Symbolism And Motifs In Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window

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Rear Window by Alfred Hitchcock is a fillm full of symbolism and motifs that provides viewers with a bigger meaning. It shows these rhetorical appeals through Hitchcok’s eyes that would not be recognized if not analyzed. Through these appeals I have recognized the window as being a symbol and marriage and binoculars as motifs. After understanding much more than what the eye anitially sees when viewing this film there is a fine line between understanding what is going on in the film and observing what the protagonist Jeff is viewing. The film first starts out with Jeff’s veiw of what is going on around him through the use of binoculars. These binoculars act his sight as Jeff is confined to a wheelchair due to breaking his leg from an accident. As he is unable to go out and about due to his broken leg he spends most of his days sitting down looking out of his window. Through the window he views an unhappy married couple, a musician, a lonely dancer, and a man named Thhorwald which will soon bee seen as the murderer. From viewing each of these characters you can get a sense of what life was like as an American living in the mid !950’s. Through a closer observation Jeff not only pieces together who the murderer is but realizes that despite all of them living side by side they never …show more content…

As he sits there looking out the window for countless hours he is no longer interested in just his personal life but those around him. When observing even closer I realized that there is an explanation to the obsession Jeff has with looking out of the window. It is not directly stated in the film but when looking at the sorrroundings Jeff is surrounded by only the courtyard and a small alley way hince the reason why Jeff choices to take particular interests in looking at his neighbors. The lack of scenery and things to do makes me believe that Jeff is feeling trapped. The binoculars no longer act as just a viewing defice but a symbol for