In the texts on my comparative course we find subject matter that is either largely depressing or optimistic, and thus suggests to us authors and texts whose outlook on life is largely pessimistic or optimistic.Lies Of Silence:The subject matter of LS reveals a dark outlook. The central point of the text is on the dominance of the IRA in Northern Ireland, as they attempt to use the influence of a hotel manager, Dillon, to bomb an opposing political gathering at his hotel and later their blackmailing of him with threats to his wife’s life so as to keep masked the identities of those involved in the plan.
Dillon is eventually forced to uproot and move to London, in an attempt to escape the IRA and the chaos they impose on his life. Dancing at Lughnasa:Similarly ,DAL reveals a bleak outlook because of the subject matter it focuses on. The text focuses in part on the modernisation of Ireland. This reveals a dark outlook in life as many in the text struggle to adapt to this, such as Agnes and Rose who lose their knitting jobs because of the opening of a nearby knitting factory, reflecting the transformation of Ireland into a modern, economized country.
Many in the country, unfamiliar to such a way of life, struggle to deal with this, such as Agnes and Rose who cannot work in such conditions. With no money as a result of their jobs lost to the more effective factory, they are forced to leave, emigrating to England, where they struggle even more. Michael finds Agnes dead and Rose in a hospital for the destitute twenty-five years later, indicating that modernization is not effective and beneficial to all – while it has contributing to turning our country into what we are used now, modernization left behind many who were used to life before its conception.Billy Eliot:Like In DAL And Los in Billy Elliott the text concentrates on Billy’s family challenging his personal desires.
Billy’s one desire is to dance, ballet dance , but must do in secret due to his father forcing him to take boxing lessons to carry on the family tradition. When Billy’s family discover he is using money his father works extremely hard for , for ballet lessons instead of boxing, Jackie Elliott Billy’s father is disgusted and outraged as this is “not what boys do” . When his dance teacher tells them about an audition Billy should attend in London, they forbid him from his passion, meaning that Billy must then dance in secret to satisfy his desire.Characters that share a particular vision of life.Another way the general vision and viewpoint of texts can be similar or different due to their characters sharing a particular vision of life.
In each of the texts we see characters sharing a particular vision of life, in which they accept isolation as part of their lives, which suggests either a bleak outlook on life from each of the texts and their authors, as they portray life forcing characters to settle for a life in which they struggle or suffer.Lies Of Silence:In LS members of the world such as Dillon do not challenge his obstacles. He prefers to run from them, eventually leaving Belfast to begin a new life in London. This is similar to all in the world of the text; his wife Moira initially plans to challenge the IRA but eventually realises the severity of doing so and turns compliant, like Dillon.Dancing At LughnasaDAL contrasts from LS as Kate attempts to challenge her obstacles in DAL, but this reveals a dark outlook. She attempts to bring Jack for walks each day in the hope that he will return to normal, return to the church, and go back to saying mass, as his paganism challenges her Catholic faith.
However she cannot overcome this obstacle: Jack is too intertwined and fascinated with the working of paganism, proven with the death of the rooster near the text’s end, which it is presumed Jack strangled as a sacrifice. The text thus shows that even when a character challenges their obstacles, often they cannot and will not be overcome.Billy Eliot: Also in contrast to Los and Dal in Billy Elliot We see characters challenging their obstacles , which reveals a bright outlook. Billy challenges the opinions of those around him society and his family because Billy continues to chase his dream, although he is forbidden to.
This is shown vividly when Billy stands up to his father and when caught dancing in the boxing hall he does not deter or stop from dancing but only courageously dancing to stand up to his father. As the almost army marching music builds up billy releases all his inhibitions onto the dance floor .This is when Jackie realises his son’s gift of dancing the next immediate scene we see Jacie go to mrs Wilkinson to see if billy can get another audition and thus Billy has overcome one of his major obstacles. Aspects of life texts concentrate onAs well as characters sharing a vision of life, another element of general vision and viewpoint which shows that general vision and viewpoints of different texts can be similar or different is the aspects of life that texts concentrate on.
In each of the texts on my comparative course the texts focus on subject matter which occurs for reasons and creates results dark, presenting the audience with negative outlooks on life, or the opposite, presenting positive outlooks on life with bright aspects of life.Lies of Silence:LS focuses on dark aspects of life, such as civil strife, seen clearly with The Troubles of Northern Ireland where the IRA attempted to seize power of the country in an underhanded manner. Dillon is threatened with death and urged by many around him ,such as Moiras parents for example, to move away from the home he has known all his life, because the IRA have marked him as a threat. Dillon is an example of many in this time, whose lives were completely changed and often ended because of the IRA.DAL similarly brings a bleak outlook with the aspects of life it focuses on such as growing up, as we view Michael doing so. However this reveals a dark outlook as it shows us that what is (partially) needed to do so is to shed ties with and depart from those who raised and nurtured you.
Michael’s withdrawn nature from the rest of his family during the play foreshadows his leaving and he admits that when it was time to leave he was happy to, hinting again at the need to do so if one wants to grow up.Dancing at Lughnasa: DAL similarly brings a bleak outlook with the aspects of life it focuses on growing up, as we view Michael doing so in the play, which reveals a dark outlook. The drama suggests that to grow up one must sever ties with and depart from those who raised and nurtured them in childhood. However in the text this creates tragedy, as it merely increases the fragmented nature of the family that is created initially by the escape of Rose and Agnes to England.Michael’s withdrawn nature from the rest of his family during the play foreshadows his leaving and he admits that when it was time to leave he was happy to, hinting again at the need to do so if one wants to grow up: he does not show much regret at his departure’s contribution to the decline of his family, which compounds the tragic nature of this as it suggests he will not return, nor does he hold a desire to.
Billy Eliot:In contrast to both Dal and los in billy elliot the outlook of the main aspects is slightly more bright and optimistic. The focus here is on the family. Even though Billy’s family do not approve of his dancing, they are still supportive in general. On numerous occasions in the text Billy’s father is seen embracing his sons.
True love is shown when Jackie couragesly askes mrs Wilkinson for another audition. Also when tony says to billy that he will in fact miss him when he is gone shows brotherly love. This shows that despite there being problems and disagreements in the family, there is love present also. This makes the film quite realistic in its portayal of a family as it shows the underlying love and support that is always present in a functional family. Impressions created by closing scenes of textsThe final element of general vision and viewpoint which shows that the general vision and viewpoints of texts can be similar or different is the impression created by the closing scenes of each texts. In the texts on my comparative course we may see some resolution to the problems or obstacles in the lives of characters in the texts, but elsewhere there is no such resolution, thus revealing again bright or bleak outlooks on life.
Lies of silence:In LS there is no resolution. Dillon escapes to London, but is killed by an undercover IRA man. The book shows us that at its end Dillon can never escape the influence of the IRA, as they are not confined to Ireland. The ending does nothing but dishearten us, as it shows that once someone is marked by the IRA there is little or no hope of escaping,Dancing at lughnasaDAL mirrors LS with no resolution at the end, as Michael reveals what happens to the family. They do not stay together, but rather the family disintigrates.
Uncle Jack dies, Michael leaves, Rose and Agnes leave and die. That the family are together at the end is more poignant than happy, as we realise that this is the last time they will even be together, and that members of the family are already planning their escape.Billy Eliot: In BE there is resolution. Billy’s father eventually accepts Billy’s personal freedom and allows him to dance ballet, bringing him to London himself for auditions. At the end of the film it is shown that this has provided him with his dream, as he dances in Swan Lake. This shows that problems can be overcome, with perseverance.
The general vision and viewpoint of texts can be quiet similar or different. This is seen with several elements of general vision and viewpoint from the above texts, subject matter revealing a bright or dark outlook, characters sharing a vision of life, aspects of life texts focus on and the impression created by the closing scenes of the texts
