The Master Literary Elements

The Master Literary Elements

Director

Paul Thomas Anderson

Leading Actors/Actresses

Joaquin Phoenix

Supporting Actors/Actresses

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams

Genre

Drama

Language

English

Awards

Nominated for 3 Oscars: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Joaquin Phoenix, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role - Philip Seymour Hoffman, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - Amy Adams

Date of Release

2012

Producer

Paul Thomas Anderson, Megan Ellison, Daniel Lupi, JoAnne Sellar

Setting and Context

Post World War II America - September 1945-1950

Narrator and Point of View

POV is that of Freddie

Tone and Mood

Serious, Dramatic.

Protagonist and Antagonist

Protagonist is Freddie. Antagonist is Lancaster and Peggy.

Major Conflict

Freddie joins the Cause, led by Lancaster Dodd, and his movement doesn't want Freddie around, as the other members seek to expand and as they are attacked for their beliefs.

Climax

Dodd leaves for England and declares Freddy an enemy because he leaves the Cause.

Foreshadowing

John More's argument with Dodd foreshadows Dodd's need to be the master, and his incapability of even himself grasping onto the concepts he's "discovered" as truth.

Understatement

It is understated that Freddie, who seems incompatible with the other members, will leave the Cause.

Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques

N/A

Allusions

The film is an allusion to people doing to will of one man, blindly.

Paradox

Dodd loves and cares for Freddie. Paradoxically, he swears to make him his eternal enemy if he leaves him.

Parallelism

The shot of the ocean at the end of the film when Freddy travels to England parallels the opening shot of the ocean in the film.

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