ES+example+essay

“Describe an important idea in the text. Explain how verbal and/or visual features were used to help you understand this idea.”

 * Step 1:** Brainstorm ideas/film techniques.

Appearance and reality -mansion -Jim, Edward -Edward’s hands -costume -dialogue “don’t go” -lighting, music


 * Step 2:** Plan – decide on main points, put ideas in order

Intro.: topic, title, director, main points Background statement (brief summary) Para. 1: appearances (features) edward, mansion, kim? Jim? Para. 2: reality (features) of ed/mansion/kim Para. 3: moral of the story! Lesson/director’s purpose etc Concl.: summary


 * Step 3:** Draft

Appearance and reality was an important idea in the film “Edward Scissorhands” directed by Tim Burton. Features such as costume, lighting, music and dialogue helped the viewer understand that we can’t always judge people on appearances.

“Edward Scissorhands” tells the story of Edward, a man created with scissors for hands, who is taken from his isolated home to live with a suburban family. In the end, he is rejected by the townspeople because of his differences.

The idea of “appearance and reality” is shown through our first impressions of Edward and the mansion. Edward is portrayed as a scary and evil character. He is first shown in a long shot, crouching in the shadows of a ruined mansion. He has a dark leather costume with studs and buckles. His messy hair, scars, and scissor hands reinforce this intimidating monster-like appearance. The lighting is dark, and there is sinister music in the background.

However, in reality Edward is a gentle, caring person. We see this primarily through the dialogue. When Bill asks him what he would do if he found some money, he replies “Give it to my loved ones”. This shows that he thinks with his heart; his family is more important to him than right and wrong. In many ways he is childlike. When Peg asks him about his father, he says “he didn’t wake up”, showing he didn’t understand death. This impression is further developed when he tells Jim to “tell his parents and they’ll make him give it back.” An adult would go to the police, but in Edward’s world (as in a child’s) parents are the ultimate authority.  Through “Edward Scissorhands”, the director teaches us how we should treat people in real life. Many people we meet may not look like the typical good-looking person, but “Edward Scissorhands” shows us the most typical looking person may not be what you expect. Techniques such as costume, makeup and dialogue help us to understand this important life lesson of accepting people for their differences.

Appearance doesn’t always match up to reality. In the film “Edward Scissorhands”, Tim Burton helps us understand this idea by presenting Edward as a monster through use of techniques such as costume, makeup, props and lighting. The reality of Edward’s kind and gentle nature is a lesson to us all not to judge people before we get to know them.