In the film Bella and the two short stories “And of Clay We are Created” and “ The Lottery” there is a character or group of Characters who must take action on a particular plight. Each predicament has direct influence on the lives of one or more of the individuals. Isabel Allende, Shirley Jackson, and Alejandro Gomez Monteverde utilize the themes of family, culture, and passion to further emphasize and define these extreme situations and their outcomes.
One of the main themes influencing the outcomes in Bella and both short stories is family. In Bella, there are two different sides to family present. One is displayed with Jose’s family, which are shown to be very loving and connected with each other. This is best illustrated in the dinner scene. In this scene, the family is shown laughing and enjoying each other’s company. Simultaneously, Nina’s actions reveal that her character has another representation of family. Her awkward gestures hint that her family never acted this way. Furthermore, her character came from a broken home and the father of her unborn child is never present. …show more content…
This was the key reason she did not want to abort her child in the first place. She feared her daughter would end up having a broken childhood just as she did. Seeing how united and loving Jose’s family is, Nina did not hesitate with her decision to allow him to become Bella’s father. She knew that he would have given Bella a better start in life than she ever would of. In “And of Clay We are Created” family is also present. In the story a reporter, Rolf Carle, tries his absolute best to save the life of a young girl named Azucena who greatly reminds him of his sister, Katharina. Allende illustrates the protagonist’s memories of how he and Katharina would hide under the table together from their abusive father “forever embraced, alert to footsteps and voices” (257). This was an aspect that greatly contributed to his decision to stay the entire time with Azucena. He deeply regretted his decision to leave Katharina and did not want make that mistake again. In Jackson’s story, in “The Lottery,” a more twisted form of family is displayed. Traditionally, families are supposed to support and defend each other no matter the circumstance. This mindset, however, is not supported in the lottery, especially when Mrs. Hutchinson was chosen in the end. In this scene her husband “forced the slip of paper out of her hand” and “held it up” so the entire village could see (Jackson 7). The lack of hesitation to sell out one’s own wife into her death is enough to reveal that the locals of this town only cared about saving themselves in the end. But above all, their desire on having a devoted family is blocked by their need to maintain a culture. Thus, Culture had a large influence on the predicaments shown in “The Lottery” and “Bella.” In the short story, it is mentioned that the reason the lottery takes place is because of tradition. Old Man Warner even states that “there 's always been a lottery” and the towns who are rumored to be getting rid of it are a “pack of crazy fools” (Jackson 4). This proves that the strong culture that’s contained within this town is the direct reason why this dreadful poll takes place. The locals are so used to the tradition that they would never consider ending it. This is ultimately the reason why they go on with it in the story and murder Mrs. Hutchinson. In the film, there is a different type of culture present—Latino Culture. The movie takes place in California, which is known to be inhabited by many Hispanics. One of the main qualities of the Hispanic culture depicted in the film is how united and religious the Hispanic people are. Jose demonstrates these traits whenever with his Hispanic relatives and friends. This is a significant factor as to why he cared so much for Bella and wanted to become her father. Possessing these traits, he influenced Nina to not go through with her abortion and allow him to adopt Bella. Passion is a theme that is extremely present in both short stories and the film. Throughout the
One of the main themes influencing the outcomes in Bella and both short stories is family. In Bella, there are two different sides to family present. One is displayed with Jose’s family, which are shown to be very loving and connected with each other. This is best illustrated in the dinner scene. In this scene, the family is shown laughing and enjoying each other’s company. Simultaneously, Nina’s actions reveal that her character has another representation of family. Her awkward gestures hint that her family never acted this way. Furthermore, her character came from a broken home and the father of her unborn child is never present. …show more content…
This was the key reason she did not want to abort her child in the first place. She feared her daughter would end up having a broken childhood just as she did. Seeing how united and loving Jose’s family is, Nina did not hesitate with her decision to allow him to become Bella’s father. She knew that he would have given Bella a better start in life than she ever would of. In “And of Clay We are Created” family is also present. In the story a reporter, Rolf Carle, tries his absolute best to save the life of a young girl named Azucena who greatly reminds him of his sister, Katharina. Allende illustrates the protagonist’s memories of how he and Katharina would hide under the table together from their abusive father “forever embraced, alert to footsteps and voices” (257). This was an aspect that greatly contributed to his decision to stay the entire time with Azucena. He deeply regretted his decision to leave Katharina and did not want make that mistake again. In Jackson’s story, in “The Lottery,” a more twisted form of family is displayed. Traditionally, families are supposed to support and defend each other no matter the circumstance. This mindset, however, is not supported in the lottery, especially when Mrs. Hutchinson was chosen in the end. In this scene her husband “forced the slip of paper out of her hand” and “held it up” so the entire village could see (Jackson 7). The lack of hesitation to sell out one’s own wife into her death is enough to reveal that the locals of this town only cared about saving themselves in the end. But above all, their desire on having a devoted family is blocked by their need to maintain a culture. Thus, Culture had a large influence on the predicaments shown in “The Lottery” and “Bella.” In the short story, it is mentioned that the reason the lottery takes place is because of tradition. Old Man Warner even states that “there 's always been a lottery” and the towns who are rumored to be getting rid of it are a “pack of crazy fools” (Jackson 4). This proves that the strong culture that’s contained within this town is the direct reason why this dreadful poll takes place. The locals are so used to the tradition that they would never consider ending it. This is ultimately the reason why they go on with it in the story and murder Mrs. Hutchinson. In the film, there is a different type of culture present—Latino Culture. The movie takes place in California, which is known to be inhabited by many Hispanics. One of the main qualities of the Hispanic culture depicted in the film is how united and religious the Hispanic people are. Jose demonstrates these traits whenever with his Hispanic relatives and friends. This is a significant factor as to why he cared so much for Bella and wanted to become her father. Possessing these traits, he influenced Nina to not go through with her abortion and allow him to adopt Bella. Passion is a theme that is extremely present in both short stories and the film. Throughout the