Comparing Evil And The Truman Show

What comes to mind when you think of Shirley Jackson? For most people, nothing. That’s because she lived 53 years ago. But, if she was alive today, she would be one of the most recognizable horror authors of all time. Jackson was born in San Francisco in 1916, and grew up with her parents and younger brother. Saying her mother, Geraldine, was abusive would be an understatement. Geraldine Jackson called her daughter a, “failed abortion,” and constantly criticized her hair and weight. As an adult, Jackson channeled her dark past onto paper. She wrote “The Haunting of Hill House,” which is arguably one of the best ghost stories of all time. She also wrote “The Lottery,” which is, by far, her most famous masterpiece. Recently, there has been more interest in Jackson 's work.

Although she doesn’t see that she is being evil. Strangeworth is a wonderful lady that wants to warn every one of the dangers that are happening around people, but what she doesn’t understand is that she is the evil that is all around this wonderful. Miss Strangeworth thins that she runs the town and she needs to be the protector just because her “grandfather built the first house on Pleasant Street” (Jackson, 1941, p. 163). Miss Strangeworth had the idea that she was at the top of a hierarchy and that she had to make sure that the town was safe and clean from the evil that was actually coming from her. She had written letters to people whom she thought she was trying to protect but the people that got the letters read them and took them differently and once they had discovered who the anonymous writer was they retaliated. At that moment Miss Adela Strangeworth knew that her reputation had started to

In Cold Blood is a novel that follows the story of the four Clutter’s and their murder. It takes place in Holcomb, Kansas where they were killed by two men. These two men initially get away, but are then caught later after many adventures. The two men are identified as Perry and Dick. It is seen that they murdered the Clutter’s without any motive or harsh feelings towards them. Truman Capote is the author of the novel. It is portrayed that Perry and Dick are evil because of there actions. This is because they are both seen as someone who is not concerned with the principles of right and wrong and lack any type of empathy. However, Perry is not evil because of the way Capote conveys him with empathy and innocence throughout the novel.

This story centers around Miss Strangeworth, who was raised and currently resides in the town built by her descendants. Miss Strangeworth is immensely prideful in her family's legacy and believes that the town belongs to her. As the last surviving family member, she feels it is her duty to “fix” all that is wrong in town and rid it from all of its evil by saying, “The town has to be kept clean and sweet, but people everywhere were lustful and evil and degraded, and needed to be watched; the world was so large and there was only one Strangeworth left in it” (Jackson 178). Miss Strangeworth believes that she is the good amongst evil and it is her job to stop her evil neighbors in her town. Miss Strangeworth’s method of trying to “fix” the problems is by taking daily walks in town and observing the behavior of others. She then writes anonymous letters to the people she feels need assistance and has the letters mailed to their homes. The content of the letters varied; some were insensitive, degrading, or blatant lies. As Miss Strangeworth constructs her handwritten message, she feels pleased because she would not want to do anything else. Consequently, the actions of Miss Strangeworth cause the townspeople to feel anxious as well as animosity amongst each other. The townspeople have no idea who is fabricating the letters, which allow Miss Strangeworth to continue her crusade for a year. Eventually, Miss Strangeworth’s handwritten critiques of the townspeople become public. One evening, a teenage boy observes Miss Strangeworth delivering her notes at the post office. One of the letters fell onto the ground without Miss Strangeworth noticing. Instead of placing the letter into the mailbox, the boy delivers this message to the addressee, informing the recipient it came from Miss Strangeworth. The

In life, the world one lives in is always assumed to be the reality, without anyone questioning its credibility. As Iris Murdoch once said, “[People] live in a fantasy world, a world of illusion. The great task in life is to find reality.”(Iris Murdoch Quotes). In The Allegory of the Cave by Plato, prisoners are trapped in a cave and chained so that they are to face a wall and only see the shadows of objects that pass behind them. However, one prisoner is released and forced out into the reality, allowing the reader to understand that the world one sees and experiences is not the reality, but rather an illusion. Similarly, in The Truman Show by Andrew Niccol, Truman Bank has been growing up in Seahaven Island, a place created just for him to live in for a television show that is all about him. Throughout the film, Truman realizes that Seahaven is not the real world, and viewers see his journey to get out of this illusion, and into reality outside the false world. Both The Allegory of the Cave and The Truman Show prove that the physical world is an illusion that prevents one from discovering reality. The concept of illusion versus reality is evident in both works through similarities in plot, similarities in symbolism, and differences in character.

Throughout the movie, Truman begins to realize that the whole world revolves around him and how the producers of the show have created his reality, thus developing his sociological imagination. To start,

Miss Strangeworth shows no mercy when she anonymously reveals secrets about the family and lives of people in her community. She has the option to politely confront people and gently tell them anything she deems necessary however, she chooses to write cruel, insensitive letters in secret. She demonstrates

In the short story “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” a family of six meets their demise on the side of the road in Georgia after a gang of convicts lead by The Misfit brutally murders each member of the family. The story starts off in an upbeat tone and sets up a seemingly happy plot about a family going on vacation to Florida. However, the grandmother does not listen to her son about taking her cat on the trip and her disobedience ultimately leads to all of their deaths. The author changes the tone of the story at the end when the family gets into a wreck and faces a gruesome death by a crazed armed killer on the loose (O’Connor#). The grotesque psychopathic nature of the characters in Flannery O’Connor’s, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” ironically shows how a good man does not truly exist through the revelation and proclamation of what characteristics a good man possess.

The struggle a someone can go through to test if they have control over their life, or to find out if their destiny has been decided can be shown throughout literature and film. In The Truman Show existentialism plays a big role into how this program is created. The Production of this film is simulated by tiny cameras placed secretly around a small town inside a dome. These cameras are used to follow around a man named Truman Burbank, and record his life. Essentially creating a popular T.V. show that is on 24/7. Since Truman in oblivious to the existence of his reality, he is experiencing existentialism. In The Truman show, director Peter Weir, expresses existentialism by showing us how Truman Burbank experiences isolation, the urge of craving

Woman have since suffered throughout history and were trying to find a voice for themselves since the dawn of time. Abigail Adams is a phenomenal woman who influenced and spoke for all women’s rights within the time period of the 1700s to the early 1800s because they struggled to have a voice for themselves. The book “Abigail Adams: A Revolutionary American Woman” written by Charles W. Akers depicts how she grew up to be the woman she was known for till this day. She was born Abigail Smith to the parents of William and Elizabeth Smith on November 22, 1744 in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Her parents had taught her three sisters and herself on how to be patient within life and never speak badly of those who are not presently around, they also had

The life of Truman Burbank is founded on a enormous secret. He is the unwitting and unsuspecting main character of a reality television show named The Truman show. Ever since the day Truman was born has a TV company broadcasted his every move. Truman 's whole life has taken place in a tremendous dome and everybody in his surrounding are hired actors. During his thirtieth year does the film begin and he recognises occurrences that all appears to be centred on him. He gradually gets more suspicious about his environment and tries to escape it. The producers of the show are determined not to reveal the secret about Truman 's existence. The film ends when Truman has outsmarted the TV company and walks out of the dome.

When in the wrong hands, power can be used as a weapon to exploit and belittle others. If power is misused, it usually leads to dire consequents, like in A Thousand Splendid Suns, where two women fall victim to those who control them. In the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hosseini proves that once a person is promoted to a place of authority, he or she will inevitably become corrupted by the power that he or she holds.

Power can have the persuasive action in undoing the moral ethics of one’s character. This can be seen throughout history, such as World War II and proven by the actions of Napoleon in the allegory, Animal Farm, by George Orwell. As Lord Acton said “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In history what was viewed as a villain, is never the same as the perception. A leader does not begin wanting to do wrong, they start with the best intentions, but power is a tricky thing. As someone gains more and more power, they increasingly become corrupted with that power.

In the movie The Truman Show, the idea is presented of a world similar to that experienced by Descartes. It shows the qualities that were relevant to Descartes’ development of knowledge and how he proved that the world existed, and how it allowed Truman to find the world around. Once Truman was able to prove that he existed, and that the evil genius did not, he was then able to see Christof in a more dual role as both the Evil Genius and God on his quest to finding out who he truly is.

The movie Pleasantville and the short story Possibility of Evil have both similarities and differences. Both works show how everyone, in every situation, is flawed in some shape or form. However they begin to show differences later on in their plots. The type of flaw that is portrayed is different for each story; one is uncontrollable while one is a choice. The two stories also have a different outcome; it rather ends with acceptance or with revenge. It is only by understanding both stories that one can decided which one is an example of differences or dysfunctions.