Rick's World example essay topic

How can a hero survive in a world gone mad? Casablanca, the classic 1940's film, was known as the greatest movie ever by some, and also seen as being one of the most important novels of the 20th century, revolve around a world in confusion, where no one trusts anybody else, and a war wages on within and without. Rick dealt with a world rocked by the impacts of World War II, where everyone was a spy, and even the spies were spied on. Rick is a cynic, tossed into a chaotic yet romantic world, and comes forth victorious. In Casablanca, we emerge with a feeling of hope, and joy, that the forces of good can win, and that eventually we will triumph over our enemies, wherever or whatever they may be. While and romantic, Casablanca is a touching movie, and probably one of the best ever made.

It takes place in a world gone mad, where nothing is truth, and reality is always questionable. Sam of course, is stability. He can't be bought or sold, and is seemingly a constant, always there and never too deep into the problems of the world. Sam represents the carefree aspect in all of us, the feeling that we'd just as soon turn our attention away from the war and hum a tune. Rick faces the ultimate human enemy which is the unimportance of an individual. Rick exemplifies this theme, as he relates to Ilsa: 'The problems of two little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.

' Simply put, individuals don't matter. That the events surrounding their world and time overpower those of the individual. Casablanca deals with a festive arena in the midst of war, Rick's Caf'e American, yet it is set in a typical place that is different than the surrounding world. Outside Rick's a war wages on, but inside the kindly caf'e, an atmosphere of warmth and freedom emanates. Yet it is soon crushed by the iron fist of the Germans attempting to capture the rogue Lazlow. Rick's world is apart by forces beyond his control which he wins in the end.

In summary, Casablanca revolved around the idea that humanity is losing its personal identity to that of the masses. The individual, in both cases, is far less important to that of the rest of the world. Hero's can exist in a world gone mad, as we find in Casablanca. Lazlow is a hero of the rebellion, who stood out against the oppression of the German government, and escaped to Lisbon.

He has acted in the face of defeat, and won his own victory. The line that sums it all up, was spoken by Rick. 'That day in Paris, the Germans wore gray, and we wore blue. ' They dared to be different, and to be human, ina world gone utterly mad with its own evils..