Pool Scenes in The Graduate
At first glance it may seem that the swimming pool in Ben?s backyard is no more than an insignificant setting-choice for the movie. After close examination, however, the pool fills a critical role as the symbol of the recent college-graduate?s internal struggle with decisions regarding his future. Key scenes involving the swimming pool and the related aquarium in Ben?s room chronicle the evolution of his transition from adolescents into adulthood.
The opening scene of the movie in which Ben?s face is visible through the glass of his aquarium tank demonstrates his role as an adolescent upon arriving home from college. This is, however, only recognizable in a later scene taking place at the party his
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Robinson?a friend of his parents. This woman, the same age as his mother, becomes the catalyst for Ben?s eventual transition into adulthood. The first evidence of this is after Mrs. Robinson requests a ride home from Ben; she tosses her car keys to him but instead of landing in Ben?s hands, the keys fall into his fish aquarium. The emphasis of this action in the movie by a zoom-in and pause on the tank demonstrates its importance as Ben?s childhood life, signified by the aquarium, has just been contaminated. The encounter foreshadows the loss of innocence that Ben experiences with his sexual relationship with Mrs. Robinson after she seduces him. At first, however, Ben does not give into her advances---rejecting the idea of adult behaviors like an affair with a married woman.
Resistance to growing up is further evident in his 21st birthday party at his parent?s home. This age has long had social significance in our culture?with the age comes freedom to drink, the end of childhood, and most significantly for Ben, the official and very public entrance into the adult world. After receiving a wet suit and scuba gear for his birthday, Ben?s parents ask him to take a swim in the pool to show off his new gift in front of the party guests. Objecting heavily, his father coerces him until he makes the walk from the house and enters the pool in his gear, obliging the crowd of his parents? friends. Eager to watch Ben find direction and become
Ben and Ellie take refuge in an abandoned apartment block. When Ben has second thoughts about realising the zoo animals into the wild, Ellie reassures him that it was necessary for a new beginning. As they both make plans to leave the city and head for the bush, Raja makes a final appearance. Ben is convinced that Raja is going to kill him, but instead he pats him affectionately on the
Begins with a comforting scene of Ben with his parents. The dreamy filter the scene is given makes it seem like a dream and/or a flashback. Initially, Ben was excited to have a sister and pleased as he says to his Mum, "I can't wait for the baby to come then we're gonna be best friends, aren't we?" However this is quickly changed when Ben drifts in and out of sleep, his first view being of his Mum singing to him and the third one of his Mother’s hair turning white and the desperation he
One way that adolescence and childhood are expressed in this novel is by showing both innocence and the darker aspects of human nature. Knowles showed the carefree lifestyle that the boys had during the summer session, using the setting of the summer like skipping class to go to the beach and playing blitzball. This shows a sense of innocence and freedom. The boy’s mindset shows their
He initially had no interest at all in nature, but after some adjustments he changed his mind and gained a “relationship” with nature and, he even learned some survival skills along the way. In the beginning of the text, Ben preferred to be indoors making videos, or being a detective or even just watching television rather than being outside like his younger sister Olive. This meant that unlike his sister Ben did not develop any survival skills. This became a problem, when the Silver family were suddenly on the run from the cops and found themselves in a life or death situation. The novel mentions that, ‘wilderness was his enemy”. This was one way of showing that Ben did not like to be outside in nature. Eventually, Ben changes views and he now appreciates and enjoys being outdoors in nature. He even finds peace within the wilderness. The novels says Ben had “missed this placed”. This shows that he has changed tremendously. He has gone from Ben, the being indoors lover, to Ben the Nature loving boy. This was a significant change for the
As Benjamin transition out of adolescent, he constantly struggles with the decision regarding his future and to find the best way of becoming a man. Ironically, it is his relationship with Mrs. Robinson that helps Benjamin transformation
Coming of age is a recurring theme that is universally known throughout many different pieces of literature. Whether it’s influenced on true experiences, childhood memories, or even based on one’s current juvenile reality, many of theses works have a correlation between them that include many similar ordeals and struggles that the character goes through in order to metamorphosize into taking their first step out of childhood. One prominent theme that often appears is how one experiences and faces a time of tribulation and other walls that stand in one’s path. In effect, hardships mature and enlighten one, causing the loss of something such as childhood innocence. Lastly, these three combined points finally lead to one’s metamorphosis out of childhood. All in all, these three factors take one out of childhood, and slowly allows one step out into the reality of this world.
In coming of age stories, the protagonists often experience a pensive and dramatic moment where either they break through to adulthood or retreat to childhood - it is this moment that unveils the magnitude of growing up for the reader.
In one’s life, a person goes through a certain processes to mature into an adult. In the book, Crabbe, by William Bell, a teen boy named Franklin Crabbe runs away from his old life which was preventing him from maturing the way he wanted to. Firstly, Franklin Crabbe experiences personal growth while staying in the wilderness. Secondly, Crabbe learns a various number of new life skills which he can use later in the future. Thirdly, Crabbe while being in the wilderness, he developed his independence. The experiences the main character Franklin Crabbe has while in wilderness contributes to his maturity into adulthood.
The purpose of this essay is to analyze the short story “The Swimmer” by Jon Cheever and it’s film adaptation. Overall, the film and the short story use different dialogue, different characterization, and different visual effects and imagery to provide the reader and the viewer with the allegory of Ned Merrill’s life. While both works focus on the fanciful nature of moving across an entire neighborhood using swimming pools, there are more differences between the film and short story than similarities. Firstly, I will begin by describing the usage of visual effects in the film and imagery in the short story. Secondly, I will describe the differences in dialogue. Finally, I will conclude by describing the ways in which both pieces leverage their characters.
F. Scott Fitzgerald created a novel, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which explores how identity can be uttered by the age of a person. Benjamin Button shows how confusion towards his own identity can be dictated by a unique way of aging backwards and becoming younger as time exceeds. One’s identity and how he or she stereotypically acts primarily depends on that person’s age. Due to his unusual aging condition, Benjamin struggles with his identity throughout his life. For example, he is able to create mature conversations at a young age of eighteen at the dance with Hildegarde and play as a five-year-old without any care in the world when he is chronologically much older. He must learn to cope with this way of aging and understand how others may view him in social settings. Benjamin faces many difficult situations in which he
As he grows older, his style changes and he sees the real world as it really is as opposed to his fantasies he had when he was younger. A major development in the story is the actual act of becoming a man. Boys his age have a festival for many days that lead up to their circumcision, after which they become men. After this accomplishment, he still writes about his fears and his thoughts but he is much more wary to keep them to himself. And as he grows even older he moves away from home to attend Technical College for four years. These years change him very much and when he returns home he is much more of an adult and conducts himself in such a manner.
Ben is a member of Flint’s original crew. He was forced to live on the island for three years and survive on his own. He found Flint’s treasure, and then buried it. Trying to keep it away from the pirates that try to capture Jim and Sliver. The pirates think that Ben is unintelligent, but Jim and Silver know that’s he’s really a nice guy who is agile and quite smart. Ben returns with Jim and Sliver and the other crew
Now in the literary story Benjamin has a grandfather who at the start was antagonized, became to enjoy his grandson’s company. It is a brief account of his grandfather but a meaningful one as this was the first one who gave him a sense of acceptance. The film version gave him acceptance through Queenie and we never get to know a grandfather; though one could say the patrons at the old folk’s home could have been grandparent surrogates for Benjamin. The patrons at the old folks home taught him many things but his experience living there taught him not to fear death and what loss was about which, in a sense, desensitized the character so that when Queenie passes he is not visibly upset.
Ben is also a very peculiar character. The audience first encounters him with the full knowledge that he is dead. Ben is also the one figure that is able to move freely between the past and the present. Because Ben represents that which Willy seeks, Willy feels that he can achieve his goal the same way that Ben did and so he believes that "opportunism, cheating and cruelty are success incarnate" (Smith).
Ben exemplified compassion in many cases, were he would sacrifice himself or his personal trails for someone else troubles. In reality this scene can compare with real life cases in the world today how compassion can be shared with people to impact others. In the movie Ben finds himself falling in love with a girl name Emily, who has an enlarged heart that he later gave his life for her to survive. Ben shared compassion with 6 other people, but given the most compassion to Emily.