Halloween Sacrifice

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Halloween (1978), directed by John Carpenter, is an independent film that was one of the first to be categorized in the “slasher” genre. The film tells the tale of the “boogeyman” Michael Myers that murders his older sister on Halloween night of 1963. He is admitted to a psychiatric ward; however, in 1978, Myers escapes and returns back to his suburban hometown, Haddonfield. The Tzvetan Torodov narrative styled film follows Myers as he successful murders Annie Brackett, Lynda van der Klok, and unsuccessfully attempts to murder Laurie Strode. In Jon Pahl’s article, Sacrifice, Pahl delves into the theme of sacrifice in film. He proposes that a sacrifice may be identified via four key elements, “selection of a victim,” “substitution of a victim or object for a larger group,” “killing the victim or object” and “catharsis.” Given this definition, it is evident that Halloween …show more content…
Hence, this paper aims to further investigate the film’s sacrificial elements. In particular, sacrifice on the basis of “creat[ing] or uphold[ing] the social order” and “the indoctrination of youth” will be analyzed in Judeo-Christian and Feminist perspectives, respectively. To begin, the theme of “assur[ing] American purity or innocence” is conveyed via the film’s sacrificial murders of Annie and Lynda. As Pahl states “the meaning of any cinematic sacrifice, in short, remains contingent upon individual viewers drawing upon broader patterns of discourse, practices, communities and institutions across society.” Thus, from a Judeo-Christian community’s perspective, it may be interpreted that the murders were carried out due to the notion of premarital sex or sexual immorality as an act of sin. This may be interpreted as in every instance that fornication is expressed, or even suggested, in the situation of Annie, whom does not actually partake

Halloween Origin Country

Halloween Origin Country Halloween is an internationally recognized holiday that is celebrated on the last day of October annually. The holiday has adapted with time and tradition and has managed to stick around for at least 2,000 years. But where in the world did Halloween originate? Halloween Origin Country There has been a lot of debate about the origin country of Halloween, because Halloween didn’t just appear in a region, it appeared in a culture. Halloween first appeared 2,000 years ago with…

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Spanish Essay “El Días Los Muertos” (Day of the Dead) is a day Hispanics use to remember, and honor those who die/passed away. Gifts such as food, flowers, pictures are put on the person's tombstone. Halloween has a different concept to it. Halloween was a day created by Celtic paganism and the British Isles. They believed that the 31 of October was the day ghosts and spirits came out to haunt people. To appease the spirits they would offer candies and treats to the spirits. In summary both of…

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It seems Halloween spooks more adults than kids. Every year, parents around the country check their children’s newly acquired candy stashes for razors embedded in apples, needles in Twizzlers, and cyanide in Hershey’s. Every year, local news outlets will warn parents to check unsealed treats lest their bedsheet-clad child turn into a real ghost. The surprising truth is no child has ever died from tampered-with Halloween candy; no, not one. Every alleged case of a candy-related poisoning has been…

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Wonder Augie Character Analysis

but, I think otherwise. There are many reasons why I think that. First of all, she cares a lot about Augie. There are many reasons why I think this. For example, when August was not feeling well on Halloween. Via tried to cheer him up and she wanted him to go trick or treating because Halloween is his favorite holiday. Another reason is August was going to school for the first time and she talked to him about it and tried to help him calm down. Lastly, when Augie was “sick” she did not tell her…

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Torture Is Cruel

try to escape. He leaves clues all around the house. Some may include keys, notes, riddles, and such. He then leaves them alone for some time, so they can try to escape. But after seven hours of trying to free themselves, he asks the victims to sacrifice one person in their group. This person would go into a room and never be seen again. And after an additional seven hours another would be sacrificed. And this would keep on going on until they were all sacrificed. And if no one was sacrificed, then…

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Jem Character Analysis Essay examples

through all these phases in the book and it highlights the “coming of age” theme in the novel. Jem thinks that now that he is older he can’t do “childish” things. An example of this can be found on page 338, “Jem considered himself too old for Halloween anyway; he said he wouldn't be caught anywhere near high school at something like that.” He think that he now is thirteen and in high school he can’t go with Scout to the Hallon…

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mr dksdk Essay

character Character Name What does this quote tell you about the person? “Take a paper out of the box. Davy” Mr. Summers shows us how Mr. Summers is a proponent of the pointless violence that claims one person’s life each year for sacrifice “We better get started, get this Mr. Summers over with, so’s we can go back to work.” hard working society. so hard working that even the murdering of a civilian is on a time table “That was done pretty fast, and now we’ve got to be…

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Still Me Inside Short Story

Or disguise who you are because you are nervous and scared to think about all the people that will despise you? Not being alone is a not a bad thing. People have been hiding their true identity for thousands of years. From people dressing up for halloween, people hiding their true selves for beneficial reasons, all the way to religious practices, people suppressing their true identity, masking physically and emotionally has been around for a long time. Masking one’s self can be done by hiding a person's…

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Imagery In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

Jackson writes,“The lottery was conducted-- as were the square dance, the teen club, the Halloween program…” (Paragraph 4). No one ever questions the lottery they just know it is supposed to happen. In today’s society, it is much similar as we have Easter eggs and Christmas trees. Even though not as severe, our traditions distract us from the…

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conformity kills Essay

to be, it just is. Rituals of random sacrifice have gone on in different cultures throughout history, such as the Aztecs, who believed that their bloodthirsty gods could only be appeased with human sacrifices. However this is not entirely different from our culture today because it is true that, “all societies have customs and rituals that their citizens take for granted” (Kennedy). Consider what we do for our holidays here in America, for example on Halloween we dress up in any imaginary character…

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