Silverfin - “How Is the “Massacre of the Innocents” a Symbol of Lord Hellebore?”
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- Category: English: Novels
- Date Submitted: 03/11/2012 01:15 AM
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“How is the “Massacre of the Innocents” a symbol of Lord Hellebore?”
A dark and violent artwork the “Massacre of the Innocents” stands as a horrifying depiction of what is described as the title implies, the slaughter of innocents, in this case women and their newborns.
The painting itself portrays a gruesome representation of a massacre and in a sense is symbolic of Lord Hellebore, specifically reflecting his personal values and beliefs. This comparison is achieved through the artist’s use of selected colours and positioning of figures and objects in the painting to convey a message.
Firstly, the background is painted using dark colours and a storm is revealed forming in the distance. This is symbolic of Lord Hellebore as he is described in the Chapter 2 of the novel “like a volcano ready to erupt” and a lion “…a lion’s cage…the great beast…” Hence the storm is a possible link to these two similes and highlights how unpredictably vicious a storm can become as would a lion and volcano.
This in turn can be used to describe Lord Hellebore’s vicious, unpredictable behaviour. Also, later in the chapter this idea of unpredictability and viciousness is revealed when Hellebore is caught off-guard by a punch thrown by James “For an instant, Hellebore glared at James with a wild fury in his eyes…”
Secondly, the colours used in the artwork are symbolic of how there is no discrimination between the wealthy and poor. This is portrayed through both the red and white cloths, the red cloth symbolising being affluent and of a higher social class.
While white cloth was generally perceived as common and worn by the lower social class. The idea of the massacre is defined as “the unnecessary, indiscriminate killing…” hence from this reinforced by both the placement of a red and white cloth.
Similarly, Lord Hellebore in the novel is extremely indiscriminate towards anyone who stands between him and his beliefs and views. Lord Hellebore in order to realise his vision of...
A dark and violent artwork the “Massacre of the Innocents” stands as a horrifying depiction of what is described as the title implies, the slaughter of innocents, in this case women and their newborns.
The painting itself portrays a gruesome representation of a massacre and in a sense is symbolic of Lord Hellebore, specifically reflecting his personal values and beliefs. This comparison is achieved through the artist’s use of selected colours and positioning of figures and objects in the painting to convey a message.
Firstly, the background is painted using dark colours and a storm is revealed forming in the distance. This is symbolic of Lord Hellebore as he is described in the Chapter 2 of the novel “like a volcano ready to erupt” and a lion “…a lion’s cage…the great beast…” Hence the storm is a possible link to these two similes and highlights how unpredictably vicious a storm can become as would a lion and volcano.
This in turn can be used to describe Lord Hellebore’s vicious, unpredictable behaviour. Also, later in the chapter this idea of unpredictability and viciousness is revealed when Hellebore is caught off-guard by a punch thrown by James “For an instant, Hellebore glared at James with a wild fury in his eyes…”
Secondly, the colours used in the artwork are symbolic of how there is no discrimination between the wealthy and poor. This is portrayed through both the red and white cloths, the red cloth symbolising being affluent and of a higher social class.
While white cloth was generally perceived as common and worn by the lower social class. The idea of the massacre is defined as “the unnecessary, indiscriminate killing…” hence from this reinforced by both the placement of a red and white cloth.
Similarly, Lord Hellebore in the novel is extremely indiscriminate towards anyone who stands between him and his beliefs and views. Lord Hellebore in order to realise his vision of...