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Unit 1 Questions
11/1/06
1. Merriam Webster Online defines innocent as “free from guilt or sin
hero’s journey because it is the beginning step for each hero. The innocent stage
in a hero’s life is caused by a limited sense of awareness and is therefore the first
stage in the hero character arc. Without being exposed to the problem, the hero is
not called to adventure and thus will not complete or even start his heroic journey.
archetype from The Truman Show would be reality vs. perception. This question
has been pondered upon throughout all human history. In the film, Truman begins
as the innocent hero in that he is unaware that his perception is not reality. Series
of events such as the light falling from the sky and the radio station tuning into his
every movement, force Truman into a state of increased awareness and thus
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2. The Truman Show is full of concrete objects that represent other abstract
ideas also known as symbols. Three specific symbols I particularly like are the
relationship between land and water, the names of important characters in the
The symbol of land and water possesses many obvious qualities that are
taken quite literally. Objectively, land and water are strictly geographical terms
land and water are very specific and limited on the surface, but underwater—
symbolically, they mean so much more. Land in this case would represent
Truman’s consciousness and what is known to him. The water, on the other hand,
stands for all that is unconscious and unknown. Truman literally and symbolically
crosses this boundary when he goes out onto the “sea” and is hit in the face with
Names of the main characters in The Truman Show are particularly and
interestingly symbolic. The two specific characters are Truman and Christof. To
the most casual observer, these names are merely the names of characters in the
movie, but once again, symbolism brings so much more meaning to them. The
name “Truman Burbank” can be broken down into pieces according to his first
and last name. His first name, Truman, can be split into the smaller words, “true”
and “man” and his last name, Burbank, stands for the studio city in Southern
California based on its theatrical sets that fake actuality. When you put their
symbolic meanings together you see that Truman Burbank is a “true” “man” in a
“fake” place. This symbolic meaning is a great overview of the movie as the
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innocent hero tries to find truth and reality which is concealed behind the fake
perception of the world he lives in. The other name I found symbolic is Christof.
If one take the same approach and breaks down his name into components, it is
obvious that it is formed by combining the Son of God’s name, “Christ,” and the
preposition, “of.” The word Christ implies that a godly creator character, which
Christof fulfills, but leaves the word “of” which poses an important question:
The last and most recurring symbol in The Truman Show is the object of
bars. When take alone, bars are simply strips of metal used for architectural
limited conscious world and is being held back from discovering the truth and
reality of life.
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3.