Unit 2 HTRLLAP Project
Sriram Palepu - Period 1
Chapter 21: Marked for Greatness
In The Lion King, Mufasa’s brother Scar (aptly named) is marked with numerous physical imperfections that characterize him as the epitome of evil and betrayal. The scar on his eye symbolizes his delusional vision of becoming the lion king of the African savanna. He lures Simba into the stampede of wildebeests and later pushes Mufasa off the cliff, but is unable to see that his manipulative nature will eventually lead to his demise. Fueled by anger, Simba eventually confronts Scar and throws him off of Pride Rock, stripping Scar of his last shred of dignity as he is eaten alive by hyenas. Another physical imperfection of Scar is his thin black mane, which stands out because the rest of the male lions have a luscious red-orange mane. The creators of the film must have done this intentionally, not just to associate Scar with darkness and evil but to provide a physical glimpse into his psyche. His mind is blackened by jealousy, conspiring and hatred and his thoughts have permanently disfigured him, leaving him to be the unhappy and despised lion ironically living on Pride Rock.
The monster in Frankenstein is marked by his horrible appearance, as he is grotesquely stitched out of body parts. Mary Shelley uses this physical imperfection to highlight the inherent good and evil in everyone. Despite having a conscience and benevolent nature, the monster is barely regarded as human and treated like a demon everywhere he goes. After suffering from numerous unfortunate events, including being beaten by villagers, bludgeoned by Felix, and shot by the father of the girl he rescued, he realizes that he is forever constrained by his physical deformity. The most frightening aspect of Frankenstein is that he begins to play the part. When society regards him as a devil, he becomes the murderous devil that murders and emotionally tortures Victor. Mary Shelley uses the monster has an example of the power of physical appearance. A benevolent soul was unfortunately chosen to take on the hideous body of stitched up corpses, and eventually becomes the evil monster it was expected to be.
Chapter 22: He’s Blind for a Reason, You Know
In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley uses Old Man DeLacey’s blindness to ironically point out that he was the only character who could see the good in the monster. The monster was unable to forge a relationship with anyone in the book due to his hideous appearance. The monster purposefully chooses to approach DeLacey as he is blind, and they both have an engaging conversation, in which the old man boasts about how “the hearts of men” are filled with “brotherly love and charity” when “unprejudiced.” (Shelley, 163). The old man’s blindness enabled him to see past the monster’s looks and showed him a glimpse of affection and kindness he never experienced before, and will never experience again. Their interaction also serves to emphasize how close the creature is to being human. As soon as Felix and Agatha come into the college, Agatha faints and Felix bludgeons the monster and drives him out. The rest of the character’s ability to see makes them blind to the monster’s human qualities. He is educated, speaks eloquently, and acts like a gentlemen, and has done everything he can to act civilized, but the one thing out of his control, his appearance, makes him an outcast. This frustration the monster experiences from this event, causes him to desperately seek revenge on his creator for cursing him with life.
Chapter 23: It’s Never Just Heart Disease... Chapter 24: ...And Rarely Just Illness
In Khaled Hosseini’s Kite Runner, the death of Amir’s father represents the end of Amir running from his past, and symbolizes the restored relationship between the two characters. While his father was alive, Amir guiltily kept Hassan's rape a secret and had a dysfunctional relationship with his father, who was disappointed with his son’s softness and fragility. Amir lived his childhood in the shadow of his father, drowning in jealousy of how his father treated Hassan and later the guilt of witnessing Hassan's rape. Even after he fled to America, he carried his guilt with him although he was forced to abandon the wealthy lifestyle he lived in Afghanistan. Their poor lifestyle in America brought Amir and his father together, and their relationship continued to improve after his father got cancer. Amir even rushed the traditional marriage ceremony in order to marry Soraya before his father passed away. As described by Foster in How to Read Literature Like a Professor, the death is picturesque as Amir’s father peacefully dies in his sleep after he kisses his son and Soraya on their forehead, almost like he’s blessing them for the last time. It is also symbolic as it marks the beginning of Amir’s confrontation with the past. Soon after his father’s death, he learns that Hassan is actually his half-brother and rescues Hassan's son from the sadistic Assef.
Chapter 25: Don’t Read with Your Eyes
The plight of Justine in Frankenstein would have been seen very differently by a reader in the past, than how it is seen by a modern reader today. It is important to note that during the Romantic era, when the book was first released, there was a revival in spirituality and respect to God that came from the fear that humanity was overstepping its bounds of knowledge. This is obviously a recurring theme in the book as Victor’s demise can be attributed to him playing God and foolishly creating (and abandoning) the monster. However, Justine was also characterized as a victim of God’s fury as each of her family members died one by one, as mentioned in one of Elizabeth’s letters to Victor. This implied that she had gravely sinned, which is why even her mother shunned her away, considering her a bad omen. Justine must have felt unfathomable pain as she had lost all of her loved ones and her own mother had abandoned her. She was definitely in a state of psychological misery, which is why she confessed to killing William so she could end her own life. Her ending is awfully poetic and tragic, as she confesses to a murder she didn’t commit with hopes that she will finally be redeemed for the sins she didn’t commit. It is also signifies the fragility of faith and reputation as the kindness and devout faith of Justine could not keep her innocent in court, where a simple locket proved her guilty. A modern reader can easily miss the depth of Justine’s story and grief, and easily label her as a side character meant to just emphasize the cruelty of the monster. However, Mary Shelley uses the death of Justine to confuse the reader even more by blurring the line between good and evil. Justine is an innocent character who is paying for crimes she didn’t commit, much like the monster is paying for crimes of his own circumstances. They are both good-willed but just placed in a desperate situation, and seek desperate action in hopes of finding happiness and purpose to their miserable lives.
Works Cited
Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead, 2003. Print.
Shelley, Mary W. Frankenstein. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.
The Lion King. Dir. Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff. By Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts,
Linda Woolverton, Tim Rice, Elton John, Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, and Jeremy Irons. Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc., 1994. DVD.