Dolores Claiborne is a film based on a book written by Stephen King and directed by Taylor Hackford. This thriller is about a woman named Dolores Claiborne, who is wrongfully accused of murdering an elderly woman named Vera Donovan. When her estranged daughter returns to the island to help her mother, memories of her troubled childhood resurface. This film demonstrates the damaging effects of abuse and the victims struggle to gain back control of their lives. The writer skillfully uses the characters, conflicts, setting, symbols, and point of view to convey this message and draw the viewers into the story.
The protagonist in the story is Dolores Claiborne. She is wrongly accused of murdering a rich snobbish woman named Vera Donovan for whom is several years as Vera’s maid. When Vera’ health declined with age, she became her …show more content…
These characters are used by King to build a picture of a family destroyed by abuse and demonstrate its harmful effects.
Two major conflicts in the story involve Dolores against her husband Joe, and Dolores verses her daughter Selena. When Joe and Dolores get married, they are very happy, however Joe become verbally abusive and eventually, he hits her hard on the back with a piece of wood. When Dolores catches her breath, she smashes a dish against Joe’s head and threatens him with an ax. She finally stood up for herself and Joe never hit her again, however, he begins to sexually assault their daughter. Dolores discovers the abuse and plans to take money from Selena’s college fund to help them run away, however Joe has stolen it. She is so distraught and doesn’t know what to do. Dolores confides in Vera Donovan who convinces Dolores that the only way to end her problems to kill Joe. Vera states, “Men die in accidents every day.” Dolores kills Joe on the night of the eclipse by tricking him to fall into an old dried up well. This resolved her conflict with Joe
The protagonist in the story is Dolores Claiborne. She is wrongly accused of murdering a rich snobbish woman named Vera Donovan for whom is several years as Vera’s maid. When Vera’ health declined with age, she became her …show more content…
These characters are used by King to build a picture of a family destroyed by abuse and demonstrate its harmful effects.
Two major conflicts in the story involve Dolores against her husband Joe, and Dolores verses her daughter Selena. When Joe and Dolores get married, they are very happy, however Joe become verbally abusive and eventually, he hits her hard on the back with a piece of wood. When Dolores catches her breath, she smashes a dish against Joe’s head and threatens him with an ax. She finally stood up for herself and Joe never hit her again, however, he begins to sexually assault their daughter. Dolores discovers the abuse and plans to take money from Selena’s college fund to help them run away, however Joe has stolen it. She is so distraught and doesn’t know what to do. Dolores confides in Vera Donovan who convinces Dolores that the only way to end her problems to kill Joe. Vera states, “Men die in accidents every day.” Dolores kills Joe on the night of the eclipse by tricking him to fall into an old dried up well. This resolved her conflict with Joe