Pycho by Alfred Hitcock
A running theme that is presented to the audience in Psycho is the opposition that exists between good and evil. This is shown throughout the movie among the different characters. Examples can also be taken from conflicts within the characters. Certain conflicts and how the characters deal with them and each other are what shape the structure of the movie. The perception that the audience receives of the characters change throughout the movie by the different conflicts that arise. These conflicts show the audience many sides of good and evil portrayed by the different characters. One of the first impressions of evil in this movie is the character Tom Cassidy. His character is an affluent middle aged gentleman. He portrays society's perception of America's upper class, snobbishly rich. Cassidy flaunts his money in Marion's face. He talks of his eighteen-year-old daughter who is getting married the next day. As her wedding gift he is buying her a house with forty thousand dollars cash. He claims that she has never had an unhappy day in her life. Though this is unrealistic, he proudly boasts about how his money is to thank for this. Another thought from Mr. Cassidy is that money does not buy happiness, but i
The audience is in disbelief at this point. The next scene takes place at the police station. Where a psychiatrist is busy talking to Norman. When he is done examining Norman he goes into the room where Lila and Sam are anxiously waiting. He then describes in detail what is going on in Norman's mind. After his explanation the movie goes into the room where Norman/Mother is sitting alone. There is a fly in the room with her and she knows that people are watching her. Her last thought that the audience hears is her saying "Why she wouldn't even harm a fly" (Hitchcock). Following the attack Norman's voice is heard panicky, over finding his mother with a bloody knife. Concern for the young woman in cabin one makes Norman run down the hill to the motel. He is horrified at the slaughter his mother committed. After almost becoming ill, he begins the unpleasant task of cleaning up. He does this because he feels it is his duty to fix his mother's mistakes. Just before Arbogast is ready to give up his search of the hotels, he encounters the Bates Motel. Deciding to check it out, he finds Norman in the office. Not seeing anything odd, he introduces himself and begins to ask questions about Marion Crane. Unable to get the answers he wishes, and sensing an uneasiness about Norman, he asks to look at the guest register. Recognizing the woman's handwriting, he again questions Norman who then begins to back away from the answers he had given previously. Getting some of the answers that he desired he leaves the motel and calls Lila and Sam from a pay phone. He proceeds to explain that Marion had been at the motel earlier in the week, but had only spent one night and had left early the next morning. Deciding that he needed some more questions answered, he told Lila that he was going to return to the motel but that he would meet them within the hour. Once inside the Bates' home Lila sneaks around carefully. She finds Mrs. Bates bedroom where everything is in perfect order, as if its been a long time since its been used. The audience can almost smell the stale air that envelops the room. Lila then finds her way up to Norman's room. You get the impression from his room that something is not right. The room looks like it belongs to a young boy and not to a grown man. After a careful search of the upstairs Lila still has not located Mrs. Bates. So she heads downstairs to look for her. As she does this she sees Norman running frantically for the house. She steps into the fruit cellar for a place to hide. Instead of finding a sanctuary she is terrified by the skeletal remains of an old woman. With this finding Lila cannot control herself and she screams aloud. With this a woman with long white hair runs down the cellar steps towards Lila with a huge knife. Sam screams right before the woman has a chance to harm Lila. A battle of strength between Sam and the woman then takes place. During the struggle a wig is knocked off of the woman's head revealing Norman. The audience sees Marion under the showerhead. Her movements are almost ceremonial. Her facial ex
Some common words found in the essay are:
Cassidy Marion, Thank Hitchcock, Norman Marion, Lila Sam, Lila Norman's, Tom Cassidy, , Lila Marion's, Crane Unable, Bates Sam, bates motel, house hill, shower curtain, lila sam, search marion, throughout movie, norman office, money buy, upstairs window, norman marion,
Approximate Word count = 2087
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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