10 Literary Quotes That Could Change Your Life

Learning from the great literary minds of the past and present to live a life of fulfilment and fun

Whether they be inspirational, comforting, instructive, life-affirming or just plain amusing some of the greatest quotes from literature teach us how to be a better person and how to get the most from this life of ours.

1. Jack Kerouac, On The Road

This beautifully written quote captures the joy of living a full and colourful life. Fill your time with people that enthuse you and inspire you, that make you feel alive. Attach yourself to the ones that can provide you with new experiences and new ideas.

2. Roald Dahl, The Twits

This is one of my favourite quotes. It shows that beauty can exist without a perfect exterior and that the true value of a person lies within their character. If you radiate kindness and goodness that will make you irresistible to others.

3. Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

Anne Frank’s words encourage generosity, kindness and altruism and promote the idea that the time to start making a change in the world is now. Do not wait for tomorrow.

4. J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

It is our choice to be a good person. Our strength of character is determined by what we choose to do rather than based simply on our natural gifts and talents.

5. Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

This is one of the most influential books of my life and narrowing its plethora of fantastic quotes down to just one is a difficult task. But I chose this quote as it emphasises the importance of empathy, tolerance and understanding. It also highlights the fact that we cannot judge everyone in terms of our own standards. Everyone is different and travelling along a different path to our own.

6. John Milton, Paradise Lost

Milton suggests that happiness is less about circumstance and more about perspective. The key is to be aware of the mind’s power to alter how you feel, so perhaps take a step back and look at situations more objectively.

7. William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Where would we be without a snippet of Shakespeare’s wisdom on this list?

8. Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

This quote speaks for itself: never give up dreaming and don’t let hardships or monotony extinguish your burning fire for life. Perseverance, belief and determination will make your dreams come true.

9. Mark Twain

Twain’s words here pertinently sum up a zest for life and the significance of living for today, in the moment. Don’t wait for happiness, go out and catch it.

10. E. E. Cummings

So go ahead and keep on laughing.

Richard Curtis and the English Middle Class Myth

When the name, Richard Curtis, is brought to mind, one instantly thinks of confetti-ridden happy endings, gleaming wedding gowns and the several key questions that float around his scripts: what makes us English and what is the English ideal? Yet his romantic comedies can be seen to neglect a comprehensive vision of English society, ignoring the working class and solely focussing on the educated, moneyed elite.

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), arguably Curtis’s most popular and successful screenplay. In this film, along with several of his others, the Oxford-educated screenwriter seemingly sets out to portray the quintessential English life, playing with twee stereotypes and middle-class caricatures to cement an idea of what it means to be English. Many jokes are centred on this thought during the narrative, such as when Hugh Grant’s protagonist, Charles, remarks: “Do you think there really are people who can just go up and say, "Hi, babe. Name's Charles. This is your lucky night?"” To which Matthew responds: “Well, if there are, they're not English.” This self-aware and self-referential comedy is a key feature of Curtis’s scripts.

Yet this hazy, idealistic, middle-class bubble of ‘true’ English life is only broken at one instance, in Four Weddings, to represent a lower class environment. Significantly, the only moment that does delve into this territory is when the only funeral of the film takes place. Black smoke billows from the factory chimneys as the characters line up in black to mourn their friend, Gareth. Not only does this distinct working class environment and industrial, grey backdrop mirror the tragedy of the death of the extravagant and high-spirited character, it also implicitly associates darkness, poverty and misery with the working class. In the dense midst of weddings, four to be precise, happiness and moneyed comfort, this class distinction is even more prominent.

                          

                                

There is a marked difference when we compare Curtis’s depiction to the work of other contemporary British screenwriters who inject comedy, colour and vibrancy into their working class representations. Shane Meadows, another prominent British film maker, portrays a contrasting exploration of class in his films, most notably in This is England, the film (2006) and TV series (2010-). This is England '90 is due out this year. Though often dealing with the bleak, harsh realities that his characters have to face, his scripts are scattered with light-hearted relief and humorous fun through the escapades of Woody and company, in a thoroughly working-class and grittily realistic environment. This is far removed from the dreamy, middle class, English ideal of Four Weddings.

Perhaps this avoidance of working-class reality in Curtis’s creations is for the benefit of the American audience. Around 20 to 30 per cent of his films' global grosses regularly come from the US. The stereotypical American perspective of British culture made up of toffs, suits, appealing eccentricity and clipped plummy accents is central. Hugh Grant has immortalised this charming, bumbling Brit forever. For audiences across the pond, these films show a glamorised English world of sunshine, sentiment and confetti. It is also important to note that the central love interest in many of Curtis’s imaginary worlds is an American outsider. This is an archetypal character in Curtis’s back catalogue and comes in the form of Andie MacDowell in Four Weddings, Julia Roberts in Notting Hill (1999) and Rachel McAdams in About Time (2013). They act as a counterpart to their English lover, the enchanting foreigner, who further highlights the ‘Englishness’ surrounding them.

About Time contains all the traditional features in trend with his previous films. Domhnall Gleeson, plays the Hugh Grant equivalent looking for love, in this story of well-off individuals in a white-dominant community. It is optimistic, with not even a whisper of financial hardship or day-to-day problems. With money never being an issue the protagonist can just worry about the important things in life, like falling in love.

Whether it is snobbery or a comforting ideal of domesticated life, this dreamy, one-sided version of British life is limited and only inhabits the white, middle class. Ethnic minorities are hidden from view and most strikingly so in Notting Hill. The real London borough is diverse and multi-cultural yet in Curtis’s representation it appears to be comprised, once again, of people of white, middle-class origins. So it appears that Curtis’s films are less about class divide and more about certain class avoidance. They are feel-good films for a certain middle-class audience about people who make up that middle-class audience themselves.

First published on Screen Robot at http://screenrobot.com/author/katie-avis-riordan/

Things Every True Harry Potter Fan Will Have Noticed

Delving into the unexplained mysteries of the Harry Potter books that have niggled in the back of many a true fan’s mind.

J. K. Rowling has been the first to confess that in her depiction of the intricate, imaginary world of Harry Potter, she may have slipped up a few times with inaccuracies and inconsistencies in terms of plot, character and situation. In the seven-book series, there are mysteries and loose ends that have gone unsolved or unexplained, however trivial, that the dedicated reader will have pondered upon.

Where are the professors' families?
Do the teachers of Hogwarts have husbands, wives or families of their own? They all appear to be celibate, solitary and sacrificing their personal lives for the service of the school. Though, admittedly, picturing Snape or McGonagall in any kind of romantic scenario seems absurd.

Why do they celebrate Christmas at Hogwarts?
Is there a place in the magical world for Christianity or any religion for that matter? Can magic co-exist with different religions? It makes you wonder about the origins of the magical institutions in relation to religious ones.

Why is the magical world so eurocentric?
The Triwizard Tournament only involves three magical schools from Europe: Britain, France and an unnamed cold, northern European country. What about wizarding schools and magic in other countries and continents? And is Harry Potter’s name as well renowned in say, Jamaica, or Peru, as it is in Britain? A lot of the battles and histories of magic we learn about are centred in Europe. Perhaps there are other villains and heroes with their own stories in different parts of the world.

How possible is giantess-man love?
Hagrid, with feet the size of baby dolphins and hands the size of dustbin lids, is the son of a regular-sized wizard and a giantess. How on earth did his mother and father get it on, in practical terms? The size difference would have been huge as giants can grow up to 25 feet in height.

Map mishaps
Fred and George Weasley were the owners of the Marauder’s Map before they passed it on to Harry in aid of mischief making. Yet, if they had been devoted to learning the map’s passageways and happenings, how did they not see the name Peter Pettigrew labelled when Scabbers was with them? After all, he was also Percy’s pet rat before he was Ron’s so surely he would have been in a visible vicinity to the twins.

How clean is the boy who lived?
When and where does Harry wash? He almost always just gets straight out of bed and goes either down to breakfast or on some kind of mission. There is the prefect’s bathroom but there is no description of a Gryffindor dormitory bathroom. And when he starts experiencing adolescence where and when does he shave?

Doesn’t Hermione miss her parents?
She spends her term times at Hogwarts and many of the holidays with Ron, Harry and the Weasleys. Does Hermione ever actually see her mum and dad?

Does Harry keep certain abilities after Voldemort's downfall?
For instance, can Harry still speak Parseltongue after the piece of Voldemort that was in him has been destroyed?

Priori Incantatem inaccuracy
During the scene of Priori Incantatem in Goblet of Fire, Voldemort’s wand regurgitates its spells, with the most recent first. As they should have been revealed in reverse order to when they actually died, Lily should have erupted from the wand before James, as he died first. This is the opposite of how it is presented in the book.

Hogwarts birthdays
Why don’t we ever see a celebration of Ron or Hermione’s birthdays even though both days fall during term time at Hogwarts?


First published on ReadWave at www.readwave.com/katie.avis.riordan/

The Wolf of Wall Street: Review

Time to Tame Those Carnivorous Critics

Many reviewers rained down with negativity on Scorsese’s apparent avoidance of dealing with the moral issues that lie dormant at the centre of The Wolf of Wall Street. The suffering of the clients at the hands of the ego-maniacal Jordan Belfort and co. was simply neglected they exclaimed. Yet it is precisely this avoidance that makes this film, in fact, a more accurate portrayal of their self-indulgent trading lifestyle. The stock brokers living in their excessive, hedonistic bubble are oblivious to the harsh realities of the outside world and the anguish they have caused. Scorsese perfectly reflects this surreal, extraordinary and walled-in world where money, sex and drugs flow freely from the Wall Street tap.

With this said, the audience is invited to share in this sordid and exclusive existence and are, themselves, seduced and intoxicated by the vibrant, buzzing, electrifying debauchery. It is almost impossible not to be amused and greatly entertained by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill’s antics and misadventures. There are so many laugh-out-loud moments that only serve to add to the audience’s complicity with, and pleasure of, this decadent vacuum of a film.

Verdict: It is funny, sexy, exhilarating, glitzy and glamorous. Yet there are darker and more sinister moments that cut through this façade, a juxtaposition that leaves the audience feeling rudely unsettled like in those cold, sharp moments of sobriety amidst a sea of drug-fuelled, escapist frenzy.

12 Years a Slave: A Matter of Colour

If you haven’t heard of Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave by now you must have been living under a rock for the past few months. This film is the talk of the moment, with much buzz about the anticipation of success at the Oscars and the hope that McQueen will be the first black director to win the academy award. But what makes 12 Years stand out from the other high calibre films of the season? What is it about this film that has critics raving and audiences eagerly filling the seats of the nation’s cinemas?

This historical drama, based on a true life memoir, follows the journey of Solomon Northup, played beautifully by Chiwetel Ejiofor, a free black man kidnapped and sold into a life of slavery in 1840’s America. Along the way he encounters several memorable white plantation owners all with varying views and practices on the treatment of slaves. To name a few, Michael Fassbender’s sadistic and possessive character, Edwin Epps, disturbingly lingers in the mind long after the credits have rolled and Paul Dano’s John Tibeats embodies the petty cruelty and small-minded racism that plagued much of the Deep South in the duration of Solomon’s life and beyond. The beatings, torture, rape, lynching and degradation that the slaves experience are harrowingly depicted in this unflinching portrayal of the brutality and tragedy of a slave’s life. There is one scene in particular that seems to have been brandished on my mind. Without mentioning spoiler details, the scene was executed with such a steady, torturously long gaze at the barbaric ferocity of the slave’s abuse at the hands of the all-powerful master that many fellow cinemagoers and I could barely keep our hands from shielding our eyes. And it is precisely this honesty that sets the film apart; it is not afraid to deal with the most distressing situations and examine them under the full beam of spotlight.

One of the other outstanding aspects of 12 Years is how beautifully and artistically it is shot, making it easy to appreciate the director’s background as a visual artist (he won the Turner prize in 1999). There is a strong emphasis on the interplay between shadow, light and colour within the film. Some scenes are brimming with a heady mixture of close ups and colours creating a dizzying and almost overwhelming effect, heightening the chaotic and traumatic circumstances in which the protagonist finds himself. This accent on colour further highlights the key themes of the film, this fascination with a certain colour, a certain skin type. McQueen also often throws us into the majestic beauty of the natural environment in which Solomon is working, placing beauty and brutality side by side. The stunning, glowing red sunset filtering through the ancient trees almost an inverse reflection of the red welts ripped across naked black flesh. This powerful contrast accentuates the true devastation and tragedy of the story.

Slow-paced and thoughtful, the narrative focuses on the small details to great tragic effect like Solomon’s attempts at writing a letter with ink made from blackberry juice and his gift for playing the violin. In one particular scene, as he tunes the instrument, the tightening of the musical strings leaves us with the expectation of a snap; a fraught and unsettling atmosphere ensues in the place of something which should be joyous and merry. This disturbing juxtaposition is observed in several instances throughout the film where fun and danger, laughter and fear, merriment and anxiety lie side by side, and, like prey stalked by a crouching tiger, the slaves are under constant and imminent threat of violence and abuse. The cast are superb at highlighting this helplessness and sheer vulnerability, and convey how the sought after solidarity between each other was near impossible due to the torturous techniques and actions of their oppressors.

In addition to the great acting and creation from cast and crew, Hans Zimmer’s haunting musical score floats and weaves throughout the film, creating a subtle atmosphere of pathos, tragedy yet resilience. McQueen’s film is heart breaking, yet in many places uplifting and a true display of the rewards of courage, enduring love and the will not just to survive but to live, a testament to the human spirit. Watch this film and it is clear to see where those appraising critics are coming from!

Tom Hardy’s Neglected Character

When people talk about the English actor, Tom Hardy, the characters that most often come to mind are Bane, Batman’s mask-wearing arch-nemesis in The Dark Knight Rises (2012), or Charles Bronson, the notorious violent prisoner in Nicolas Winding Refn’s Bronson (2008). But a performance of Hardy’s that unduly slips under the radar is that of Stuart Shorter, a homeless alcoholic with a traumatic past, in the British TV movie, Stuart: A Life Backwards (2007). 

Alongside an ever adept Benedict Cumberbatch, Hardy touchingly and convincingly brings the character to life, through a striking mixture of vulnerability and aggression. Stuart is a complex and contradictory soul, gentle and softly spoken yet prone to violent outbursts. The performance allows the audience, simultaneously with Cumberbatch’s Alexander, to unwrap the rough, profanity-ridden exterior of the worn-skinned, lager-holding homeless man to find a sweet, funny and caring individual. Hardy’s Stuart mumbles and swears his way through this personal story with subtle intelligence and creativity, imparting intuitive ideas, and, though ravaged by drug and alcohol abuse, his mind seems sharply focussed on what he believes in and his principles. The catalogue of idiosyncrasies that Hardy portrays, like the omission of strange noises of surprise and pleasure, never come across as staged or artificial but real and natural. 

So this film is a must see for any Hardy fans out there. It is unpretentious, unsentimental yet terribly moving, heartfelt and gritty, and a story that brings both laughter and tears. And this neglected performance needs to be brought into the light.