University Composition Course: Reviews Assignment - Four Reviews

This assignment presents four reviews written by a student, fulfilling a composition course requirement. The reviews cover a diverse range of media, including the movie 'Avatar,' the short story 'Araby' by James Joyce, the poem 'Hawk Roosting' by Ted Hughes, and the book 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' by J.K. Rowling. Each review provides a concise summary of the work, analyzes key themes and plot points, and offers a critical assessment. The 'Avatar' review focuses on its technological and graphical achievements and the creation of the Pandora universe. The 'Araby' review explores themes of disillusionment and adolescent fantasy. The 'Hawk Roosting' review delves into the poem's violent imagery and the hawk's perspective. Finally, the 'Harry Potter' review discusses the book's plot, themes of good versus evil, and its final battle mirroring historical events. The student's work demonstrates an understanding of literary analysis and critical writing skills, providing insights into each selected work.

Running head: REVIEWS
Reviews
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Movie Review: Avatar
Avatar released in 2009, created a buzz everywhere immediately. The movie was
directed by James Cameron and has received many reviews since then. The movie revolves
around the character Jake Sully who has replaced his brother in a secret Avatar program. The
program is being carried out in a faraway alien planet named Pandora. The Earth is
environmentally unstable and suffers from energy resource crisis. Pandora has abundant
quantity of Unobtainium, a rare mineral that is the key to all the problems on earth. The
movie creates an alternative reality in Pandora where the human like creatures live in perfect
harmony with the nature. The struggle of the movie is between the human military force and
the Na’vi people. Jake is paralysed and feels free to be able to walk in his Na’vi avatar. As
the crisis arises he has to choose whom he will show loyalty to. He chooses the Na’vi people
and the movie ends with Jake’s initiation to the clan (YouTube Movies).
This movie is a technological and graphical marvel. Cameron has created a universe
that keeps the audience spellbound. The movie in itself is an experience in cinematography
and computer CGI graphics. The detailing and craftsmanship that has been shown to create
Pandora is phenomenal. All the actors does justice to their roles and the story is captivating as
well as meaningful.
Short Story: Araby by J. Joyce
Joyce’s “Araby” revolves around a nameless boy who is infatuated with his friend
Mangan’s sister. He watches stealthily, follows her to school and day dreams about her. The
setting of the story is bleak and dull and Mangan’s sister is the only source of joy for the
narrator. During one of their conversations, Mangan’s sister talks of an Arabian market that
she wishes to visit. The boy promises her that he will visit and bring something for her. He
faces hardships in the course of her journey to the market and by the time he reaches there the

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shops are almost closed. There are only few people there and the goods that are being sold
there are too costly for him to afford. As he fails in his aim he feels despair.
The story is thematically related to exotic and unattainable. Araby is related to the
word Arab which is the source of all exotic and expensive objects. The theme of transition of
age, from adolescence to puberty is also there. The boy’s attraction towards the girl is not
platonic and he develops teenager fantasies regarding her and that is why when the
disillusionment occurs his “eyes burned with anguish and anger” (Joyce).
Poetry Review: Hawk Roosting by Ted Hughes
The “Hawk Roosting” is a poem by Ted Hughes which situates the readers into the
mind of a hawk. The poem is written in the form of internal monologue and the theme and
structure is extremely typical to Ted Hughes. The hawk describes its thoughts in a completely
unsentimental and realistic way. The bird’s description of its psyche is unadulterated and
unashamed. In his description he is motionless as if in meditation. For him, the world, as if,
has been created to aid him in his hunt. His beak, his claws, his feathers are all tools that help
him deliver the final blow of death. His statements are extremely authoritative and
demanding. He places himself above everything else and permits no change. His
predisposition of a god is evident in his proclamation that he has no sophistication in him, he
has been created to tear off the heads of the preys (Hughes).
The poem seems to extremely violent in spite of the fact that no violence is being
performed. The proclamation of the Hawk shows that he is completely sure of his ability and
is probably preparing for a kill. Thus the violence in the poem lies in the suspense of the
announced action rather than the action itself. It is free verse poem and this structure help in
formulating the constrained and balanced control of the Hawk.

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Book Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is one of the most sold books all over the
world. This is the last part of the Harry Potter series and revolves around the seventh year of
the heroes. The defeat of the villain Voldemort and restoration of law and order is the main
theme in the book. Rowling has incorporated several events that hold the keys to various
incidents that took place in the earlier parts and brings the story to the desired end. The
readers are kept hooked to the story as the protagonists, Harry, Ron and Hermione sets of to a
journey to destroy the fragmented human souls of Voldemort, the horcruxes. Many magical
creatures cross their path and they end up in Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry
to fight the final battle (Rowling). In the battle Harry dies and along with him dies the part of
Voldemort’s soul that had latched onto him when he was 1 year old. Harry comes back to
save his school and the world and in the end, through many losses order is restored.
The final battle has very close similarity with the Second World War. The incidents
that take place are far too similar to be a coincidence. The transition of the characters from
minors to fully grown adults where they are expected to fulfil their responsibilities give the
readers a reality check.

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References
YouTube Movies. Avatar. 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGRsXdcZeVo.
Accessed 19 Apr 2019.
Joyce, James. Dubliners. Garland, 1978.
Hughes, Ted. Selected Poems, 1957-1994. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002.
Rowling, Joanne K. Harry Potter. Bloomsbury: London, 1997.