Antagonist

Book One of John Milton’s epic Paradise Lost hones in on the story of one very familiar main character: Satan. After Milton’s brief explanation of how and for whom he is writing the poem, Satan appears with a distraught Beelzebub after they and several others were sent to “bottomless perdition” (47). Satan is remarkably calm in regards to what has occurred and aims to rise up against God, seeking to create as much evil as he can in the world in order to defy God and God’s goodness. Throughout…

Characters within fictional narratives exist in a space that is created through elements such as the time and location, referred to as the setting of the story. These elements help to set the tone that the rest of the story will fall under. Some narratives reveal only minimal details concerning the setting, but given the opportunity, a rich setting can play a significant role in shaping the story and the lives of the characters. Dana Gioia supports this in the following quote: “But often, in an…

Throughout a story, characters develop and face their fears and difficulties and overcome them over time. Sometimes the characters make the decision to confront their fears, but most of the time the plot of the story forces them to. The novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is no exception to this. Christopher, a fifteen-year-old with Asperger’s, confronted his fears and learned to cope with his difficulties as he tried to solve the murder of his neighbor’s dog.…

Gina Prince-Bythewood is not only a female director in Hollywood, she is also an African-American female in Hollywood, and it is clear to see how that affects her work in writing and directing. In my personal opinion she is one of the most underrated directors and screenwriters of our time due to her unique ability to combine excellent story telling with incredible directing. In all three of the films she has directed being, Love & Basketball, The Secret Life of Bees, and Beyond the Lights, she…

Up Literary Criticism UP, a movie created in 2009, inundates viewers, depicting the cycle of society throughout the entirety of life. Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, and Tom McCarthy wrote the story of Carl and Ellie, who take an adventure through life (Rivera, Docter, & Peterson, 2009). After watching a movie about Charles Muntz, an “explorer,” Carl Fredricksen starts his own life adventure on the way home from the movie theater. Carl, a young lad uses his imagination to create his own adventures.…

In the gator-ridden waters of Florida, a river tour guide gets entangled with the smuggling and sale of powerful synthetic drugs. BRIEF SYNOPSIS On the Withlacoochee River, RONNIE WAYNE WAINWRITE (38) attempts to flee from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conversation Commission and takes them on a wild chase with his airboat. They eventually arrest Ronnie for selling wild alligator hatchlings. In jail, he meets PANCHO LOPEZ who tells him about how he killed a large gator in the river. Ronnie…

The London Portrayals A twig snaps to your left. You quickly turn, the wind passing through your hair. You see nothing but the trees’ shadows. Snap! Another twig, this time to your right, and once again you turn, but this time you see two wolves. They both howl, then jump. You fall to the ground, the wolves clawing at your very soul. Both the book The Call of The Wild, and To Build a Fire by Jack London, focus on dogs and large ideas. While both books focus on large, metaphorical ideas, they…

For years the spotlight has been on the men of the film industry, but even back in the silent era women filmmakers were creating impressive pieces of art that surpassed many of the more “important” male directed movies. From Lois Weber’s Suspense (1913) to Ida Lupino’s Not Wanted (1949) female directors have made films that focus on women and the unexpected plights that life brings. While watching these two films it’s interesting to see how the men are portrayed, which includes the male…

In American society, the traditional monster is viewed in a multitude of ways, but there are some overlapping themes. Most Americans view monsters as large, scary, reptilian, and demonic. A few Americans think of vampires and werewolves when they hear the word monster though. When Americans are asked what form monsters usually take in their stories; they believe monsters take on the form of mythical beings with human qualities or creatures with multiple forms to transform into. Most Americans…

A Perfect Night to go to China by David Gilmour, and A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah, both share and have differences in their elements of fiction. While David Gilmour’s fiction story and Ishmael Beah’s non-fiction story both follow the theme of the loss of innocence, Ishmael Beah’s story adheres more closely to these conventions by allowing its main character to mature, while David Gilmour’s character experience has no real growth. As understood when comparing both…