Thursday, October 23, 2008
Harold and Maude
I had a difficult time finding decent essays to use for our Harold and Maude paper. I had a good idea of what I wanted to say about the movie, and chose an essay that seemed to agree with my point of view. What stood out the most to me in the movie and the essay was Maude's personality. At first she seemed like a crazy old lady. But as the movie progressed we find out that Maude has lived a full life filled with happiness and tragedy. She was a carefree spirit despite the atrocities she faced in her youth during the Holocaust. I wonder how it is possible for anyone to achieve any sort of happiness after living through such hell. I think that Maude chose her eightieth birthday to commit suicide with great care. Maude was not depressed, or mentally ill. Maude was asserting control over her life by choosing the time and place, rather than the unknown. She wanted to end her life under her own terms. The movie was done well in a creative and interesting manner.
Making the assertion that Maude was taking control of her own life in her suicide is pragmatic at best. The suicide was an expression of love, a love of life, but taking it in moderation, it would be selfish of Maude to live happily with Harold, it would be selfish of Harold to expect that (He did for a bit, but knew better). She was yes, in a practical sense taking control of her own life, but it wasn't necessary for her to exert any more control BECAUSE she already had all the control. Her suicide was a work of art she left for the world, a bittersweet trophy of a beautiful life --left to Harold.
ReplyDeleteZ (Cory)