended up losing sight of what was important in the present and in the future. He spend his whole life hoping to achieve his dream of being with Daisy and he couldn’t see the time separating them. once the realisation that he could never be with Daisy hit him, he was left with nothing and he ended up paying ‘a high price for living too long with a single dream’, all because he couldn’t see the time barrier in his way. Time causes people to move on and continue forwards with their lives, but for Gatsby he was stuck living in the past. from Gatsby’s experiences people should learn not to spend life pursuing one dream and goal as you become consumed by the idea of it and are left with nothing.

White was a colour that was shown throughout the novel and was considered ‘Daisys colour’, used to present her illusion of being innocent and pure to the reader and all of the other characters. Daisy presented to everyone the  ‘white illusion’ but in fact she was more dangerous than what she showed on the outside. Daisy put on an illusion that she was someone who was sweet and innocent when in reality she was just as corrupt as everyone else and only cared about protecting her wealth, status and money. “high in a white palace, the Kings Daughter…” Daisy was described as being higher than everyone else, with more superiority than the rest. initially she was associated with status and perfection and by saying she was in a white palace and the kings daughter it suggested that she was royalty and more admirable than everyone else. “what a grotesque thing a rose is…” Roses look perfect and lovely from the outside, but are actually dangerous and can hurt you just like Daisy. In the end Daisy only cared about herself and protecting her own reputation, no matter the cost. “they smashed up things and creatures”. This quote talks about Tom and Daisy and how they were just as corrupt and selfish as every other wealthy person in America. They would do anything to protect their wealth and ensure they had their successful lifestyle. The colour white represented the the illusion Daisy put on to hide her true self but this act of purity and innocence was uncovered as no matter what, time breaks illusions. Daisy was a character who was innocent and pure from the outside but was soon discovered to be selfish and cruel. As time goes on, things are uncovered and the truth is always revealed, and what is revealed is not always what you expect or want. Illusions were present all throughout America in the 1920’s and they were considered very important because many laws and traditions were ignored, creating the illusion fo freedom and poverty.

The three symbols the green light, water and the colour white all portrayed a key idea that was relevant to the Great Gatsby. these key ideas all helped to depict essential elements from the novel and gave us an understanding of the storyline and important moments. F.Scott Fitzgerald used key symbols to allow us to make connections to certain characters, especially Gatsby and Daisy, and understand who they were as people throughout the novel.

four texts- The great Gatsby, Winter Dreams, the Jelly Bean, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. ideas- illusion

Everyone is striving for something that is greater than themselves, a better version of them or the lives they live. A dream, a hope, a goal to achieve- these are all measures of success that people aim and strive for in hope of self satisfaction and fulfilment. During the 1920’s in America it was a party scene where everyone desired money and status, and the perfect life style James Truslow Adams stated about the American Dream . On the surface the American Dream looked like the perfect oasis of opportunity and flourishment but delve a little deeper and the poverty and nearing of the economic crash loomed. F.Scott Fitzgerald uses the idea of illusion to portray a false perception of America to the viewers through the use of key characters and setting. The Great Gatsby, Winter dreams, The Jelly Bean and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button all show illusion as characters aspire to be someone or live a life that is greater than themselves.

Jay Gatsby came from a family with not much money but after meeting the wealthy Daisy Buchanan he strived for a lifestyle filled with luxury and fame. He moved to the prosperous West Egg where he built himself a new life filled with grand parties and exquisite activities, all in hope that one day Daisy would stumble upon his house and they could rekindle their love and his dream would be accomplished. He created an image of the ideal version of himself he wanted everyone to see and went through his life pretending to be someone he was not. the love of his life, Daisy Buchanan was what fuelled his need to hold up this illusion to the outside world and let his past become shrouded in a whirlwind of secrets and rumours. his entire life was an illusion as he created a new name, a new lifestyle and a new story to hide aspects of his life and lead everyone else astray. “so he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end”. By using the words invent it suggests that Jay Gatsby did in fact invent himself where he created the ideal version of himself he wanted to live by and wanted everyone else to see him as. As a 17 year old boy in the 1920’s, favourable attributes that he would’ve been looking for were fame, money, connections, and love, and those were exactly what his dream strived for. He became so attached to this illusion that it became his reality and this fake life was all he knew. “there must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion”. At first it started as a need for Daisy but as time progressed, Gatsby became so obsessed with Daisy and creating a life for them that the illusion he had created soon became what he depended on. His illusion and this lifestyle he desired had gotten out of hand where it was now so unrealistic and out of reach. the illusion that is shown throughout the Great Gatsby does not allow the characters to be shown as who they really are but merely just a version of who they want to be as they all strive towards personal accomplishment of the American Dream. Throughout the 1920’s, status and money dictated how you were seen by others, and everyone wanted to be seen as better than they really were, so it became easy to make ones life a dream. The great Gatsby is a novel built off the idea of illusion and F.Scott Fitzgerald critiqued the American Dream as a dream where everyone seemed to be striving for their own success of it, but no-one seemed to achieve it because of its unrealistic nature.

Winning Judy was the ultimate prize for Dexter Green but in order to achieve his ambitions, becoming rich was a necessary element. He had this preconceived idea that with status and money the perfect life would follow but the reality was that his dreams of being with Judy were just in fact fantasies, where his illusion became what he saw reality as. The idea of illusion in Winter Dreams is presented to the audience through Dexters need to be with Judy, where he thought that if he had all the desirable attributes they would be able to be together. He always had a natural attraction to the world of the wealthy and his winter dreams consisted of joining the ranks of the rich by remaking himself just the way someone as prestigious as Judy would acknowledge.  He went to school, got an education and made money, all in hope of his personal success of the American Dream. James Truslow Adams stated that the American Dream is “That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement”. Dexters personal achievement was being with Judy and by completing the first part of his goal by becoming rich it seemed as though the second part of his goal would fall into place. “The helpless ecstasy of losing himself in her charm was a powerful opiate rather than a tonic.” Him losing himself in her powerful charm is described as a poison rather than a remedy where it is something to be avoided and doomed to fail. An opiate is a strong drug that is severely addictive and Dexter is dragged in to the mesmerising spell of Judy’s presence.”Already [Dexter] was playing with the idea of going East to New York. He wanted to take Judy Jones with him. No disillusion as to the world in which she had grown up could cure his illusion as to her desirability”. Judy is described as a desirable character, someone who everyone wants but no-one can have. She is the golden girl who embodies Dexters dream and aspirations and her desirability is seen as an illusion where it is something that is fake and unrealistic. Dexter is striving for accomplishment of this illusion so frantically that he is not even aware that it is all an illusion and even though it may seem as though he is achieving his dream, it is still just as far from his reach as it was at the start. Fitzgerald links the idea of the American Dream and the illusion of it to all the characters as they all strive be the most ideal version of themselves they can be. America in the 1920’s was a cruel illusion where even during the most prosperous years of the roaring twenties, most families lived below the poverty line, which made it easier for people to feel comfortable with the idea of ‘recreating’ themselves. The Great Gatsby and Winter Dreams both show an illusion that is presented to the reader as the main male characters strive towards a dream that is unachievable. The concept of the American Dream creates a false idea in Jay Gatsby and Dexter Green’s minds as they become fixated on an unachievable goal. America post war was a ‘deeply damage society desperately trying to recover from a conflict that had shaken the nation to its very core’ (canadausa.net). On the surface America had healed and the roaring twenties was seen as an explosion of euphoria, but beneath the surface, the everyday struggles dawned. Gatsby endured a hard upbringing where he pretended to be someone he was not and had aspirations of being with Daisy where these dreams would never come true. Dexter also seemed to change who he was, all in order to join the life of the wealthy and pursue his attraction to Judy. Gatsby and Dexter were both characters subjected to the false reality of the American Dream where they spent their time pursuing the illusion of their love interests and America itself. We learn that the American Dream was a concept the whole of America was aware of and striving for, where everyone was convinced that they would succeed and live a prosperous life.

Jim Powell was born into a middle-class life style but once his father passed away, money became and issue and he became an after school grocery delivery boy.  Word got around about his job and he was ashamed and embarrassed, resulting in him turning to the more corrupt side of life, going to war, and coming back again where he was drawn to the presence of Nancy Lamar. Jim was hated upon and segregated from the rest of his peers because of his choice of job to make a bit of extra money, where he was seen as inferior and of lowest class. America in the 1920’s was heavily separated into classes depending on status and wealth where the wealthy were seen as the superior race. The discrimination and hate Jim received resulted in him giving up on the upper class and expectations from society and he turned to gambling and “listening to spicy tales of all the shootings that had occurred in the surrounding country”. Powell gave up on his success of the American Dream and turned to the disreputable lifestyle that was described as ‘rock bottom’. Jim had no intention to become rich and successful but after being in the presence of Nancy Lamar, his perspective on his aspirations and future soon changed. Jim was drawn to Nancy and her bad girl nature and taste for gambling. Gambling was just another figment of the false reality of the American Dream, as people pretended and lived the lives of others within the casino walls. Gambling was a way to take their minds off reality and pretend they were someone greater than they were, where they could pretend to hold all the status, wealth and authority for just a moment, without question. Jim Powell’s desire to be with Nancy was a new feeling that made him feel a weird kind of pain, of love, of admiration. “Jelly-bean is the name throughout the undissolved Confederacy for one who spends his life conjugating the verb to idle in the first person singular- I am idling, I have idled, I will idle”. This quote represents the so called definition of a ‘jelly bean’ and by describing Jim as a jelly bean he is depicted as someone who is empty and unproductive. He is labelled as a character that is drifting and lounging, has moped around and dawdled, and who will be worthless and useless. These characteristics he describes himself as show that he has no self expectations and is happy to be classified in such a way. These attributes were his way of thinking before he laid eyes on Nancy, where when he met her he went to the utmost lengths to change who he was. This new found feeling of love Powell had experienced, gave him a new ambition and objective to achieve. The extent to which his new dream went, meant that he was willing to change himself by becoming ‘a gentleman’ and leaving town, even after hearing that she was soon to be married. Jim believed that by recreating himself, he could eventually have Nancy, but the truth was that this idea, this hope and dream that he had was all an illusion, a deceptive impression that he fell into the trap of. Fitzgerald shows that those who are in pursuit of the American Dream can never be satisfied because The American Dream is about striving for something that is further than one already has, and further than one can achieve. Winter Dreams and The Jelly Bean both portray the element of illusion as the main characters reinvent themselves while in pursuit of their own succession of the American Dream. The American Dream was an illusion in itself and illusions were exceptionally important in the jazz age of the 1920’s because many traditions and laws were ignored, creating the illusion of prosperity and opportunity. Dexter Green and Jim Powell pretended they were people greater than themselves and by altering who they were and the characteristics they had, they thought that they were achieving their goals when in reality the deceitful appearance blurred reality for them. we can learn that even if you try to change who you are there will always be something or someone who uncovers your true self to the outside world.

Benjamin Button was born under unusual circumstances where as everyone else slowly got older, Benjamin got younger. He grew up in an old persons home where he met his ‘childhood’ friend, Daisy and as time continued and their ages approached alignment, their love for each other was revealed. Benjamins life was far from easy and because of his appearance he was not understood, as what was shown on the outside was not what was on the inside. His love for Daisy was strong and his need to be with her was essential, but they could not see the illusion shrouding their relationship. As Daisy and Benjamin began to start a life together during the short bracket of time where their ages perfectly lined up, everything seemed as though it was ideal and that their future was falling into place. The reality was that they would never be able to be together as it was impossible and within a number of years, Benjamin would become a child and Daisy an elderly woman. “Benjamin, we’re meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us?” Benjamin was inlove with Daisy and this quote shows an insight into the future as it is stating that he is going to lose her at some point. The inevitability that they will be separated nears them and this can not be avoided. They had been stuck behind the illusion for so long that it almost seemed as though it was reality but as the physical changes between Benjamin and Daisy occurred, the truth came crashing back down on them. “I was thinking how nothing lasts, and what a shame that is”. For a moment in Benjamins life everything seemed as though it was perfect and that he would live a normal life. The concept of time restricted this from happening as their time was slowly pulled away from each other. Deep down Benjamin knew that this perfect lifestyle he desired with Daisy and a baby was just not feasible and that this ambition he had forever been seeking was just in fact an illusion to the eye. The Jelly Bean and the Curious Case of Benjamin Button show a connection in the way they both show the element of illusion through their stories. Jim Powell was broken after Nancy married her original man and his aspirations were crushed and Benjamin was heart broken when he came to the realisation that his desired life with Daisy was but only a dream. These characters both had a hope and a dream to achieve where they had ambitions and exciting futures ahead of them, but were bought crashing back into reality when the colossal strength of the illusions they were administered to became clear. This shows that even though you may have an idea of something you want to happen, it may not always go your way and you won’t always be able to get what you want and desire.

The Great Gatsby, Winter Dreams, The Jelly Bean, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button all convey the idea of illusion and the deceptive appearance of it through the use of key characters. America in the 1920’s was considered the ‘era of illusion’ as it was built around the idea of The American Dream and the illusion that people could be someone they were not. F. Scott Fitzgerald was considered one of the most influential writers of modern day society as he wrote about things that were real and all too common. Fitzgerald critiqued society and revealed the reality about the concept of The American Dream as the main characters experienced failure of their dreams and aspirations. He used the idea of social realism to make characters seem as though they were perfect when they were not and in reality he was just mirroring the world around him through his work. All of the main characters from the four extracts strived towards dreams and desires but in the end they fell short as their dreams would always remain just out of reach.

Imagine being born with severe arthritis, cataracts, impaired hearing and saggy and wrinkled skin, where you have the physical appearances of an 80 year old man on the verge of death. For Benjamin Button, in the film ‘The curious case of Benjamin Button’ directed by David Fincher, this isn’t just a crazed idea thought up in the mind, but is in fact his reality. He is born where his body clock is ticking backwards, where as everyone else is gradually getting older, Benjamin is slowly getting younger. Growing up in an old persons home, everyone just sees him as an old man but as time passes and residents die, Benjamin gets younger and experiences what life has to offer as on the inside he is still young. He meets his “childhood” friend Daisy, who shows up through various parts of his life and as their ages align, they fall in love. This time they have together where their ages are similar is short and fragile, where as time continues to go on they are slowly pulled apart again. Time is a constant thing, where they can’t just hit the pause button to savour a moment or rewind when they wished something had never happened. As time passes, things change, people move on and the world evolves, and this inevitability of time Is evident in the curious case of Benjamin Button as lives are lost and Daisy and Benjamin fight against time as they attempt to start a life together. At the end of the movie, where Benjamin reaches his final stage of life, Daisy is put into a position where she has to care for him as he slowly reaches infancy and his life becomes a haze. In these scenes, the inevitability of time is portrayed to the viewers heavily through the use of montage and voice over narration, sound and symbols, and how they all work together to portray the idea to the viewers.

Everyone is told that time passes in the blink of an eye, where nothing lasts and that the time you have is fragile and shouldn’t be wasted. They say that even as you get older the time you have left seems to go even faster. For Benjamin the last five years of his life are seen as a blur as he forgets who he is and the life he has experienced. Through the use of montage we see Benjamin enter the final stage of his life where Daisy is put into a position of full time care of him. The small snippets we see show him going from a child of around five, all the way down to a baby. This use of montage is able to condense the last five years of his life down into key snippets that show classic signs of old age, such as losing memory, the ability to talk and the ability to walk. The montage portrays how time is constantly moving and how quickly something can change, where nothing will stay the same forever. Montage is used throughout the movie to show the passing of time and the change that occurs along with it. As Benjamin draws closer to his final days, Daisy devotes her time to looking after him and spending as much time with him as she can, as she knows the time she has will not last, as he slowly drifts further and further away from her. To enhance the use of montage, there is voice over narration of Daisy speaking, referencing to the visual images on the screen. Unlike the rest of the movie, Benjamin was always the one telling his story through voice over narration, however, with the passing of time, Benjamin has become unable to tell his story and Daisy has had to step into the role of narrating the last stage of his life. This voice over narration allows us to make connections to various parts of the movie and comprehend and process how this time they have left together is finite. At the start of the sequence Daisy exclaims “he was five when I moved in, nearly the same age I was when I had met him”. This passage of speaking starts off the montage and enables us to see how the time has passed and how their roles have reversed from the start of the movie. Daisy then goes on to say “the days passed. and I watched as he forgot how to walk, and how to talk”. Daisy was in love with Benjamin, and with her narrating his story through voice over narration, the viewers can sense the emotion in her voice and envision the situation Daisy is in where their time together becomes more scarce by every passing second. I believe the author has used montage with voice over narration over the top to convey the idea of the inevitability of time to the audience. This scene from the sequence shows the passing of time by the use of the last 5 years of Benjamins life concentrated down into very short snippets of film which give the impression that his time is nearing its end. Time is an infinite measure that is often linked to being used to sequence events like what the purpose of a montage does.

The use of symbols is very important in the curious case of Benjamin Button as all symbols carry a meaning for the audience to grasp and allow them to create a picture in their minds. The clock has forever been linked to time and the inevitability of it and is one of major symbols in the film. In general, the clock represents life and death but can also be a representation of the fact that time is a limited resource and the time you have must be used wisely. In the last extract, the clock plays a significant part as it shows up at various occasions portraying different aspects of time. When Daisy first moves in to care for Benjamin, Benjamin is sitting on the bed playing with an alarm clock when all of a sudden it starts going off and ringing. The alarm clock going off signifies Benjamin entering the last stage of his life as it tells the viewers that he is entering his final five years. About half way through the extract, the original clock in the train station is replaced with a new digital clock. throughout the movie the clock in the train station represented Benjamin as like the clock going backwards, Benjamin aged backwards. When the clock got taken down, it was as if his life was coming to its very end as the clock was no longer visual in the station. At the very end of the sequence after Benjamin has passed away, there is a section of film where the audience is shown a store room, and in the storeroom is the clock from the train station. To add to the use of the clock symbol, throughout the extract, the ticking of the clock is heard in the background to enhance the meaning behind the symbol. The ticking sound of a clock that is heard, is the physical passing of time as depicted by the face of the clock and the hands on it. The clock is ticking is a phrase used to signify that someone must do something quickly because their time or the time is running out. The ticking sound the audience hears represents how even if the clock is not in the frame, the time is still passing. Even once Benjamin has passed away the clock from the train station continues to tick backwards as even though he is no longer alive, his story is still alive and passed on through his stories he wrote and the story of his life.

 The use of cinematography techniques is what brings the story and idea of the movie together. They play a vital role in the filmmaking process and with the use of them altogether, they convey a central idea for the audience to take away from the movie. By utilising the use of montage, voice over narration, symbols and sound, the director is able to create a visual image of the central idea they are trying to convey, for the viewers to comprehend and understand. The inevitability of time is a universal concept recognised by everyone, as time is something everyone relies on and uses everyday, which makes it so important. Whether it be to celebrate a birthday, a bit or death, a need to wake up at a certain time or go to sleep at a certain time, all humans revolve around time and the idea of it. Throughout the sequence, the idea of time and the inevitability of it is heavily shown as Benjamins life nears is end. The sequence shows how time is fragile and precious, and that nothing can last as time is forever moving. I believe David Fincher is trying to get across to the audience, to make the most of the time you have and to live in the present as you cant go back to the past or skip forward to the future. Benjamin lived his life in the moment, where even though he was axing the other way to everyone else, he never let that stop him as he still managed to live a full life. At the end of the movie, the audience is left with a sadness after Benjamin passes away as sadness and grief are common connotations of death. Even though Benjamin has passed away and the audience is left with sadness, they are also left with happiness and satisfaction as Benjamin lived a happy life filled with many achievements where he made the most of the time he had.

Benjamin Button wasn’t an ordinary child, he was born where he aged the opposite way to everyone else. Even though he may have been a bit different in the way he grew up, he still grew up where things changed, people moved on and the world evolved. All these things occur as the time passes and continues forward. From the use of montage, voice over narration, symbols and sound, we can see how these techniques all assist each other to help portray the inevitability of time to the audience as well as get across the directors purpose. The inevitability of time is a key idea that affects everyone in the world because time is a concept everyone needs and depends on. Benjamin led an exciting and thrilling life filled with many experiences but the inevitability of time and the circumstances he was under restricted his time with Daisy. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button directed by David Fincher holds a powerful message that is delivered through cinematography techniques to the audience and illustrates the inevitability of time and the importance of it.

 

about my knee injures and the story behind it, what I learn from it

Everyone has had that feeling in their stomach or that thought in their head that just won’t go away, when you feel like something is right or wrong and you don’t quite know why, but you just cant help but feel it. This feeling, this gut instinct, this voice in your head is too often pushed to the back of your mind or forgotten about because someone or something has made you think that it is just in fact a scenario played out in the mind. The truth is, that gut instinct isn’t just there to play games with your head but is often on to something and we just don’t listen to it because of self doubt and uncertainty. So as some of you might have noticed for like the past 2 years I have been wearing that classic knee bandage that looked like it hadn’t been washed in l 100 years. Well as you can see I no longer wear it  but I didn’t just wear it for the fun of it or for the fashion statement but because I was told it would help my recovery and after wearing it for so long I got a certain attachment to it where I physically couldn’t not wear it, it was as if it was my life support, I depended on it, it was a part of my outfit for the day. as I rolled out of bed…. put it on.It all started when I was 11 where I began getting extreme pains in my left knee. After this constant pain I took several trips to the doctors where everytime time they diagnosed me with osgood schlatters disease which is  growing pains in the knees. The fact that i had been diagnosed made me relieved, I could put all my trust in the doctors as it is their job to figure out what is wrong with people, isn’t it ?? But as I sat in the waiting room(first person.. sitting in the waiting room i…detail, waiting to be wheeled off  for my first big operation I couldn’t help but think back to the moment when I got the results back from my first MRI. I remember sitting on the bed in our hotel in Cambodia where dad read out the email from my orthopaedic surgeon. I didn’t really take in any of the email apart from the one line that constantly repeated in my head. “Emma has significant damage to the inside of her knee”. Even then the colossal importance of that sentence didn’t really hit me until after my operation. (first person)felt thought sensations…Waking up from surgery is different for everyone, but for me it was a state of confusion. I was cold, tired and dazed but as I attempted to roll over reality came crashing back down on me as pain shot up my leg in all directions and a full length leg brace restricted all movements. 6 weeks later I was still on crutches and a year after that my knee still resembled that of a bowling ball. I was told meniscus surgeries were easy, that I had nothing to worry about, so why was I still considered crippled a year after surgery and still not playing sports ?? I guess these were all questions for the doctors and surgeons but when I found myself back at southern cross hospital, 364 days after round one, my list of questions became never ending. first person what am I asking… Annoyed, fed up and sick of it (describe)  were all words I would use to describe how I was feeling but as I came out of my second operation I was thankful and reassured as, as far as I knew my operation couldn’t have gone better. I tried lying to myself that my knee felt normal but in reality something wasn’t  right, but in the end I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind and thought about how my surgery went well, but maybe i should have listened to that feeling and those reoccurring thoughts inside my head ? And after my phone call with the nurse, any trust I had put into the doctors and surgeons went straight out the window. it turned out I no longer had a meniscus in my knee and the only consoling words the nurse tried to give me were “maybe in your generation someone will figure out how to make meniscuses” hearing this was the last thing I ever wanted to hear and in that moment all of the emotions I had experienced in the last year and a half crashing back down on me.

 

message:

The valley of ashes is a setting in the great Gatsby that illustrates the failure of the American dream. James Truslow Adams once stated that “The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” Through Fitzgerald’s development of the setting, The Valley of Ashes, he presents the idea that the American Dream has failed. It is a setting where people who work hard live but these people never reap the rewards of their hard work. Opportunities to live that better, richer, fuller life never present themselves to the people of the Valley of Ashes. As Nick (our narrator) travels through the Valley he notes it is a “fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens…” Farm, wheat and gardens all suggest growth and development but by putting the word grotesque in front of the word gardens which means ugly or distorted, gives us the impression that the valley is fantasy and unbelievable. In reality, the Valley of Ashes has nothing going for it and the people who live there strive for growth and development but in reality they are stuck living the same life their entire lives. “Where ashes take the forms of  houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air”. The ashes make up everything including the houses and chimneys. The people who live there have no motivation or energy as they know they cannot get out of the Valley of Ashes no matter how hard they try. When it says already crumbling it is as if they have already given up and the way they move and their presence reflects where they live as they put in so much effort an get so little out of it.

Fitzgerald critiques society through his use of language or literary devices in the great Gatsby.- I’m really sorry about my essay :/

 

What if you were told that you could live in a world where discrimination, status and social classes didn’t exist, and everything and everyone was equal ? Some might say that such an ideal world like this is unobtainable and merely just a dream, but for American historian James Truslow Adams he truely believed that something like this could be achievable. In one of James Truslow Adam’s books he stated that “The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” Throughout the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald (the author) illustrates to us the American Dream through his use of iconic settings. These iconic settings include East Egg, West Egg and the Valley of Ashes where these locations portray a reality and truth about the American Dream.

An important setting in the Great Gatsby that portrays an aspect of the American Dream is East egg. Those who live in East Egg are born into wealth, where money and the rich lifestyle is all they know. Money and status has been passed through generations for as long as these families can remember and this has caused them to be snobby, greedy and too caught up in whirlwind of their money. East egg represents the idea of the false reality of the American Dream, and this idea is illustrated to us through the roles of Daisy and Tom Buchanan, and their lives. “Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water…” From the way that Nick describes East Egg on his way over to the Buchanans house, it is clear to see that the houses in East Egg are grand and represent the lives of those who live there. The houses are all white and stand in unity overlooking the bay where everyone can see the prosperity and wealth they live in. “Their house was even more elaborate than I expected, a cheerful red−and−white Georgian Colonial mansion, overlooking the bay”. Again this is Nick describing Daisy and Toms house upon his first visit there. He states that it is more detailed and intricate than he expected and that it is in fact a mansion with a pristine view overlooking the bay. Their house and property holds all their money and status and the fact that they live in East Egg gives them a sense of superiority and order. Residents of East Egg had their money handed to them on a silver platter, where most of them have never needed to work a day in their lives and they revolve solely around their status and money, trapped inside of a bubble where nothing and noone else matters. They are seen as highest class as if they are looking down upon everyone else which shows that the idea of the American Dream is not a realistic concept and that It is unachievable.

On just the other side of the bay is West Egg, where those new to money live, and this key setting in the novel represents a feature of the American Dream. Nick Carraway and Gatsby are both residents of West Egg where they have made their money recently, and those who live there generally have morals and ethics as they have not been consumed by money and greed their whole lives. Nick is a middle class man who is not self absorbed and does not base his life around how much money he has or makes, whereas Gatsby has obtained  a large quantity of money in a shockingly quick amount of time. “I lived at West Egg, the well, the less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them”. Nick states about the on the surface qualities and traits about the two eggs and that they are defined by these qualities. he identifies that by living in a certain egg it dictates your status and level of authority. “my house was at the very tip of the egg, only fifty yards from the Sound, and squeezed between two huge places that rented for twelve or fifteen thousand a season”. Nick our narrator describes where he lives in relation to everyone else. The houses around him are worth big money but they are all owned by those who have “new money” so do not have the credentials to live in East Egg. The people who live in West Egg who have worked hard to deserve the money they have, still do not get seen as being at the same status level and ranking as those at East Egg. They are seen as being lower and inferior and not having the credentials to be accepted into East Egg. Even though they have worked  hard to get where they are, the American dream doesn’t seem to come true for them and the truth behind the unrealistic reality of the American Dream comes out.

The Valley of Ashes is a key setting in the Great Gatsby that illustrates the failure of the American Dream. It is the poor industrial area that lies between the two eggs and is where all of the poor, lower class people live and work. Those who live there work hard every day with minimal results where they are subjected to being victims of the rich as the upper class feed and thrive off the work they do. George and Myrtle Wilson are a classic example of lower class people who are in search of their own success and accomplishment of the American Dream, where they have hope that if they work hard they can move out of the valley of ashes. The realistic side of this is that they can hope and dream of success but that success never really comes true. As Nick, our narrator, travels through the Valley of Ashes he states it is a “fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens…” Farm, wheat and gardens all suggest growth and development but by using the word grotesque in front of gardens, it gives the sentence a whole different meaning. Grotesque means ugly or distorted, which gives us the impression that the valley is fantasy and unbelievable. In reality, the Valley of Ashes has nothing going for it and the people who live there are stuck in a constant poverty cycle their whole lives. “Where ashes take the forms of  houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air”. The ashes are defined as making up everything including the houses and chimneys. The place and vibe of the Valley of Ashes rubs off on the residents who live there and this is reflected by describing them as ‘men who move dimly and already crumbling’, where they move tiredly and limp. The American Dream suggests that if they work hard enough, everyone can obtain their own level of success and achievement. This ‘idea’ is just in fact just a dream as those who live in the valley of ashes work endlessly everyday in hope of reward where in fact they receive minimal and the rich benefit. The idea of the American Dream is portrayed to us through the Valley of Ashes as being a failure.

The American Dream was a concept that everyone in America strived to and hoped to acheive as everyone is always reaching out to something that is greater than themselves, that is just out of reach. F. Scott Fitzgerald critiques the American Dream throughout the novel through his use of settings. East Egg, West Egg, and the Valley of Ashes all portray an aspect of truth about the idea of the American Dream. The novel demonstrates the illusion of the dream, however the dream never does come true for anyone, even though it may seem as though they have achieved fragments of it. Everyone is striving for their own success, to achieve the lifestyle they desire where it seems as though it is arms length away but in reality it is just out of reach and will always be unobtainable, just as the great light was for Gatsby.

 

 

“His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy’s white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips’ touch she blossomed like a flower and the incarnation was complete.

“And as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night.

soz I accidentally slept on my map of the settings and it got all ripped up and I lost it in my bed oops 🙁

• but I got some quotes 🙂

Valley of Ashes-

1. ABOUT half way between West Egg and New York the motor road hastily joins the railroad and runs beside it for a quarter of a mile, so as to shrink away from a certain desolate area of land. This is a valley of ashes a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air. Occasionally a line of gray cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak, and comes to rest, and immediately the ash−gray men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from your sight.
2. The valley of ashes is bounded on one side by a small foul river, and, when the drawbridge is up to let barges through, the passengers on waiting trains can stare at the dismal scene for as long as half an hour. There is always a halt there of at least a minute, and it was because of this that I first met Tom Buchanan’s mistress.

 

the four setting in the great Gatsby are:

• West egg- Gatsby’s house and Nick’s house
• Easy egg- Daisy’s house
• valley of ashes- Wilson’s garage, Michaelis restaurant, and the sign with the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckleburg
• New York city- the offices where people work, the apartment Tom rented for Myrtle Wilson, and the plaza hotel.

in the Great Gatsby the four main settings we are introduced to already show the false reality of the supposed American Dream as the towns/cities are very clearly designed for specific classes of people.

people who live in East Egg are those born in to wealth, whose families have always had money and being rich is all they know. They are considered more snobby, greedy and mean than those of West Egg. The people of East Egg have usually never had to work for their money and have always had it so they are innocent and clueless with very basic lives. The Buchanans are the only family we know of who live in East Egg, where Tom was born into a very wealthy family and Daisy who also came from a wealthy family married Tom for his large quantities of money. They are a typical East Egg family where their lives revolve around their money and status and no not associate themselves with any other people who aren’t upper class like them.

West Egg on the other hand is considered less fashionable and people who are new to wealth live there. Most of the people in West Egg have morals to live off and their lives don’t all revolve around money as they experience the real world and are genuinely more down to earth and friendly. Nick had recently moved to West Egg so he could go to work in New York City. He is a genuine, polite guy who holds his own dignity and does not base his life around how much money he has or makes. Gatsby on the other hand fits into the new to wealth part as his way to the upper class was a shady path and the residents of west egg and east egg did not really accept him as ‘one of them’ as he was not born into upper class and no-one knows how he made it to upper class. His money is new and he doesn’t have the social status to be accepted into East egg.

The Valley of Ashes on the other hand is where all of the poor people live, those who are the victims of the rich. The Valley of Ashes doesn’t really have anything going for it, as it is described as a wasteland with nothing going on and is literally characterised as dust. People who live in the Valley of Ashes have the dream of working hard enough to eventually move out and to move to a new place with prosperity and success as the American Dream states but in reality they are stuck there their whole lives. It is a depressing industrial area where the locals work constantly in hope of a better life as the rich just feed and live off the work they do. Myrtle and George Wilson are a classic example of poor people looking to work hard to get out of the Valley of Ashes but their not really getting anywhere with their dream of success.

New York is a symbol of what America has become in the 1920’s and it is the bustling city which is shown as a city where anything can happen there and anyone can be who they want to be. It is the chaotic city where money is made and bootleggers make their riches. By the characters it is also seemed to be thought as some sort of temporary escape momentarily where the main characters can live alternate lives once in a while or escape the reality they live in. In truth I believe that New York city is a place where they escape to temporarily experience what they would consider some sort of American dream replica where it seems like the city of opportunity and endless possibilities.

All of these four settings each display a false reality about the American dream. The residents of East Egg have never had to work for their lifestyle whereas the residents living in the Valley of Ashes have worked every day in their life for very little reward. Those in West egg have either made their way to riches by illegal actions such as bootlegging or as they call it ‘new money’ so aren’t born into the riches as far as those from East Egg can see.