Obstacles In Pans Labyrinth And Beasts Of The Southern Wild

Living in Conditions that Ultimately Made Them Stronger

John Quincy Adams once stated, “patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” In the world today, obstacles have an impact on the way one goes about their respective life. These obstacles range from emotions to illness to social class. How one interprets those obstacles decides whether that life goes down as a success or failure. As a society, we often admire those who take their obstacles and use them to create a better life. In both Pans Labyrinth and Beasts of the Southern Wild, Ofelia and Hushpuppy are both faced with obstacles that must be overcome to change the fate of their futures.

Ofelia is placed in a society that

She lives in a small town in the woods known as the bathtub. The bathtub is constantly filled with poverty and depression. As a six-year old child she must deal with the fact that her mother is missing and her father isn’t completely there. Wink (Hushpuppy’s Father) has atrocious parenting skills and chooses to live in a separate household from his daughter. McCarthy states, “Hushpuppy must contend with a father who, when not hunting or fishing, is often drunk, angry and not above striking her” (McCarthy). Although her father is sick, he teaches Hushpuppy valuable life skills that will help her, once his time is up. Wu states, “At school, Hushpuppy learns about the aurochs, once extinct but resurrected in her imagination as heralds of apocalypse” (Wu). These aurochs represent more than just an extinct species. They represent a destructive force, and that death is always near. Throughout the film they are seen destroying civilization. Everything in Hushpuppy’s world is being consumed. Her house is consumed by fire, the community is consumed by flooding, and her father is consumed by sickness. Living in this world of disaster and consumption, makes Hushpuppy go searching for her mother. Hushpuppy had a weird relationship with her mother. When she cooked, her mother would enter her imagination and hum to her. When Wink decided to come back after a brief departure, that vision was taken from her. Wink assaults Hushpuppy a few times during the film. One time after being struck Hushpuppy states, “I hope you die, and when you do I’m going to eat birthday cake at your grave all by myself” (Zeitlin). Hushpuppy goes on an adventure to Elysian Fields, where it is believed she encounters her mother. It is here where she learns an important life lesson from her “mother”. Hushpuppy’s mother states, “One day it’s gonna be all on you. Everything on your plate gonna fall on the floor” (Zeitlin). Her mother teaches her