Character And Theme Development In The Monster

Some people talk about fighting monsters metaphorically, what if the monster was real and dangerous. The movie The Monster, was written in 2015 and filmed in Ottawa, Canada, and then later released in November of 2016. The movie is staged in the woods for most of the movie and it is about a troubled mother and her young daughter named Lizzie. The mother was taking her daughter to live with her father. On the way there they get in an accident and are left stranded in the woods, alone and at night. They call an ambulance and a tow truck and it takes a long time to arrive. When the tow truck gets there, the driver goes missing and they find out that it was the monster and he has killed the man. Then the monster makes himself known by trying to get the mother, who can get back to the car. Then the ambulance gets there and the monster kills everyone who came on the ambulance and then he eventually kills the girl's mother. The girl is then able to kill the monster and escape the woods. Lizzie discovers that she is a lot tougher than she thought and she realizes what she can overcome more than she thought she could and she came out a lot stronger in the end.

Throughout the movie, some things are seen multiple times, and whenever these items are seen, Lizzy is overcoming, or something that scares her. One object that is seen multiple times throughout the movie is her mother's lighter. This lighter is what Lizzy’s mom uses to light her cigarettes, but whenever her mom doesn’t have it, Lizzy is taking the top off, then lighting it, and then letting it go out. In the movie, Lizzy keeps the lighter with her throughout the movie. Even when she doesn’t have it, she moves her fingers like she does when she has it, helping her calm herself down when she is anxious or afraid. Messing with the lighter is helping Lizzy forget about what is going on around and helps her focus on just one thing. Lizzy’s life has been very hard and she is used to dealing with stressful situations and playing with the lighter is one thing that helps her cope in any situation. So this really comes in handy when she is beyond afraid in the movie. Another thing that is constantly repeated in the movie is her teddy bear. Lizzy has a constant need for security and comfort and her teddy bear helps her feel safe and secure even when she isn’t. At the beginning of the movie, Lizzy had her stuffed animal with her when her mom was yelling at her. When she feels that she is in danger she clings onto the bear, to help her feel secure while it sings songs to her and helps her feel safe again. Another example of Lizzy’s constant need for protection that she finds in the teddy bear is when they first saw the monster and the monster attacked the tow truck driver. Lizzy became terrified and her mother used the bear to try to comfort and distract her from what is going on outside of the car. Lizzy has a few things that bring her comfort in the movie and these things allow her to grow throughout the movie.

The movie, The Monster, is a great example of character and theme development through the character Lizzy. Lizzy is a 10-year-old girl who has lived through a lot in her short amount of time on earth and she is now left afraid of everything and is very quiet and soft-spoken because she doesn’t want anything to happen to her. Lizzy’s teddy bear is a good example of the author developing Lizzy into a courageous young woman. In the beginning, Lizzie takes it everywhere and hugs and holds the bear when she is afraid. Also, at the end of the movie, Lizzie throws the bear out and allows it to make the sound to attract the monster. This shows that she is not afraid anymore and she doesn’t need her stuffed animal to help her feel safe because she realizes that she can protect herself. She has completely changed in the span of the movie and the teddy bear is used to show that change. Lizzy’s mother is also a great example of character development. At the beginning of the movie, Lizzy’s mom is drunk and very abusive towards her daughter. She would just look at her and scream in her face and she would also be physically abusive towards her as well. Towards the middle of the story, her mother begins to act like a mother towards her and seems to care for her daughter in her time of need. Then at the end of the movie, the mother was dying and she kept apologizing to Lizzy for all that she had done to her and for all of the things that she had to go through at her young age. So her mother went from not showing her love to dying for Lizzy and apologizing for everything that she had done to her. The theme of this movie is shown through Lizzy, which is that you shouldn’t let fear keep you from living up to your potential. Lizzy at the beginning of the movie was very fearful and nervous of everything, it was like she was afraid of her own shadow. She constantly lived in fear that something was always out to get her. At one point in the movie, Lizzy has the chance to kill the monster, but she doesn’t because she is afraid.