Connect with characters in personal lives
Ian McEwan’s 2001 novel Atonement and Tim Burton’s 2003 film Big Fish both share common themes throughout their stories. Atonement was later adapted into a movie by the same name in 2007, and Big Fish was based on the 1998 Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions, and was later in 2013 adapted into a musical. Both focus around the themes of atonement, doing anything for love, family relationships, and the art of story telling.
As the title suggests, the main theme of McEwan’s novel is atonement, and a central characters search to find it. When Briony Tallis wrongly accuses long time family friend Robbie Turner of raping her cousin, she thinks she is right in doing so. Over time, she realizes her mistake …show more content…
In Atonement, Cecilia, Briony, and Leon’s father, Jack Tallis, is a figure whose only dialogue is when he is on the phone. While waiting for one such phone call, Emily thinks on her husbands late nights working, and remarks that though she knows he is working late, she also knows that he does not sleep in his own bed. Jack knows that his wife knows, but both do not mention it. Emily thinks that she has other sources of happiness in her life apart from her husband, like the children, and will not challenge Jack, lest she conserve her family. Robbie’s own father left when he was just six years old, with no luggage or farewell note. Throughout the war, Robbie thinks about his future with Cecilia, and how he wishes to be a better father than his own. Audiences can connect with difficult family relationships, as many people have at least one difficult family tie within their life. This allows the audience to connect with the characters and possibly to understand why they act they way that they do, and how their personalities have been shaped by their pasts. In Big Fish, the whole story is based around Will trying to create a better relationship, and to understand the man that was, and always will be, his father. Will hasn’t spoken to his father in years due to stubbornness, and is asked by his mother to visit as his father lay dying. When he arrives, Edward makes the situation awkward by mentioning the fact that they appear to be talking without any problems. Over the years, no one in the family has spoken about the fact that they do not speak, and Will’s mother Sandra has made excuses for why Edward has not come to the phone as Sandra and Will talk, although he does not kind as he doesn’t want to speak to his father, and it is easier to ignore the problem than to swallow his pride and console their differences. Some readers may be able to understand the complex relationships
Ian McEwan’s 2001 novel Atonement and Tim Burton’s 2003 film Big Fish both share common themes throughout their stories. Atonement was later adapted into a movie by the same name in 2007, and Big Fish was based on the 1998 Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions, and was later in 2013 adapted into a musical. Both focus around the themes of atonement, doing anything for love, family relationships, and the art of story telling.
As the title suggests, the main theme of McEwan’s novel is atonement, and a central characters search to find it. When Briony Tallis wrongly accuses long time family friend Robbie Turner of raping her cousin, she thinks she is right in doing so. Over time, she realizes her mistake …show more content…
In Atonement, Cecilia, Briony, and Leon’s father, Jack Tallis, is a figure whose only dialogue is when he is on the phone. While waiting for one such phone call, Emily thinks on her husbands late nights working, and remarks that though she knows he is working late, she also knows that he does not sleep in his own bed. Jack knows that his wife knows, but both do not mention it. Emily thinks that she has other sources of happiness in her life apart from her husband, like the children, and will not challenge Jack, lest she conserve her family. Robbie’s own father left when he was just six years old, with no luggage or farewell note. Throughout the war, Robbie thinks about his future with Cecilia, and how he wishes to be a better father than his own. Audiences can connect with difficult family relationships, as many people have at least one difficult family tie within their life. This allows the audience to connect with the characters and possibly to understand why they act they way that they do, and how their personalities have been shaped by their pasts. In Big Fish, the whole story is based around Will trying to create a better relationship, and to understand the man that was, and always will be, his father. Will hasn’t spoken to his father in years due to stubbornness, and is asked by his mother to visit as his father lay dying. When he arrives, Edward makes the situation awkward by mentioning the fact that they appear to be talking without any problems. Over the years, no one in the family has spoken about the fact that they do not speak, and Will’s mother Sandra has made excuses for why Edward has not come to the phone as Sandra and Will talk, although he does not kind as he doesn’t want to speak to his father, and it is easier to ignore the problem than to swallow his pride and console their differences. Some readers may be able to understand the complex relationships