Desire vs. Duty

Desire vs. Duty is present in much of the film. It is shown in the characters of Maria and Leisel.

Liesel is shown with a lot of the conflict of duty and desire. It is her duty in the family to be the perfect older sister. She is not allowed to go out and see boys (or anyone else for that matter). She also has to the duty to act as a grown up for the other children. I think that her childhood was taken away by the death of her mother. Her main desire in the story is to be with Ralph, the telegraph delivery boy. I think that she would also like to not always have to be the one in charge.

Maria also suffers from the internal conflict of duty vs. desire. She believes that her job in the world is to be a nun, then a governess, and then a nun again. Throughout the story she finds herself falling in love with the Captain. Once she realizes this she goes back to the abbey to go back and become a nurse. I will spell it out in case you have not already got it, Maria's desire is to be with the Captain. What she thinks is her duty is to become a nun.

Life in the Magnifying Glass

      There is stuff that is private and there is stuff that there is public. There are also things that fall into both categories. In the von Trapps life a lot of follows the fine line of public and private. There are private joys of happiness and the public image to uphold. The public image is the good, Austrian family against the Nazis. They have to uphold this image in order to gain respect. The Captain tells his friend Max that he is against the Nazis. Whereas, Max treats it like something that cannot be helped. I think that the Captain is right. I think that something could be done to of stopped or slowed down the attack of the Nazis in Austria. Max on the other hand makes faces like "It is what it is." Which by the way, is a terrible phrase.
 

Kettles and Kittens

     "My Favorite Things" is one of the most well-known songs from the classic film The Sound of Music. It is sung by Maria. This happens when Gretel and the rest of the children are scared by the thunderstorm. To hear the song click here. It happens to be one of my favorite songs.

     This song holds much historical meaning even though it doesn't sound like it.  The song talks about brown paper packages tied up with spring and girls in white dresses with blue sashes. These are things not commonly seen today. Today, girls wear jeans and t- shirts Packages nowadays come in the blue, red, and white postal boxes. Therefore the things that were favorites back then do not apply today. Now we would talk about loving iPods, phones, and movies.
     This is a song that can get stuck in my head so easily. Like I can hear it and then hear it going round and round in my head all day. Also many of my interests are in the song. I like getting packages, and kittens, and roses. I don't like bees. On the other hand I don't mind if a dog bites and I don't often feel blue.

The innocent gazelle

One of the most memorable scenes from the sound of music is the one of Liesel running into the arms of Ralph. During that scene they dance around on the grounds until a thunderstorm strikes over head. After that they run into the gazebo and sing the song "I am sixteen going on seventeen." To see the lyrics of the song click here. While they are singing this there is a sense of lingering doom overhead. This could have to do with the impending thunderstorm or what would happen if they were found out about.
     This scene makes me think of those nature programs where you see the nice little gazelle out there on the African Savannah. You just know that there is a lion just waiting for the right time to pounce on the nice gazelle. And you are right the lion does pounce of the gazelle. That really sucks.