The allegory between the pied piper poem and the film the sweet hearafter

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The Symbolic Work of “The Pied Piper” in the Film The Sweet Hereafter In Atom Egoyan’s Film The Sweet Hereafter the use of Robert Browning’s poem “The Pied Piper” is extensively used as a controlling metaphor. The poem is constantly referenced between various events in the film to contribute a greater depth and meaning to the story. The town’s children are taken away after the tragic bus accident; much like the children in “The Pied Piper” are taken away after the townspeople break their promise to the Pied Piper. The poem also greatly contributes to the development of both character, and theme in the film. In contrast to the novel, the film makes extensive use of “The Pied Piper” poem. Throughout the whole film the poem is narrated by Nichole, one of the main characters in the film, also the only child that survived the crash, she “like the little boy in the poem, is left behind, regretting her fate: "I can't forget that I'm bereft, Of all the pleasant sights they see, Which the Piper also promised me, For he led us, he said, to a joyous land" (lines 237-240)” [23]. Nichole reads the poem at many different breaking points in the film. Each time that more drama is revealed; different components of the poem are recited. Both of these stories show associations in many ways and seem to parallel each other, displaying what the agonizing effects tragedy can have on a small town. While the people of Hamlin had the Piper to directly blame for their misery, the people of Sam Dent did not. It is left up to the viewer to determine who plays the role of the pied piper throughout the film. The poem does not only parallel the bus tragedy, it is also used to a much more broad extent. “The Pied Piper” motif contributes too many different situations, including the frequent one between Stephens and Zoe, his daughter; we distinguish this from the scene in which Stephens is

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