Epiphanies In 'Clueless, By Uchoa Dumons' Arabia

In literary works, epiphanies generally refer to a moment of realization, a moment of insight and meaningful understanding, which often marks a turning point for the plot. These literary devices, used by authors and directors, usually follow the outline demonstrating a change in the storyline, but not all creators place epiphanies in their stories solely for the plot. Some depict these moments for character growth or outside criticism, which emphasizes the reason they wrote or directed the work and attempt to convey that in the plot. Despite same meaning of the word “epiphany”, the use varies from story to story, especially due to placement. Jane Austen’s Emma, Amy Heckerling’s Clueless, James Joyce’s “Araby”, and Uchoa Dumons’ Arabia all utilize

Despite “Araby” influencing the creation of Arabia, the story’s characters and setting initiate a difference in criticisms. “Araby” follows a young boy struggling with vanity in Dublin, Ireland while Arabia focuses on Christiano, a young man socially paralyzed in Brazil. Because of these differences, Joyce criticizes religion while Uchoa Dumons criticize the exploitation of the working class and the manipulation by the upper class. Through the course of the film, Christiano cannot keep a job and stays trapped in the same socioeconomic class. Finally, at a night shift at a factory job, an epiphany hits him, and he feels that he is “waking up from a nightmare” (Uchoa Dumans 1:26:33-1:26:35). He realizes the paralytic state he experienced his entire life and recognizes the deplorable situation he still finds himself in. His epiphany allows him to wake up from routine and comfort, but although he acknowledges the paralysis controlling his life, he cannot remove it. Not only is Christiano physically and economically paralyzed, but he faces emotional paralysis. In his epiphany, he comments on his job saying, “none of it meant anything to me” (Uchoa Dumans 1:26:23-1:26:26). The upper class paralyzed his life and succeeded in freezing his emotions by mental weight. His unstable life and non-guaranteed job placed pressure on his mental state and eventually felt numb. Uchoa Dumans demonstrates the struggle to escape paralysis when exploited by a higher power. Furthermore, the directors criticize the upper class, the ones exploiting and paralyzing the lower classes. Christiano comes to the realization that his dedication, contributions, and labor in his many jobs would never move him up the economic ladder because the ones at the top held him down. The