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Rites Of Passage In Beetlejuice

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Rites of Passage In the film Beetlejuice, Barbara and Adam Maitland are a happy New England couple on "stay"cation. As the couple returns home from running a few errands, they lose control of their car and skid off, crashing through the covered bridge. With relief they pause to only then crash in the river below and drown. After their accident, the couple is unaware of what will soon lie ahead of them. The sun has set and there is a chill in the air. Once Barbara and Adam walk into their house, they question how they got there. Barbara notices that there is a fire burning, almost in anticipation of the couple's return. They look to one another and realize they didn't leave a fire burning. Barbara walks over to warm herself and her fingertips catch fire. Things are getting weirder and Adam decides to go back down to the accident and "retrace some steps." He later returns after two hours, which to him was a matter of seconds. …show more content…

Barbara and Adam must figure out if they are, "halfway to Heaven or halfway to Hell?" The Handbook for the Recently Deceased is of no help currently. The Rites of Passage; separation of the Maitland's leaving their earthbound body of the living, to join the spirit world of the dead. This was not a readily given option, but one thrust upon them. The stages of passage are: separation, transition, and consummation. The Influence of Rites of Passage explain the stages of life after death. The Maitland's are scared, lost, in shock, and heartbroken after discovering they did not survive. Their belief's have not prepared them for what is to come. They lived in a modern and very common cultural society. Once they encounter the other dead and living individuals, their determination leads them on a journey to uncover deaths mission for them. Their handbook also serves as a guide. This symbolic detachment, car accident, has them knocking on death's door, looking for

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