PowerPoint Presentation Literature Portfolio Nguyễn Văn Bá 2111510018 Topic 1 The character of Rhett Butler “Gone with the Wind” is a 1936 novel written by Margaret Mitchell, highly praised for its th.
Literature Portfolio Nguyễn Văn Bá - 2111510018 Topic 1: The character of Rhett Butler “Gone with the Wind” is a 1936 novel written by Margaret Mitchell, highly praised for its themes on love, survival, self-reliance, and the vivid depiction of America during and after the Civil War One of the reasons behind the novel’s success comes from its three-dimensional characters From main characters like Scarlett O’Hara to side characters like Mammy, all of them are portrayed thoroughly, which helps readers understand and sympathize with them easier, supporting the theme of the story greatly From a personal perspective, I, personally, love the character of Rhett Butler - the love interest as I believe he is the most complex character in this story From the very first moments readers are introduced to him, he appeared to be the typical alpha male He was confident, arrogant, and never takes “no” for an answer He was never afraid of judgment from his own society always willing to what he believed in and because of this, he was able to accumulate an enormous amount of fortune after the war His indifference towards the judgment of others is portrayed multiple times in the novel One prime example lies at the beginning of the book when all the men gathered to talk about the possibilities of war Rhett was the only one willing to say the harsh truth: ” I think it's hard winning a war with words There's not a cannon factory in the whole South I'm saying plainly, the Yankees are better equipped than we They've got factories, shipyards, coal mines and a fleet to bottle up our harbors and starve us All we've got is cotton and slaves and arrogance.” Additionally, he was one of the few men in the novel who does not fall victim to Scarlett’s charm, able to realize who she really was and accepted her for it All of these make him the perfect “bad boy”, which explained why many people are so attracted to him On the other hand, he possesses several negative personality traits which make him appear patriarchal After he was married to Scarlett, he grew resentful of her because of her love for another man, becoming needlessly cruel, bruising her, cheating on her, forcing himself on her, raping her, and running away Even before that, he was often needlessly cruel, emotionally manipulative, verbally abusive, and somewhat predatory in his behavior and intentions towards Scarlett, such as proposing to her when she was drunk Even when Scarlett did try to reach out to Rhett, he just coldly left with Bonnie Then, when he came back a Gone with the wind few months later to find out she was pregnant with the child that he knew was his, he tried to pretend that he had nothing to with it and says “Maybe, you’ll have a miscarriage” right before she fell down the stairs after he dodged her attempt to physically assault him in response However, underneath all of this behavior, we see a man who was deeply torn by love He loves Scarlett deeply, evident through his actions throughout the time he and Scarlett knew each other and through the conversation between him and Melanie Through their conversation, we learn that he was afraid of losing her, afraid that when he expresses all his love for her, she would leave him like every other man But it is because of this behavior, Scarlett was never able to realize his love for her and consequently, refuse to open her heart The irony here lies in that Rhett’s love for Scarlett prevented him from achieving his love It is the pain from not being loved that drove him to such negative actions to Scarlett It could be said that both Rhett and Scarlett were victims to the toxic relationship that was created by themselves and we could not stop feeling sad and pity about that In conclusion, throughout the novel, many readers would love Rhett, many would hate him and some would sympathize with him It is these various feelings towards Rhett that made him such an interesting character to read and analyse He is not one dimensional, he cannot be labeled as good or bad , he is just simply human Gone with the wind Topic 2: Theme of nostalgia in “Midnight in Paris” Midnight in Paris is a 2011 fantasy comedy film directed by Woody Allen Set in Paris, the film follows Gil Pender, a screenwriter, who was forced to confront the shortcomings of his relationship with his materialistic fiancée and their divergent goals, which became increasingly exaggerated as he traveled back in time each night at midnight Through it, Mr Allen wants to convey an important message about nostalgia The protagonist believed he was somehow out of place in the twentyfirst century He thought his life would be better if only he were born into the magical time of Paris of the 1920s artistic and literary renaissance This is a fairly common feeling that most of us all have experienced once in our lives Some of us dream of living in the old days when there were no smartphones and computers, some fantasize about when they were a kid, free of all responsibilities As the movie progresses, Gil became more obsessed with the past, feeling like that was the best time to be alive than his dull present, which was full of problems He, like the majority of people in some time of their lives, wanted to run away from that reality, willingly ignore the grace and glory of the present and ignore the brutality of the past However, at the end of the movie, Gil discovered that a change in time didn’t negate the pull to nostalgia As Gil began to fall in love with Adriana, he tried to figure out a way where they could belong together After they traveled to Belle Époque, Adriana fell madly in love with this time period Midnight in Paris just as Gil was in love with the 1920s.Here, both Adriana and Gill fight about what is seen as the golden age , which is a major moment between the characters; Adriana believing her past was the golden age, and Gil learning there will never be a golden age because he had realized how he was only trying to escape his present as “life becomes unsatisfying” and the illusions and dreams he has created that then he would be happy with the past He knew that there was no golden age and that the future was not as bad as it seems Finally, the movie ends with Gil letting go of his precious golden age to return and face his reality, accepting the problems that he is currently facing( his relationship with his fiancé) But it also signifies a new beginning as we can see in the last scene with Gil and Grabielle So in my opinion, Woody Allen wrapped up the theme of the movie quite nicely with this last scene: We all have nostalgia in one point of our life but we should never forget about the present Though it may be dull and challenging at times, it is worth living in Midnight in Paris Topic 3:The theme of marriage in “Pride and Prejudice” Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen would always be one of readers’ most favorites novels One of the reasons responsible for this comes from its satire of British society at the time through its character and the witty, amusing dialogue made within the novel, especially by Elizabeth One of the central themes that Austen illustrates greatly in the novel was the role of marriage in her society and through the characters and events in the story, Austen implicitly showed her critical comment against the idea Firstly, we can see that most of the characters in this novel are fixated with the idea that a woman can only be happy and accomplished if they are married to someone Furthermore, through multiple relationships in the story, Austen also suggested that in her society, love is a significant factors in a marriage, but by no means is it the most important one This is evident through the marriage of Charlotte, Elizabeth’s best friend, and Mr Collins Charlotte did not love Mr Collins, or even like him very much due his status-obsessed, conceited, narrow-minded and silly characteristics However, Charlotte was 28 at the time, she had no fortune, and she had no prospective suitors beyond Mr Collins Additionally, the society that she lived in didn’t provide any opportunities for a woman of her class to stand on her own As a result, she could only choose to live alone poorly for the rest of her life or go marry Mr.Collins, a pedantic fool that could provide her company, financial stability and status Given that choice, she had no reason but to accept Mr.Collins’ proposal As she said, “I am not a romantic you know I ask only for a comfortable home.” With this line of dialogue, Austen made it clear that for many women, marriage is an unfortunate economic necessity and was the only thing that could make them whole Another relationship that clearly illustrates this idea is the one between Jane Bennet and Charles Bingley Throughout the story, just like the main couple Elizabeth and Darcy, Jane and Mr.Bingley had to face many difficulties in their relationship And when Charles finally proposed to Jane at the end of the novel, many readers must be very happy, cheering for their love However, this would make some people forget the true origin of this marriage Although Jane was ideally suited for Mr.Bingley and had feelings for him, according to Austen, this was only second to the fact that marrying Bingley ensured the financial wellbeing of Jane and her family Midnight in Paris Jane was the oldest Bennet child, and if she had been a man, her father’s estate would have passed to her upon his death But the law mandated that the estate pass to Mr Collins, Mr Bennet’s oldest male relative As a woman, Jane had to save her family from going into poverty and support herself comfortably by landing a well-off husband Although we can feel happy in Jane’s and Bingley’s true affection for each other, Austen’s key point here is that society’s backward laws forced Jane to choose between marriage and the poorhouse Through these examples, we could see that the author was well aware of the sorrowful dilemma that women at her time had to go through and showed great contention against it, which was implicitly expressed by the character of Elizabeth Elizabeth was a smart, witty woman who did not follow the norm of her society Unlike other women, she refused to go into a relationship just for money or status This was evidently shown when Mr.Collins tried to propose to her If at the time, she had accepted his proposal, she would have been able to save their family from destitution and lift the burden off her sisters but Scarlett didn’t want to marry to someone she did not have feelings for, even if it meant money or safety Or even when Darcy, an even richer man, confessed his love for her the first time, she didn’t accept it because at the time, she simply didn’t love him back due to various prejudices against him Only later when she had truly known him and developed feelings for him did she accept it Through that, Austen wanted to heavily criticize the idea of marriage in her current society and thus, proclaimed that marriage, in the end, should come from love In conclusion, Austen’s emphasis on marriage should never be mistaken for an endorsement of its role in society Her witty dialogue and love plots are merely the tools for social commentary and challenges to the conventional wisdom Pride and Prejudice Topic 4: Opinions on the dialogue between Elizabeth and Lady Catherine during the end of the movie “ Lady Catherine: You can be at no loss, Miss Bennet, to understand why I am here Elizabeth: Indeed you are mistaken I can not account for this honor at all Lady Catherine: Miss Bennet, I warn you, I am not to be trifled with A report of a most alarming nature has reached me that you intend to be united with my nephew, Mr Darcy I know this to be a scandalous falsehood, though not wishing to injure him by supposing it possible, I instantly set off to make my sentiments known Elizabeth: If you believed it impossible, I wonder why you took the trouble of coming so far Lady Catherine: To hear it contradicted, Miss Bennet Elizabeth: Your coming here will be rather a confirmation, surely, if indeed such a report exists Lady Catherine: If? Do you then pretend to be ignorant of it? Has it not been industriously circulated by yourself? Elizabeth: I have never heard of it Lady Catherine: And can you declare there is no foundation for it? Elizabeth: I not pretend to possess equal frankness with your ladyship You may ask the questions, which I may not choose to answer Lady Catherine: This is not to be borne Has my nephew made you an offer of marriage? Elizabeth: Your Ladyship declared it to be impossible Pride and Prejudice Lady Catherine: Let me be understood Mr Darcy is engaged to my daughter Now what have you to say? Elizabeth: Only this - if that is the case you can have no reason to suppose he will make an offer to me Lady Catherine: Oh obstinate girl! This union has been planned since their infancy Do you think it can be prevented by a young woman of inferior birth, of no importance in the world and wholly unallied to his family? Whose own sister's elopement resulted in the scandalously patched-up marriage, only achieved at the expense of your uncle? Heaven and earth, are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted? Now tell me once and for all, are you engaged to him? Elizabeth: I am not Lady Catherine: And will you promise never to enter into such an engagement? Elizabeth: I will not And I certainly never shall Allow me to say, the arguments which you have supported this extraordinary application have been as frivolous as the application was ill-judged You have insulted me in every possible method and can now have nothing further to say I must ask you to leave immediately Good night “ Script from “Pride and Prejudice” (2005) Pride and Prejudice T he movie adaptation of the ever influential novel “Pride and Prejudice” has been considered to precisely depict the theme and tone of the original work Through the characters and their dialogue, themes on class, love and marriage are wonderfully presented and some of us cannot help but laugh and cheer towards the many satire illustrated in the movie, one of which is shown in the final dialogue between Lady Catherine and our main protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet In the dialogue mentioned, there are two distinct characters that symbolize two very different classes in society This encounter shows the tensions that their difference in social status had created Lady Catherine represents the snobbish proudful aristocrat who sees everyone below her She was interfering, rude, overbearing, and infatuated with her position and the justice of her own opinions, many of which were plainly absurd Throughout the conversation, she was extremely rude to Elizabeth, tried to oppress and lower her at every turn She felt her power exempts her from common decency, and she couldn’t believe that Darcy would choose Elizabeth So, she thought he must have been tricked It’s this snobbish manner when she talked that reflected her overtly preoccupation with social concerns and demonstrates her lack of appreciation for the richness of Elizabeth’s character Through that, the author wanted to criticize many of those in higher class at the time Not only did the author want to illustrate the vexatious behavior of Lady Catherine or the prideful aristocrats in general, she wanted to show her rebellion against them and this could clearly be seen through Eliza In this conversation, the author was able to describe all of the qualities that Elizabeth had embodied thus far, evidently shown in her dialogue The choices of words and mockery are so brilliant that readers were made to laugh at every line that Elizabeth gave, to cheer at her every comeback against Lady Catherine Elizabeth, of course, has not yet received a new proposal of marriage from Darcy and has no way of knowing if one is forthcoming, but her pride in herself and her love of Darcy allow her to stand up to the domineering Lady Catherine Pride and Prejudice With the expression of her beliefs, Elizabeth demonstrates the enduring strength of her will and self-respect The movie has done a great job in creating a fast-paced, back and forth dialogue between the two character, increasing the tension in the story to a climax In summary, Lady Catherine was the last barrier preventing Elizabeth and Darcy from being together But more than that, we could also see it as the representation of women in the old British society having the courage and intelligence to overcome those who disrespected them for their class Pride and Prejudice 10 ... in some time of their lives, wanted to run away from that reality, willingly ignore the grace and glory of the present and ignore the brutality of the past However, at the end of the movie, Gil... lies at the beginning of the book when all the men gathered to talk about the possibilities of war Rhett was the only one willing to say the harsh truth: ” I think it''s hard winning a war with words... sympathize with them easier, supporting the theme of the story greatly From a personal perspective, I, personally, love the character of Rhett Butler - the love interest as I believe he is the most