StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

English Film and Literature Analysis - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Your Name Name of of Professor Analysis of The Last of the Mohicans and Mr. Smith goes to Washington James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans and Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith goes to Washington are two of the most iconic works of American art…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.6% of users find it useful
English Film and Literature Analysis
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "English Film and Literature Analysis"

Download file to see previous pages

Heroes too have been of varied kinds in the world of American art, ranging from the frontier hero of the Westerns to the hero of the Everyman variety. These two movies look at two such characters and the heroes have elements of different such types. The importance of the genre of the works and the time periods in which they are set shall also be a part of the discussion in this paper. The paper shall argue that these works have influenced the manner in which the American hero has been envisaged over the years and conceived of in other works of art.

The character of Hawkeye is one who is able to maneuver through several situations that the settlers have to face. In a period that was marked by a great amount of political turbulence, he is able to navigate himself and others into situations of safety. He is able to also further the agenda of the side that he is on. One needs to remember that this was an era when America was still open to nations of the world and people like Hawkeye were necessary in order to consolidate the power that America had over the world.

Such a hero is commonplace in American movies and books. In many movies of the Western genre, one finds that the hero moves to a place which is populated by a large number of Indians. The narratives of such westerns are almost always based on the extension of the American frontiers. Such an extension would then place the character in the mold of a hero as the character would be seen to be performing a service to his community and to the larger community of America. This is seen to also be a patriotic move.

Apart from this, it also furthers the idea of the masculine hero who is able to subdue the forces that create problems in the lives of his community. The fact that such heroes are more often than not, men, goes a long way to prove this point. Even in the recently released movie Django Unchained, which seeks to reinvent the genre of the Western, the hero remained a man while the lead female character was a largely passive presence. The masculine hero is then seen as a symbol or crystallization of American manhood.

One of the interesting features of the book is the fact that Hawkeye does not appear to be an intensely racist character. On one occasion, he actually says, There is reason in an Indian, though nature has made him with a red skin!’…. ‘I am no scholar, and I care not who knows it; but, judging from what I have seen, at deer chases and squirrel hunts, of the sparks below, I should think a rifle in the hands of their grandfathers was not so dangerous as a hickory bow and a good flint-head might be, if drawn with Indian judgment, and sent by an Indian eye.

(Cooper 49) However, this sense of tolerance is often offset by the race pride and sense of superiority that he displays at various points in the novel. One such instance is given below. I am not a prejudiced man, nor one who vaunts himself on his natural privileges, though the worst enemy I have on earth, and he is an Iroquois, daren’t deny that I am genuine white. (Cooper 49) The hero of the Western too was in many cases white and held racist notions of white superiority. Such notions were then used in order to justify his actions that were meant for the progress of a society that was largely white.

Many of these movies were also set in pre-Civil War scenes. The hero of Mr. Smith goes to Washington, on the other hand is a person who is closer to the model of Everyman. He is a part of the American

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“English Film and Literature Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
English Film and Literature Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/english/1497152-english-film-and-literature-analysis
(English Film and Literature Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
English Film and Literature Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words. https://studentshare.org/english/1497152-english-film-and-literature-analysis.
“English Film and Literature Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/english/1497152-english-film-and-literature-analysis.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF English Film and Literature Analysis

The Development of a Loyalty Program

literature Review Customer Loyalty Customer loyalty is, according to Kincaid (2003), a vested interest that a customer has, because of positive experiences over time, in maintaining a close relationship with a store or a brand.... It basically means that the customer chooses one store over another, or one brand over another, simply because the customer enjoys doing business with that store or brand....
22 Pages (5500 words) Literature review

How Does Perfectionism Affect the Therapeutic Relationship

This can be taken to mean not only perfectionism on behalf of the counsellor but on behalf… I will be displaying my findings through the analysis of a variety of literary sources including books on academic theory, online journals, and internet and magazine articles Therefore, add my own understanding of these issues and knowledge gained as a trainee therapist, which may include experiential and anecdotal evidence rather than qualitative or quantitative data, in order to fully investigate the subject matter at hand....
10 Pages (2500 words) Literature review

Major Stages and Variables of Business Relationship Development

This report focuses on assessing the necessary aspects for developing sustainable relationship between the concerned DIY furniture provider (do it yourself) firm and its business.... In the existing competitive business scenario, corporate houses are trying not only to generate… Maintaining a good relationship with the stakeholders has become an integral part of business strategy over the last few decades....
10 Pages (2500 words) Literature review

Language and Ethnicity in International Management

The article states that 16 of the interviews were done in Danish, one was done in the native tongue of the interviewee, and the rest conducted in english among the other nationalities In the course of conducting the assignment, this student was able to determine that while the author of the article chose an appropriate subject matter for research, the proper methodology, and appropriately executed the procedure, there appears to be a misalignment of problem with the findings and conclusion, or if not that the wrong choice of company to conduct such research in....
16 Pages (4000 words) Literature review

The Nuances of Human Psyche

This work "The Nuances of Human Psyche" describes contributions of eminent authors on their analyses of the human mind, its emotions, and the metaphysical and religious influences on the human psyche.... From this work, it is clear that Freud, Heidegger, and Otto have explored the real and abstract influences on the human psyche and its peculiarities....
7 Pages (1750 words) Literature review

Competence in Sport Education

an Wright and Lisette Burrows (2006) in their article “Re-conceiving ability in physical education: a social analysis” have attempted to understand the concept of ability in PE, and also how ability is perceived and valued by different student groups.... This paper ''Competence in Sport Education'' discusses that SE has an undeniable role in ensuring physically active life for young people....
8 Pages (2000 words) Literature review

Image and Video Can Affect Student Learning Outcomes

The paper "Image and Video Can Affect Student Learning Outcomes " reports stakeholders in the education sector are doing a lot to ensure that the quality of education is boosted appropriately.... One of the tools stakeholders are keen to exploit in improving learning outcomes in schools is technology....
19 Pages (4750 words) Literature review

The National Curriculum Vs Alternative Curricula

… The paper "The National Curriculum Vs Alternative Curricula" is a great example of a literature review on education.... The paper "The National Curriculum Vs Alternative Curricula" is a great example of a literature review on education.... In education, the curriculum is defined as the broad and general experience students have in the process of acquiring education....
10 Pages (2500 words) Literature review
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us