Preview

Chocolat

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
839 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Chocolat
Chocolat

If we were all to rebel against what we've always known to be accepted, if we were to completely ignore the teachings of our elders and do the things we've been taught to be "evil" and "sinister", what would happen? This situation is one which occurs in a small and tranquil French town in the extract from Chocolat. Throughout the extract there are a variety of juxtapositions, polarizations, and much contrast building the subject. Joanne Harris creates a compelling story, but not without exaggerated or overstated situations.

Through reading the extract and analyzing each significant line of literature, we are able to understand the narrator and the young girl's character to a more advanced degree. In the extract, we first encounter Vianne with her daughter Anouk as they brave the harsh wind and settle into the new village. "We came on the wind of the carnival." The quoted piece of literature displays the sly exotic wind, a rather unusual one for February. To some extent, the wind presents the characters of Vianne and Anouk as they are independent and wild, the same as the wind that brought in the carnival. Reminiscent of the carnival, the narrator and her daughter are very bright and lively which is ironic as they settled the grey village during the time of the carnival. This piece of text also shows polarization; Light vs. Dark and Lively vs. Dull, as well as contrast between the town's people and the carnival. The polarization of Lively vs. Dull can be seen in the extract through the mentioning of fanciful tales. "...A dragon's head on a shield, Rapunzel in a woolen wig, a mermaid with a Cellophane tail, a gingerbread house all icing and gilded cardboard, a witch in the doorway...." Seeing that most of us have matured with the impression that fairy tales are magic- blissful, bright and fantastic, as we read this passage we can see how Vianne try's to keep magic alive in Anouk as well as in herself. Their itinerant from town to town represents this

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Caramelo

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Caramelo has been quite an interesting novel. It describes a Hispanic family to the tee. Sandra Cisneros chose her title perfectly for this book. Life 's hardships and possibilities are explored throughout this fascinating novel.…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Near the end of the short story, as the protagonist comes back to the stable from a long day of moving items from one location to another, she notices a difference in the stable she once thought was filled with magic. The narrator says,”...which had once seemed to me to contain more magic and charm than even the cave of Aladdin!” (Pg. 1084, par. 11) This particular comment tell the readers that the young girl sees the contrast in the one place she thought was filled with glamour. The images of the once magical and charming stable transforming into a dull, lifeless stable symbolises the illusion of one’s beliefs and how reality can alter their perspectives. In a way, the protagonist loses some innocence and will not be able to alter her outlook on the old location. This image displays that reality can be harsh, yet effective to those whose expectations are unrealistic. The “after” image of the stable represents a reality one has to face, and will be difficult to accept.…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The elements of evil live among the population. It has been that way since the creation of time. One can neither run nor hide from something so malicious. Unfortunately, the avoidance of evil can only be accomplished through instinct. On the other hand, the nature of evil is often neglected. As a result, the usage of evil can be misjudged or unaccredited by the human race. “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Minister’s Black Veil” are apparent to these essences of wickedness. In these works by Nathanial Hawthorne, the reader must analyze how evil coexists in everyday life. Even though individuals are subject to glance over evil and the concealing it holds, the presence of it should still be taken with appropriate measures.…

    • 534 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The character of choice when analyzing conflict in the film Chocolat is Vianne (The world famous Juliette Binoche). Vianne is the mother of a small girl named Anouk who moves to a small town in France to open a "Chocolaterie" or a chocolate store. While there Vianne changes the views of a town and its people while dealing with conflict at every turn. The best way to understand Vianne and her conflict is to follow the guide and questions below which open up insights to the movie and its star.…

    • 1724 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Would you commit a murder for a million euro? What if you knew you could not be arrested? What if, by doing so, you were ridding society of an injustice? In Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s play ‘Der Besuch der alten Dame’, he explores the question of human nature and how far an individual and a society will go in order to prosper financially. He examines whether consistent rationalization will eventually outweigh morality and drive a small town to murder one of their own citizens for the sake of economic benefit. Dürrenmatt employs many different techniques in order to do this in a memorable manner including using elaborate staging, striking symbolism and compelling thematic content. The structure of the language used reinforces specific meanings, whilst also keeping the reader captivated.…

    • 911 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Doubt Play Themes

    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The picture of the wind in the top right corner of the poster is used to symbolise change. This use of symbolism is shown in the play through stage directions “The sound of wind. Sister Aloysius pulls her shawl lightly about her and goes. After a moment, Sister James goes as well”. The wind storm is a symbol of trouble minds of the characters and troubled times ahead. In particular this windstorm symbolises the mind of Sister James, which is full of confusion and uncertainty after the words of Sister Aloysius. This also foreshadows the future problems that…

    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    3. This essay is packed with sensory detail. From the first sentence “dark autumn nights and ivory blossom which the commonest yellow-under wing asleep in the shadow of the curtain”. This makes us see something with an ugly connotation, shown in a bright, appreciative manor, creating a sympathetic relationship between her metaphor, and us, so that we don’t push aside the mercifulness because it is simply a moth. In the last two paragraphs, as well as the end of the first, she incorporates parallel imagery, a recurring up and down motion, capturing something, “cast up into the air; which after a few moments, sank slowly back…

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Maman Monologue

    • 1335 Words
    • 6 Pages

    It was as if François had wanted to be caught, the door was left carelessly open for all of France to see. Maid gossip assured that it was the talk of the town before we even dined at breakfast, Charlotte’s hushed dismissal was flurry of protests and tears as we couldn’t possibly be associated with her tarnished chastity more than we already were. The disgrace! I suspect she’ll live out her days as an old maid, poor girl, just a pawn in François’ sick…

    • 1335 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Rogers Chocolate

    • 2731 Words
    • 11 Pages

    ▪ Thompson, Strckland, Gamble 2010, Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage. Concepts and Cases, 17th edn, McGraw-Hill Irwin, United States…

    • 2731 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    White Chocolate

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages

    White chocolate can be tricky to work with. When melted, the cocoa butter can split and create an oily compound that can be recovered by re-emulsifying. The melting point of cocoa butter is high enough to keep white chocolate solid at room temperature, yet low enough to allow white chocolate to melt in the mouth.…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chocolat Unfinished

    • 1145 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The 2000 film, Chocolat directed by Lasse Hallström is not only another food-film in the rows of Hollywood movies but a film that embodies the taking hold of feminism in a patriarchal and repressed society.…

    • 1145 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Analysis of Chocolate

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Chocolat is a 1999 novel by Joanne Harris that tells the story of how a young woman Vianne Rocher frees a little French village from the deceptive control of the village priest Frances Reynaud with the power of her captivating chocolates. In 2000, it was adapted for the big screen in a movie based on Harris' novel. Like many movie adaptations, the original story changes, some more than others. Chocolat, though, does a great job of keeping close to the original story and its characters. However, some of the differences are clear, for example, the narrators, the character relationships, and the antagonists. This essay will specifically interpret the compare and contrast of Francis Reynaud and the Comte de Reynaud, and how their character developments throughout the story affect the climax, as well as how the plots of the two stories may interconnect.…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Away Technqiues

    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “The storm is also a metaphor for the healing power of nature, paralleled by Gow’s use of light and the outdoors. The opening scene in the school hall has the fairies scurrying about in the “garish light”. After the storm “there is darkness” then the “light becomes warm and intense.” This indicates that a superficial life can be led but to truly understand oneself obstacles and hardships must be overcome but ultimately they lead to a greater understanding of self. Once the storm occurs, the play never again goes back indoors. Upon coming home, Away has completed a full circle but there is an off turn in the circle, in that the class is now outdoors “under the trees” not in the “garish light” of the school hall. Away and the chapter of the characters journeys closes at the conclusion of the play, but the journey itself continues “toward death”.”…

    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    FutureCola

    • 3345 Words
    • 20 Pages

    Q-2 What are the factors that have contributed to Future Cola’s growth so far? ............................. 10…

    • 3345 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Descriptive Writing

    • 802 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The clock tower, chiming with glee, stands at the villagers' side. Marking how many minutes and seconds the maiden has left. A madman's smirk carved onto the clock face; growing wider with every passing second. Every second she could have spent in an elegant field, far away from the inferno she is now trapped in. Gusts of air, carousels of agony, carry nothing but hate and pain. The piercing wind shrieks the word, an octave louder and louder than the last.…

    • 802 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays