STRUCTURALISM

A Dream Within a Dream - Edgar Allan Poe

(Poem)

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow-
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream? 

Analysis:

This poem has a consistent rhyming pattern until it reaches the last two stanzas. The title of the poem is somehow catchy to the eyes of the reader. If someone is making any essays or any kind of piece the title should always be striking so the readers would be interested with your work. The choice of words the author used are simpler compared to some other poems which enables the reader to understand and extrapolate her piece better.     

Some of the stanzas begins with different question which makes the reader be attached to the poem and continue to read it. And which results to reader's examination of his/her own beliefs and thoughts. 

AMERICAN PRAGMATISM

Neuromancer - William Gibson

(Novel)

Synopsis:

Henry Dorsett Case is a low-level hustler in the dystopian underworld of Chiba City, Japan. Once a talented computer hacker, Case was caught stealing from his employer. As punishment for his theft, Case's central nervous system was damaged with a mycotoxin, leaving him unable to use keyboard skills to access the global computer network in cyberspace, a virtual reality dataspace called the "Matrix". Unemployable, addicted to drugs, and suicidal, Case desperately searches the Chiba "black clinics" for a miracle cure. Case is saved by Molly Millions, an augmented "street samurai" and mercenary for a shadowy ex-military officer named Armitage, who offers to cure Case in exchange for his services as a hacker. Case jumps at the chance to regain his life as a "console cowboy," but neither Case nor Molly know what Armitage is really planning. Case's nervous system is repaired using new technology that Armitage offers the clinic as payment, but he soon learns from Armitage that sacs of the poison that first crippled him have been placed in his blood vessels as well. Armitage promises Case that if he completes his work in time, the sacs will be removed; otherwise they will dissolve, disabling him again. He also has Case's pancreas replaced and new tissue grafted into his liver, leaving Case incapable of metabolizing cocaine or amphetamines and apparently ending his drug addiction.

Cover of the Brazilian release, depicting the character of "razorgirl" Molly Millions
Case develops a close personal relationship with Molly, who suggests that he begin looking into Armitage's background. Meanwhile, Armitage assigns them their first job: they must steal a ROM module that contains the saved consciousness of one of Case's mentors, legendary cyber-cowboy McCoy Pauley, nicknamed "Dixie Flatline." Pauley's hacking expertise is needed by Armitage, and the ROM construct is stored in the corporate headquarters of media conglomerate Sense/Net. A street gang named the "Panther Moderns" are hired to create a simulated terrorist attack on Sense/Net. The diversion allows Molly to penetrate the building and steal Dixie's ROM.

Case and Molly continue to investigate Armitage, discovering his former identity of Colonel Willis Corto. Corto was a member of "Operation Screaming Fist," which planned on infiltrating and disrupting Soviet computer systems from ultralight aircraft dropped over Russia. The Russian military had learned of the idea and installed defenses to render the attack impossible, but the military went ahead with Screaming Fist, with a new secret purpose of testing these Russian defenses. As the Operation team attacked a Soviet computer center, EMP weapons shut down their computers and flight systems, and Corto and his men were targeted by Soviet laser defenses. He and a few survivors commandeered a Soviet military helicopter and escaped over the heavily guarded Finnish border. Everyone was killed except Corto, who was seriously wounded and heavily mutilated by Finnish defense forces attacking as they were landing the helicopter. After some months in the hospital, Corto was visited by a Government military official and then medically rebuilt to be able to provide what he came to realise was fake testimony, designed to mislead the public and protect the military officers who had covered up knowledge of the EMP weapons. After the trials, Corto snapped, killing the Government official who contacted him and then disappeared into the criminal underworld.

In Istanbul, the team recruits Peter Riviera, an artist, thief, and drug addict who is able to project detailed holographic illusions with the aid of sophisticated cybernetic implants. Although Riviera is a sociopath, Armitage coerces him into joining the team. The trail leads Case and Molly to a powerful artificial intelligence named Wintermute, created by the plutocratic Tessier-Ashpool family, who spend most of their inactive time in cryonic preservation inside Villa Straylight, a labyrinthine mansion located at one end of Freeside, a cylindrical space habitat located at L5, and functioning primarily as a Las Vegas-style space resort for the wealthy.

Wintermute's nature is finally revealed – it is one-half of a super-AI entity planned by the family, although its exact purpose is unknown. The Turing Law Code governing AIs bans the construction of such entities; to get around this, it had to be built as two separate AIs. Wintermute (housed in a computer mainframe in Bern, Switzerland) was programmed by the Tessier-Ashpool dynasty with a need to merge with its other half – Neuromancer (whose physical mainframe is installed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Unable to achieve this merger on its own, Wintermute recruited Armitage and his team to help complete the goal. Case is tasked with entering cyberspace to pierce the Turing-imposed software barriers using a powerful icebreaker program. At the same time, Riviera is to obtain the password to the Turing lock from Lady 3Jane Marie-France Tessier-Ashpool, an unfrozen daughter clone and the current leader of Tessier-Ashpool SA. Wintermute believes Riviera will pose an irresistible temptation to her, and that she will give him the password. The password must be spoken into an ornate computer terminal located in the Tessier-Ashpool home in Villa Straylight, and entered simultaneously as Case pierces the software barriers in cyberspace – otherwise the Turing lock will remain intact.

Armitage's team attracts the attention of the Turing Police, whose job is to prevent AIs from exceeding their built-in limitations. As Molly and Riviera gain entrance to Villa Straylight, three officers arrest Case and take him into custody; Wintermute manipulates the orbital casino's security and maintenance systems and kills the officers, allowing Case to escape. The Armitage personality starts to disintegrate and revert to the Corto personality as he relives Screaming Fist. It is revealed that in the past, Wintermute had originally contacted Corto through a bedside computer during his convalescence, eventually convincing Corto that he was Armitage. Wintermute used him to persuade Case and Molly to help it merge with its twin AI, Neuromancer. Finally, Armitage becomes the shattered Corto again, but his newfound personality is short-lived as he is killed by Wintermute.

Inside Villa Straylight, Molly is captured by Riviera and Lady 3Jane. Worried about Molly and operating under orders from Wintermute, Case tracks her down with help from Maelcum, his Rastafarian pilot. Neuromancer attempts to trap Case within a cyber-construct where he finds the consciousness of Linda Lee, his girlfriend from Chiba City, who was murdered by one of Case's underworld contacts. Case manages to escape flatlining inside the construct by choosing of his own free will not to stay. Freeing himself, Case takes Maelcum and confronts Lady 3Jane, Riviera, and Hideo, Lady 3Jane's ninja bodyguard. Riviera tries to kill Case, but Lady 3Jane is sympathetic towards Case and Molly, and Hideo protects him. Riviera blinds Hideo, but flees when he learns that the ninja is just as adept without his sight. Molly then explains to Case that Riviera is doomed anyway, as he has been fatally poisoned by his drugs, which she had spiked. With Lady 3Jane in possession of the password, the team makes it to the computer terminal. Case ascends to cyberspace to guide the icebreaker to penetrate its target; Lady 3Jane is induced to give up her password and the lock is opened. Wintermute unites with Neuromancer, fusing into a greater entity. The poison in Case's bloodstream is washed out, and he and Molly are handsomely paid for their efforts, while Pauley's ROM construct is apparently erased, at his own request.

In the epilogue, Molly leaves Case. Case finds a new girlfriend, resumes his hacking work, and spends his earnings from the mission replacing his internal organs so that he can continue his previous drug use. Wintermute/Neuromancer contacts him, saying that it has become "the sum total of the works, the whole show," and has begun looking for other AIs like itself. Scanning old recorded transmissions from the 1970s, the super-AI finds a lone AI transmitting from the Alpha Centauri star system. In the matrix, Case hears inhuman laughter, a trait associated with Pauley during Case's work with his ROM construct, thus suggesting that Pauley was not erased after all, but instead worked out a side deal with Wintermute/Neuromancer to be freed from the construct so he could exist in the matrix.

In the end, while logged into the matrix, Case catches a glimpse of himself, his dead girlfriend Linda Lee, and Neuromancer. The implication of the sighting is that Neuromancer created a copy of Case's consciousness when it previously tried to trap him. The copy of Case's consciousness now exists with that of Linda's, in the matrix, where they are together forever.

Analysis:

To make things easier, American Pragmatism is all about answering the question "which is for the better?". In this novel, Henry Case though faced with the consequences of his bad actions, still chooses to do what's right and what he believes in. After taking risk of leading his talent into crime, he later uses it to fix everything that he has destroyed. In the end, after deciding to do what's right, he later identified what is the real answers to his questions and the things revealed now occupy the thoughts that keeps bothering his mind.

TERRITORIALISM

Starship Troopers -   Edward Neumeier

(Film)

Synopsis:

In the future, humans are a space-faring Federation and contend for planets with a hostile species of large insects known as the Arachnids or "Bugs," whose home-world is the distant planet Klendathu. In the Federation citizenship is not a birthright, but a privilege earned by those who serve society through such activities as military service; citizens are granted many opportunities prohibited to non-citizens. Athlete John "Johnny" Rico, his girlfriend Carmen Ibanez, and best friend Carl Jenkins attend high school in Buenos Aires. Fellow student Dizzy Flores is in love with Rico, but he does not return her affections. After graduation all decide to enlist in Federation service. Carmen excels academically and becomes a spaceship pilot while Carl, who is psychic, is assigned Military Intelligence for scientific research on the Bugs. Rico enlists in the Mobile Infantry mainly to see Carmen, but is surprised to see Dizzy, who has enlisted there to be near him.

At Mobile Infantry training the brutal but effective Career Sergeant Zim heads the recruits. Rico is promoted to squad leader and finds a friend in Ace Levy, but his hopes for continued romance with Carmen are dashed as she desires a career with the fleet and serves under Rico's high school sports rival, Zander Barcalow. After a live-fire training incident that results in the death of one of Rico's squad, he is demoted and publicly flogged. He decides to resign and calls his parents, but the call unexpectedly drops; an asteroid launched by the Arachnids has obliterated Buenos Aires, killing millions including Rico's family. Rico rescinds his resignation and remains with the Infantry as an invasion force is deployed to Klendathu.

The first strike on Klendathu is a disaster, with heavy casualties. Rico himself is wounded and mistakenly labeled KIA, causing Carmen to believe he is dead. Rico, Ace, and Dizzy are reassigned to the Roughnecks, commanded by Rico's high school teacher Lieutenant Jean Rasczak. Dizzy and Rico begin a romance and The Roughnecks respond to a distress call from Planet "P", where they discover a deserted outpost that had been overrun by Bugs. The distress call is a trap by the Arachnids, who swarm the outpost. Rico euthanises a mortally wounded Rasczak at his own request and Dizzy is fatally wounded, dying in Rico's arms as they are retrieved by a rescue ship piloted by Carmen and Zander. Rico and Carmen reconnect at Dizzy's funeral, where they encounter Carl, now a high-ranking Intelligence officer. Carl reveals that the reason for the ill-fated mission on P was to confirm the existence of an intelligent "brain bug", directing the other Bugs and showing that the Bugs have a desire to learn about their human enemy. He field-promotes Rico to lieutenant and gives him command of the Roughnecks, ordering the infantry to capture the brain bug.

As Rico's Roughnecks join the mission on the planet, the Fleet encounters fire from the Bugs, and Carmen's ship is destroyed. The dying Captain Deladier orders them to abandon ship. Carmen and Zander leave in an escape pod but crash into the Bug tunnel system near Rico's location. Rico, unknowingly guided by a psychic suggestion from Carl, takes Ace and teammate Sugar Watkins into the tunnels to rescue Carmen. They find a wounded Carmen and Zander disarmed in a cavern with several Arachnids, including the brain bug, which drains the contents of Zander's cranial cavity with a proboscis. Before it can do so to Carmen, she severs it with a knife. Rico threatens the Bugs with a small nuclear bomb, so the brain bug reluctantly allows them to escape. When Arachnids pursue them, Watkins is mortally wounded and sacrifices himself by detonating the nuke while the others escape. After returning to the surface, they find that former Sergeant Zim, who had demoted himself to private so that he could serve, has captured the brain bug. Carl congratulates Rico and tells him and Carmen that the humans will soon be victorious, now that Intelligence can study the brain bug.

Analysis:

Territorialism as we all know is defined as possessions (objects of desire) which are metaphors for who we are or how we wish to be perceived—aspects of the “self”.  It may be tangible or intangible. They occupy mental space: cognitive, affective, and conative. In this film, humans, specifically the troupes of the Federation Service fought together against the Arachnids, who has an intention to invade the earth and to take control of the human minds. We could see how the characters fight for their fellowmen and their courage and determination to take revenge because of the obliteration of Buenos Aires and the death of their loved ones during the asteroid launched by the Arachnids.

Another form of Territorialism in this movie is the desire of the Arachnids to invade the planet Earth. 

NEW HISTORICISM

Men in Black - Scott Spencer

(Novel)

Synopsis:

Story of a Jewish, 40-year-old novelist who writes a puffed-up primer on UFOs, under a pseudonym he happens to share with the author of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion." Meanwhile his teenage son is AWOL as a result of his father's sexual transgression. A hilarious send-up of our media culture and a powerful exploration of family life.

Analysis:

The story is about a novelist, the protagonist, who writes all the happenings in his everyday life and as well as the events happening in their society. During his time, the UFO thing is really a hot topic among the writers, so he decided to analyze and assay all the things concerning these UFO's. You could tell that those events that had happened in the story is interrelated with the author's experiences as a writer during those times. And it also shows us how the media culture affects the lives of everyone, whether it may be positive or negative. 

New Historicism brings back the role of history in viewing a literary work. The works tells us something about the surrounding ideology. This theory also tells us the psychological background of the writer.

POST COLONIAL THEORY

IRAN: A People Interrupted - Hamid Dabashi

Synopsis:

Dabashi tells a story of Iran through a "lens of a worldly cosmopolitanism" where he pays close attention to emancipatory movements the country has witnessed—among others through its literature, art, cinema, and feminism etc. His thesis is that Iran must be understood as a place of defiance against both domestic tyranny (which he defines as absolute monarchy or theocracy but nonetheless patriarchal) and foreign intervention (colonialism and imperialism).

Among its topics, the book features discussions regarding the new and combative presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his current showdown with the United States, as well as the rise of Iran as a regional power in the Middle East, the Salman Rushdie Affair, the Iran–Iraq War, the Islamic Revolution, the U.S. hostage crisis of 1979, the role of Iran during the Cold War, the Pahlavi dynasty, the Iranian Constitutional Revolution and the end of the Qajar dynasty.

Analysis:

Post Colonialism is all about an academic discipline that comprises methods of intellectual discourse that present analysis of, and responses to, the cultural legacies of colonialism and of imperialism. 

This novel is maybe either of the 2 sides of Post Colonialism. The Militaristic Side and the Civilization Side. First is the Militaristic Side - the physical conquest and occupation of territories. The author tells and explains how the Westerns or the Americans colonized their country. And how the leaders of his country sacrificed everything to gain freedom from those colonizers. How they survived, fought and defended themselves together to attain all their aims and intentions of being free from the Americans. Another is the Civilization Side - the conquest of minds, selves, and cultures. He also discussed here how the Iranians or his fellowmen were treated during the colonization. The racism, poverty and brutality which led them to great depression and which greatly affect the lives of the Iranians during those times.

HUMANISM

The Shawshank Redemption - Frank Darabont

(Film)

Synopsis:

In 1947, banker Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is convicted of murdering his wife and her lover, based on circumstantial evidence, and is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences at Shawshank State Penitentiary. Andy quickly befriends contraband smuggler Ellis "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman), an inmate serving a life sentence. Red procures a rock hammer for Andy, allowing him to create small stone chess pieces. Red later gets him a large poster of Rita Hayworth, followed in later years by images of Marilyn Monroe and Raquel Welch. Andy works in the prison laundry, but is regularly assaulted by the "bull queer" gang "the Sisters" and their leader Bogs (Mark Rolston).

In 1949, Andy overhears the brutal chief guard Byron Hadley (Clancy Brown) complaining about taxes on a forthcoming inheritance and informs him about a financial loophole. After another vicious assault by the Sisters nearly kills Andy, Hadley severely beats Bogs resulting in Bogs being sent to another prison. Andy is not attacked again. Warden Samuel Norton (Bob Gunton) meets with Andy and reassigns him to the prison library to assist elderly inmate Brooks Hatlen (James Whitmore), a pretext for Andy to manage financial duties for the prison. His advice and expertise are soon sought by other guards at Shawshank and from nearby prisons. Andy begins writing weekly letters to the state government for funds to improve the decrepit library.

In 1954, Brooks is freed on parole, but unable to adjust to the outside world after 50 years in prison, he hangs himself. Andy receives a library donation that includes a recording of The Marriage of Figaro. He plays an excerpt over the public address system, resulting in his receiving solitary confinement. After his release, Andy explains that he holds onto hope as something that the prison cannot take from him, but Red dismisses the idea. In 1963, Norton begins exploiting prison labor for public works, profiting by undercutting skilled labor costs and receiving kickbacks. He has Andy launder the money using the alias "Randall Stephens".

In 1965, Tommy Williams (Gil Bellows) is incarcerated for burglary. He joins Andy and Red's circle of friends, and Andy helps him pass his General Educational Development (G.E.D.) examinations. In 1966, after hearing the details of Andy's case, Tommy reveals that an inmate at another prison claimed responsibility for an identical murder, suggesting Andy's innocence. Andy approaches Norton with this information, but the warden refuses to listen. Norton places Andy in solitary confinement and has Hadley murder Tommy, under the guise of an escape attempt. Andy refuses to continue with the scam, but Norton threatens to destroy the library and take away his protection and preferential treatment. After Andy is released from solitary confinement, he tells Red of his dream of living in Zihuatanejo, a Mexican Pacific coastal town. While Red shrugs it off as being unrealistic, Andy instructs him, should he ever be freed, to visit a specific hayfield near Buxton to retrieve a package.

The next day at roll call, upon finding Andy's cell empty, an irate Norton throws one of Andy's rocks at the poster of Raquel Welch hanging on the wall. The rock tears through the poster, revealing a tunnel that Andy had dug with his rock hammer over the previous two decades. The previous night, Andy escaped through the tunnel and the prison's sewage pipe with Norton's ledger, containing details of the money laundering. While guards search for him the following morning, Andy, posing as Randall Stephens, visits several banks to withdraw the laundered money. Finally, he sends the ledger and evidence of the corruption and murders at Shawshank to a local newspaper. The police arrive at Shawshank and take Hadley into custody, while Norton commits suicide to avoid arrest.
After serving 40 years, Red receives parole. He struggles to adapt to life outside prison and fears he never will. Remembering his promise to Andy, he visits Buxton and finds a cache containing money and a letter asking him to come to Zihuatanejo. Red violates his parole and travels to Fort Hancock, Texas to cross the border to Mexico, admitting he finally feels hope. On a beach in Zihuatanejo, he finds Andy, and the two friends are happily reunited.

Analysis:

In Humanism, the reader, teacher or critic more or less "requires" that the piece present man as essentially rational; that is endowed with intellect and free will. The Shawshank Redemption is a great example of Humanism because it tells us how Andy Dufresne though is sentenced into two consecutive life sentences, still fought, believed and hoped that he would be free because he knows on his own that he's innocent and he has not done anything wrong. He still assert the feeling of self-worth even though he is placed in a hopeless position. His integrity and being rational is also shown here which best explain the Humanism Theory.

READER'S RESPONSE THEORY

Phenomenal Woman - Maya Angelou

(Poem)

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.

I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size   

But when I start to tell them,

They think I’m telling lies.

I say,

It’s in the reach of my arms,

The span of my hips,   

The stride of my step,   

The curl of my lips.   

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,   

That’s me.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please,   

And to a man,

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.   

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.   

I say,

It’s the fire in my eyes,   

And the flash of my teeth,   

The swing in my waist,   

And the joy in my feet.   

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered   

What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can’t touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them,   

They say they still can’t see.   

I say,

It’s in the arch of my back,   

The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.

I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

Now you understand

Just why my head’s not bowed.   

I don’t shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.   

When you see me passing,

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It’s in the click of my heels,   

The bend of my hair,   

the palm of my hand,   

The need for my care.   

’Cause I’m a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That’s me.

Analysis:

As what Reader's Response explains, this theory focuses on the reader's reaction to a text. It also recognizes the reader as an active agent who imparts "real existence" to the work and completes its meaning through interpretation. The poem is all about a woman who is phenomenal and is envied by other woman. Even though she explains and tell the truth, the people just don't seem to believe her and continue to curse her that she's doing something wrong. She's very proud of what she have and is very happy and contented with it. 

After reading the poem, a reader could easily say that it was kind of amazing and astonishing. Because you could feel what the author is trying to convey to you through the delivery of her text. You could also smoothly perceived the message of the poem especially if your with the same condition as her. The reader may or may not agree with it but is admitted that inside of them they could feel that there is a commerce with the author's piece.

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL

The Great Santini - Pat Conroy

(Novel)

Synopsis:

The Great Santini tells the story of hard-nosed Marine fighter pilot Lt. Col. Wilbur "Bull" Meecham, who calls himself "The Great Santini," and the family he runs with a strict hand. It follows the Meecham family as they move to and struggle to fit into the Marine town of Ravenel, South Carolina. The book is set in 1962 before the Vietnam War. Conroy makes the point that Santini is a warrior without a war, and in turn is at war alternately with the service that he loves and his family.

The novel explores main character Ben Meecham's growth into manhood, his experiences playing basketball for his high school, as well as his friendships with a Jewish classmate and an African-American farmer. The novel exposes the love-hate relationship between Ben and his father, and the lengths Ben goes to in an effort to win his father's acceptance and love.

The novel is based on Conroy's own childhood experiences growing up in a military family. Conroy's own father, Donald Conroy, was the inspiration for "Bull" Meecham.

Analysis:

The story is about a Marine pilot who, both love his family and also love to give off service to his country. He had done everything in order to be near to his military camp even though his family is having a hard time. The author, Conroy, explains that he had also felt the emotions of the characters in the novel because he had experienced this during his childhood days. The Great Santini really fits into the Autobiographical Theory because the story of this novel is based on the life of its author - Pat Conroy. He said that he had also experienced all the hardships and adversities same as the role of the characters in the story. Conroy's role in reality here is Ben Meecham - son  of Wilbur. And Wilbur is he's father  

The Autobiographical Theory is a criticism which analyzes a writer's biography to show the relationship between the author's life and their works of literature. This kind of critic can focus on a writer's works not only to enhance understanding of them individually but also to enrich a readers' understanding of the artist.

MARXISM

Song of the Earth - Alexander Cordell

(Novel)

Synopsis:

Cordell's 3rd book in the lives of the Mortimer family, after Rape of the Fair Country and Hosts of Rebecca. It is a prequel to Rape of the Fair County with the Mortymer family buying a canal barge on the Neath valley canal. It tells of the life of the coal industry in Resolvenas well as the Brunel designed Canal system of the valley. Describing the landscape (still seen today over 150 years later) as well as the hardship suffered by the family and growth of disease and population topography in the industrial revolution. How Green Was My Valley.

Cordell's third book in the lives of Mortymer family switches its focus to the canals and waterways of South Wales, especially the Neath Valley. The narrator is Bryn Evan, son of Mostyn and he describes how he, his Father and the Evan family take delivery of a new barge as owner/operators. They struggle to maintain a working existence against the onslaught of the new railways then under construction and being forged by the inspired engineering skills of Isambard Kingdom Brunel which are penetrating the valleys of South Wales. Against this backdrop, Mostyn marries Marie Mortymer who also appears in Rape of the Fair Country and The Hosts of Rebecca. Time passes and the family have to accept the inevitable that the canals are failing so they move to Aberdare to work in the pits and experience the grinding poverty and the everyday struggle of the Miners working the coalfileds of the middle period of the 19th. Century.

Analysis:

In this film, you could see Bryn Evan and his family's struggle in a society that is full of abusers. Abusers of power and wealth. You could also see how they are treated as deliverers and operators. The unity and oneness of the people of their society to fight for their right and the tactics and techniques they used to dustup for the bridge they're working at is also shown here.  And this is what the Marxist Theory is all about, the concentration on the relationship between the test and reality. A discourse for interrogating all societies and their texts in terms of certain specific issues. 

ROMANTICISM

Princess and the Frog

(Film)

Synopsis:

Tiana is a young waitress from New Orleans who has held a passion for the culinary arts ever since she was a child. Inspired by her late father, Tiana steadily works day and night shifts at two different diners in order to raise money to buy an old sugar mill, which she plans to turn into the restaurant ("Down in New Orleans"). Charlotte La Bouff, a débutante and childhood friend of Tiana, hires her to provide beignets for the Mardi Gras masquerade ball being thrown by her rich father, Eli "Big Daddy" La Bouff. Eli, the perennial King of the Mardi Gras, seeks to welcome the recently-arrived Prince Naveen of Maldonia as an eligible suitor to his pampered daughter. Tiana is thrilled to finally have enough to purchase and renovate the old sugar mill into her restaurant ("Almost There").

The disinherited Prince Naveen, penniless and unskilled, is nevertheless intent on marrying a wealthy woman rather than learning a trade. He and his valet Lawrence encounter Dr. Facilier, a voodoo witch doctor who convinces the pair that he can improve both their lives. Instead, after reading their fortunes, Facilier transforms Naveen into a frog and gives Lawrence a voodoo charm, filled with Naveen's blood, which when worn transforms his appearance to that of Naveen's. Facilier intends for Lawrence, under the guise of Naveen, to marry Charlotte in order to gain access to her father’s fortune ("Friends on the Other Side").

At the ball, Charlotte unknowingly flirts with Lawrence as Tiana discovers she may lose the mill to a higher bidder. Tiana then meets Naveen, who, believing her to be a princess because of her costume, asks her to kiss him and break Facilier's curse. Tiana reluctantly agrees, in exchange for the money needed to outbid the other buyer. However, instead of Naveen turning back into a human, Tiana is turned into a frog herself. A chase ensues, and Naveen and Tiana escape to a bayou.

Lawrence (still disguised as Naveen) later proposes to Charlotte, who happily agrees, but soon the magic in Facilier's charm wears off and Lawrence reverts to his original form. Facilier tells Lawrence they need another sample of the prince's blood in order to prolong the spell, but discovers that Lawrence had foolishly released him. Facilier turns to the voodoo spirits for help, with the promise that once Lawrence marries Charlotte, he will have total control over New Orleans and will be able to offer the citizens' souls as payment. The voodoo spirits give Facilier shadow demons, who are then dispatched to locate Naveen.

At the bayou, Tiana and Naveen meet Louis, a trumpet-playing alligator, who offers to lead them to Mama Odie, an ancient and good-hearted voodoo priestess who they believe can undo the curse ("When We're Human"). Later, they meet Ray, a Cajun firefly, who joins them on their journey ("Gonna Take You There"). Ray tells Tiana about his love, Evangeline, who is later revealed to be the Evening Star ("Ma Belle Evangeline").

When the four at last meet Mama Odie, she tells the frogs that Naveen must kiss a true princess for them to become human, and that since Eli La Bouff is King of Mardi Gras, Charlotte is a princess, but only until the stroke of midnight, when Mardi Gras is over ("Dig a Little Deeper"). Naveen soon realizes that he loves Tiana, but before he can admit his feelings, he is captured by the shadow demons and brought to Facilier.

Before Lawrence (disguised as Naveen) and Charlotte can marry, Ray helps Naveen escape and steals the charm. Ray gives the charm to Tiana in order to hold back Facilier's minions, but is killed by Facilier. Facilier then confronts Tiana and transforms her back to her human form. He then offers to make her restaurant dream come true in exchange for the charm, but she refuses upon realizing that true love is more important and attempts to destroy the talisman. However, Facilier's shadow grabs hold of its shadow and hands it back to Facilier himself. Tiana is changed back to a frog and Facilier mockingly declares that she is fated to remain that way forever. Tiana quickly uses her frog tongue to grab hold of the talisman and smashes it upon the ground. The angered voodoo spirits come forth and claim Facilier himself as payment for his debts and drag him into the underworld forever.

Tiana and Naveen reveal their love to each other and explain the situation to Charlotte, who agrees to kiss Naveen so he and Tiana can be together. The clock strikes midnight before she can kiss him, but the two decide they are content to live together as frogs. At the end of a funeral for Ray, he appears as a new bright star next to Evangeline.

Later, Tiana and Naveen are married by Mama Odie. Because of Tiana's new status as princess, they are restored back to human form after their kiss. They then have a real wedding within the St. Louis Cathedral. The couple return to New Orleans to celebrate and, with Louis' help, convince the Fenner brothers accept the payment money and hand over the key rights. Together, Tiana and Naveen work on transforming the sugar mill into the long awaited restaurant. In the final scene, the restaurant - which is called Tiana's Palace - is thriving, with Louis and his band playing to a joyfully full house, while in the sky smaller stars encircle the larger stars of Ray and Evangeline ("Down in New Orleans (Finale)").

Analysis:

Romanticism Theory talks about the free expression of the feelings of the character. The artist's feeling is his law. In this film, Tiana and Naveen though thrown with trials and circumstances still believed that true love is more important than anything else. Together they faced it and fought it because of their love for each other. 

As you could see at the falling action, even though they still have the chance to be back as humans, they still chose and agreed to stay the way they are or as frogs because they know that they would still be together whatever their features or characteristics may be. 

NEW CRITICISM

Touched by an Angel - Maya Angelou

(Poem)

We, unaccustomed to courage

exiles from delight

live coiled in shells of loneliness

until love leaves its high holy temple

and comes into our sight

to liberate us into life.

Love arrives

and in its train come ecstasies

old memories of pleasure

ancient histories of pain.

Yet if we are bold,

love strikes away the chains of fear

from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity

In the flush of love's light

we dare be brave

And suddenly we see

that love costs all we are

and will ever be.

Yet it is only love

which sets us free. 

Analysis:

The angel here represents love. This text tells us that everything can be cured by love. Any heartache, any pain, any sadness, as long as love exists can be healed. Love gives us courage, hope, happiness and joy. The poem also said that love always comes with pain, because when you show love towards other people there is always a tendency and there will come a time where you will be hurt by the same person you're showing your love with. They may or may not know that you are hurt but that's the reality of love. And when you are still brave about loving, you would always feel delighted about everything. Because love is the most important thing in the world. Without it, your existence is useless!

PSYCHO-ANALYTIC THEORY

Dead of Night - Alberto Cavalcanti

(Film)

Synopsis:

Architect Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns) arrives at a country house party where he reveals to the assembled guests that he has seen them all in a dream. He appears to have no prior personal knowledge of them but he is able to predict spontaneous events in the house before they unfold. The other guests attempt to test Craig's foresight, while entertaining each other with various tales of uncanny or supernatural events that they experienced or were told about. These include a racing car driver's premonition of a fatal bus crash; a light hearted tale of two obsessed golfers, one of whom becomes haunted by the other's ghost; a ghostly encounter during a children's Christmas party (a scene cut from the initial American release); a haunted antique mirror; and the story of an unbalanced ventriloquist (Michael Redgrave) who believes his amoral dummy is truly alive. The framing story is then capped by a twist ending.

Analysis:

Psycho-Analytic Theory means, a criticism which, in method, concept and form, is influenced by the tradition of Psychoanalysis. It seeks evidence of an unresolved emotions. In the movie Dead of Night, it shows how some people easily judge those people with psychological disorders. They do not really focus on what the person is saying and just continue to form their conclusions and comments with that person. Walter, on the other hand, had done everything to explain his side and to explicate all the information that he had gathered in his dreams. 

If you would dig the deeper meaning of the movie you could see the sadness and melancholy of the story and the narrator. There's a message the story wants to convey to the readers. It is really an advantage for the producer to create such movie because he is said to have a broad imagination and is said to had experienced some difficulties during his childhood days. You could say that there is somehow a connection between the producer and his masterpiece. And that's what the Psycho-Analytic Theory is all about. 

EXISTENTIALISM

The Lathe of Heaven - Ursula K. Le Guin

(Movie)

Synopsis:

In Portland, Oregon in the near future, George Orr is charged with misuse of multiple prescription medications, which he was taking to keep himself from dreaming; he volunteers for psychiatric care to avoid prosecution, and is assigned to the care of licensed "oneirologist" William Haber. Orr's explanation of his drug abuse is incredible: he has known since age 17 that his dreams change reality, and tries to prevent himself from dreaming because he fears their effects.

Haber initially considers Orr's fear as a delusional symptom of neurosis or psychosis, referring to him as "possibly an intelligent schizophrenic". He puts Orr into a hypnotic trance, and encourages him to have an "effective dream" to record his brain function. When he realizes that Orr is telling the truth, Haber begins to use Orr's "effective dreams" to first create a prestigious, well funded institute run by himself, then to attempt to solve various social problems. Haber suggests that Orr dream of a solution to overpopulation (resulting in a plague wiping out three-fourths of the human population), the end to all conflict between people (resulting in an alien invasion uniting mankind), only after numerous failed attempts to "make the world right" admitting to Orr that he believes in Orr's power.

Orr turns to lawyer Heather LeLache for help in getting out of his government-mandated treatments with Haber. LeLache doubts Orr's sanity, but agrees to help him, eventually becoming an ally.

As Haber continues to use Orr to create change in human society, Orr remembers that a dream he experienced years ago, which is briefly portrayed at the opening of the film, is in fact reality: the world was destroyed in a nuclear war, and Orr had been dying from radiation poisoning when he began to dream that it had not happened. Haber enters the final version of his machine for directing dreams, and learns this truth, driving him mad. Orr had joined him in that dream state, and was able to change the world back to a relatively normal version not destroyed, and not severely altered. The end of the film shows Orr working in an antique store run by an alien, with LeLache coming in to browse. She has no memory of him, but agrees to have lunch with him. They encounter Haber, wheelchair bound, on their way to lunch, and Haber recognizes Orr, but cannot come out of his catatonia.

Analysis:

Existentialism Theory shows emphasis on individual existence, freedom, and choice. The conception of value arises from their view of the individual. In this movie, George Orr wanted to keep himself from dreaming because he was afraid of its effect, so he decided to take multiple prescription medications. After that, he was charged. He volunteered himself to be brought to a psychiatric place and later on, he was assigned to William Haber. At first, William did not believe his explanations and after thorough tests he found out that George is telling the truth. William abuses George's capabilities and used it for his own sake. 

The Existentialism Theory here is shown when George took action of William's wrong doing. He chooses to do what's right and what is for the good of his life and the life of the people in the neighborhood and in the society. 

FEMINISM

The Golden Notebook - Doris Lessing

(Novel)

Synopsis:

The Golden Notebook is the story of writer Anna Wulf, the four notebooks in which she keeps the record of her life, and her attempt to tie them all together in a fifth, gold-colored notebook. The book intersperses segments of an ostensibly realistic narrative of the lives of Molly and Anna, and their children, ex-husbands and lovers—entitled Free Women—with excerpts from Anna's four notebooks, coloured black (of Anna's experience inSouthern Rhodesia, before and during WWII, which inspired her own bestselling novel), red (of her experience as a member of the Communist Party), yellow (an ongoing novel that is being written based on the painful ending of Anna's own love affair), and blue (Anna's personal journal where she records her memories, dreams, and emotional life). Each notebook is returned to four times, interspersed with episodes from Free Women, creating non-chronological, overlapping sections that interact with one another. This post-modernistic styling, with its space and room for "play" engaging the characters and readers, is among the most famous features of the book, although Lessing insisted that readers and reviewers pay attention to the serious themes in the novel.

Analysis:

Feminism studies women’s unique ways of understanding and writing about the human condition. Its meaning is socially constructed and they look for systems of containment.

This novel falls under the Feminism Theory because it revolves around the protagonist, Anna Wulf, a writer who always keeps a record of her life. She had written four books already and she decided to tie all those four notebooks in the fifth one. Here, she narrates her life with her husband and children. She also share some of her experiences during the WWII, her membership to the Communist Party and the painful ending of her own love affair. This four books contains the most unforgettable and memorable experiences of her past. 

The character of Anna Wulf here, shows how a woman can surpass all the problems and challenges given to them in spite of being a woman. 

DECONSTRUCTION

My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult

(Novel)

Synopsis:

The story takes place in fictional town Upper Darby, Rhode Island in 2004. Anna Fitzgerald's older sister, Kate, suffers from acute promyelocytic leukemia, a blood and bone marrow cancer. Anna was born specifically so she could save Kate's life. At first it is successful, but the cancer continues to relapse throughout Kate's life.

Anna is usually willing to donate whatever Kate needs, but when she turns 13, she is told that she will have to donate one of her kidneys. The surgery required for both Kate and Anna would be major; it is not guaranteed to work, as the stress of the operation may well kill Kate anyway; and the loss of a kidney could have a serious impact on Anna's life. Anna petitions for medical emancipation with the help of lawyer Campbell Alexander, so that she will be able to make her own decisions regarding her medical treatment and the donation of her kidney.

Anna's mother, Sara, is an ex-lawyer and decides to represent herself and her husband in the lawsuit. Over the course of the novel, she tries on several occasions to make Anna drop the lawsuit. Anna refuses to do so, but the resulting tension between her and her mother result in her moving out of the house to live with her father Brian in the fire station where he works. This is done on the advice of Julia Romano, the court-appointed guardian ad litem whose job it is to decide what would be best for Anna. Julia was once romantically involved with Campbell when they went to school together, but Campbell broke her heart when he left her. Unbeknownst to Julia, Campbell left her because he discovered he had epilepsy and thought she deserved better.

Meanwhile, Anna's brother Jesse, who has spent most of his life being ignored in favor of ill Kate or donor Anna, spends most of his time setting fire to abandoned buildings with home-made explosives and doing drugs. He is a self-confessed juvenile delinquent. The one moment when his parents pay him any attention is when Brian discovers that it is Jesse who has been setting the fires. Brian forgives him, and by the end of the book, he has reformed and graduated from the police academy.

During the trial, it is revealed that Kate asked Anna to sue for emancipation because she did not want Anna to have to transplant, and because she believes that she will die anyway. The judge rules in Anna's favor, and grants Campbell medical power of attorney. However, as Campbell drives her home after the trial, their car is hit by an oncoming truck. Brian, the on-call firefighter who arrives at the scene, retrieves an unconscious and injured Anna from the wreckage of the crushed car and rushes her and Campbell to hospital. At the hospital, the doctor informs Sara and Brian that Anna is brain-dead, that the machines keeping her alive may as well be switched off, and asks them if they have considered organ donation. Campbell steps in, and declares that he has the power of attorney, and "there is a girl upstairs who needs that kidney." Kate is prepared for surgery, and Anna's kidney is successfully transplanted. Kate survives the surgery and remains in remission for at least six years (the book ends in 2010).

Kate believes that she survived because someone had to go, and Anna took her place. Six years later, she works as a dance instructor. She mentions that every time she sees two girls doing plies at the barre she thinks of how she and Anna used to be.

Analysis:
This novel really fits the Deconstruction Theory. The story is about Anna and her sister Kate, who suffers from a blood and bone marrow cancer. Anna, though is still young, had already done everything to save his sisters' life. It also came to the point where they fought because Kate did not want Anna to have to transplant, and because she believes that she will die anyway. 

While reading it, I had already formed an ending in my mind but as I go on reading and reached its closing part, I was shocked but at the same time amazed with the twist of the story. And this is what deconstruction is all about. This theory makes you form your own ending and conclusions but later on surprises you with a twist, a different and an unexpected twist.