To All the Lost Things

The lost things always have their special meaning, just like death. Every person will lose something. It seems that we are living in an era of “losing”.

Orhan·Pamuk describes a man who collects all the things that his dead lover had touched and finally builds a museum in the book called ” The Museum of innocence”.

People are busying with finding everything they want. However, what is ridiculous is that the lost things are usually the most precious things.

It is hard to describe the feeling when people lost something they really cherish. We are not easy to empathizing with others.

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly has a simple start:” ONCE UPON A TIME — for that is how all stories should begin — there was a boy who lost his mother. He had, in truth, been losing her for a very long time.”

It is a story about the growth of a boy, David. After losing his mother, David is not happy with father’s remarriage. He begins to hear the books which his mother had read for him whispering and finally he enters the world of book. The adventure starts.

Unlike what his mother had told him. The world was distorting and strange. Little Red Riding Hood seduces the wolf. Snow White is fat and cold-blooded woman. All the characters that we are familiar with turn out to be different from what we think they should be.

Maybe what the book want to show us is how David relies on books when he loses his mother. Imagination is the last thing that would be with him on his way to growing up as a mature man.

After seeing the forest guard and the knights, Roland sacrifice themselves to save others which makes David become a true man in spirit and overcomes the demons in his heart.

The Book of Lost Things is regarded as a black fairy tale. But I like to consider it as a warm story. An imaginative tribute to the journey we must all make through the loss of innocence into adulthood, John Connolly’s novel is a book for every adult who can recall the moment when childhood began to fade, and for every adult about to face that moment. The Book of Lost Things is a story of hope for all who have lost, and for all who have yet to lose. It is an exhilarating tale that reminds us of the enduring power of stories in our lives.

David succeeds in come back to the real world and when he becomes old David, he sees the ones he met in his childhood again, the guard and other old familiar things.

The door opened. He saw his mother.” And in the darkness David closed his eyes, as all that was lost was found again.”

 

第二篇：The Lost Things 失物招领

Contents

Abstract ...................................................................................................... 1

Ⅰ. Introduction ......................................................................................... 2

A: The Main Idea of the Lost Thing ........................................................................... 2

B: The General Introduction to the Social Phenomena in the Film ........................ 2

Ⅱ. The Causes of the Social Phenomena ................................................ 3

A. Analyse the Objective Factors ................................................................................ 3

B. Unveil the Inner Side of Human ............................................................................ 3

Ⅲ. The Manifestations of the Social Phenomena .................................. 4

A. Display the Changes of Many Things .................................................................... 4

B. State the Desire for Money and Power .................................................................. 4

Ⅳ. The Effects of the Social Phenomena ................................................ 5

A. Look into the Influences on the Society ................................................................ 5

B: Disclose the Loneliness in People’s Inner Side ..................................................... 5

Ⅴ、Conclusion ......................................................................................... 6

A: The Changes of the Society .................................................................................... 6

B: The Changes of the People ..................................................................................... 6

Notes ........................................................................................................... 8

Bibliography .............................................................................................. 9

Acknowledgements ................................................................................. 10

XXXX学院本科论文（设计）

Abstract: The Lost Thing is a 15-minute animated short film based on the highly acclaimed picture book by multi award winning author and illustrator, Shaun Tan. It?s mainly about a boy who discovers a bizarre looking creature while out collecting bottle tops at the beach. Having guessed it is lost, he tries to find out who owns it or where it belongs, but is met with indifference from everyone else, who barely notice its presence, each unwilling to entertain this uninvited interruption to their day to day lives. At last, he found a place for it. This paper will focus on the Social Phenomena in this film. Through some details, people can see the indifferent, alone and selfish in their inner minds. To some extend, they are lost.

Key words: industrialization; lost; loneliness; life

摘要：《失物招领》是一部15分钟长的动画短片。它是基于华裔漫画家陈志勇的同名绘本。影片主要讲述了一个喜欢搜集瓶盖的男孩在沙滩上发现了一个没人要的“东西”，一个寂寞的，奇怪的生命体。男孩认为这个东西肯定是走失了，就决定帮助它找到属于它的地方。在寻找的过程中，小男孩看到人们眼中的冷漠，当他们走在街上，甚至没有人注意到这样一个奇怪的东西从他们身边走过。几经周折之后，男孩把这个东西送到了一个它们的聚集地。本文主要研究影片中折射的社会现象，通过一些细节，反映出工业社会人们内心的冷漠，孤独和自私。从某种程度上讲，他们都迷失了。

关键词：工业化，迷失，孤独，生活

1

XXXX学院本科论文（设计）

On the Social Phenomena in the Best Animated Short

Film of the Lost Thing

Ⅰ. Introduction

A: The Main Idea of the Lost Thing

The Lost Thing is a 15-minute animated short film based on the highly acclaimed picture book by multi award winning author and illustrator, Shaun Tan. It?s mainly about a boy who discovers a bizarre looking creature while out collecting bottle tops at the beach. Having guessed it is lost, he tries to find out who owns it and where it belongs, but met with indifference from everyone else, who barely notice its presence, each unwilling to entertain this uninvited interruption to their day to day lives. For reasons the boy does not explain, he empathizes with the creature, and sets out to find a ?place? for it. As he is looking for the creature's owner, he meets by a person who gives him a business card with a weird sign on it. After searching much of the city for the sign, the boy is able to find the sign and return the creature, although he was unable to say whether the creature really belonged there. It?s just 15 minutes long, but the influences are quite deep. People are thinking that whether they are lost too. They want to find who they are, why they don?t happy, and that?s what I want to find too. B: The General Introduction to the Social Phenomena in the Film

In the quick-developed society, because of modernism and industrialization, people become indifferent, alone and selfish. They care about nothing except the wealth and power. They lost the original precious characters and directions when they pursue the wealth and power. The world is full of competitions which can bring opportunities and social positions to the right one. Everyone is too busy doing other staffs but find their real happiness. What is happiness in their inner world? Have a lot of money? Or have a high social status? Or have a big house? Or live in a beautiful world? Everyone must have their own understanding. In this film, the boy said “Something with the weird, sad, lost sort of look. I see that kind of things less and less these days，maybe there aren't many lost things around anymore, or maybe, I've just stopped noticing 2

XXXX学院本科论文（设计）

them, Too busy doing other staffs.” No matter how rich the world is, there are still many unfortunate people or things. Some can see them, some can not see them, and some refuse to see them. But the fact is that, these unfortunate people or things are still in the world as well.

Ⅱ. The Causes of the Social Phenomena

A. Analyze the Objective Factors

Recession, war, criminal, terrorism often happens in this world. In 2001, "9.11" Incident; in 2003, The Iraq war; in 2006, the American financial crisis……Even though the themes of our times are peace and development, it is still not peaceful somehow. Urbanization has become a global trend. And it is the common rule in the development of every country?s economy and society. It is the inevitable situation in economy with the industry. Basing on the analysis about the actuality of city development in Chinese and in the world, this paper thinks that it takes on important practical sense to study on urban sustainable development. Urbanization symbolize that the society is improving, people have more money in their pockets now. But just as every corn have two sides; some bad influences change the world secretly.

B. Unveil the Inner Side of Human

Due to the great international background, people have lost the sense of security and feel the shadow of fear. As H. L Mencken said:” here was the very heart of industrial America, the center of its most lucrative and characteristic activity, the boast and pride of the richest and grandest nation ever seen on earth—and here was a scene so dreadfully hideous, so intolerably bleak and forlorn than it reduced the whole aspiration of man to a macabre and depressing joke.” 1“Here is something that the psychologists have so far neglected: the love of ugliness for its own sake, the lust to make the world intolerable. Out of the melting pot emerges a race which hates beauty as it hates truth. The etiology of this madness deserves a great deal more study than it has got. There must be causes behind it; it arises and flourishes in obedience to biological laws, and not as a mere act of God.” 2 (“The Libido for the Ugly”, Advanced English, Book 2). Industries make the world improve quickly, change they world greatly. People are so proud of the big achievements which they make during several decades. But just in the several decades, people are changed. They don?t lack 3

XXXX学院本科论文（设计）

of money, but the beautiful characters.

Ⅲ. The Manifestations of the Social Phenomena

A. Display the Changes of Many Things

There are many machines, like electric generator, voltage; there are many inventions, like television, telephone. Science and technology have come to pervade every aspect of our lives and, as a result, society is changing at a speed which is quite unprecedented. Among these machines and inventions, Internet is the most powerful one which changes the world mostly. And it still keeps changing. Nowadays, people enjoy these good things; they think it?s quite good for their lives. The pace of life becomes faster than before, and everything changes so fast. Internet, for example, most people love it. Films, ads, and other information can find on it. They can buy anything in the Internet, and it?s easy to do that, nobody wants to find the trouble for them. They enjoy this nice invention. At the same time, skyscrapers can be seen everywhere, it? still a symbol for the improvement of this world. In the old times, how can people imagine live in the 100-floor high building, but now they are all come true. People think it?s manifestation of our society, they are proud of these big achievements.

B. State the Desire for Money and Power

Because of the quick-developed world, people changes with the world. People often use American dream to encourage themselves that nothing is impossible if you try harder. For the meaning of American dream, McMillan dictionary expresses that “the idea that the US is a place where anyone can become successful if they work hard enough”. 3 They become unsatisfied with their lives. They want more to fit the world. They pursue the power, money, and positions. People no longer simple, they become complicated. Once they can?t get what they want, they try every mean to reach it. People become the slave of money and power. They want more and more. The worship of money is generally admits by more people. In order to get more money, people stop at nothing to get as much money as possible as if money is everything. Money worship is a money-driven underbelly of ideological and moral values and that the money is everything. Yet the growth of business and industry also widened the gulf between the rich and poor.

4

XXXX学院本科论文（设计）

Ⅳ. The Effects of the Social Phenomena

A. Look into the Influences on the Society

The world is changing, no matter it gets good or bad, everyone must admit it, so people's minds have to change with it. With a computer, people can buy what they want on line, they don?t have to buy things in the market or wait in line to pay for the goods. Because of the Internet, in effect, eliminates scarcity in the medium. On the other hand, it suggests that people lost their own imaginations, they depend on the computer, and that is not a good thing. Modern skyscrapers begin to appear in the city, taking away much of the ancient charm and mystery, which is considered as a great pity by many people. Maybe it is really good to live high in the building, watching the people high upon them just like a King or Queen. Or may just like a fool. We'll all be left with all the tacky kind of concrete and whatever that's left behind. When walking on the street, skyscrapers become an especial scene that someone may wonder how could they look exactly the same? Obviously, if there are architects of any professional sense or dignity in the region, they would have design the houses according to the geographical positions.

B: Disclose the Loneliness in People’s Inner Side

People are lost. They are wondering who they are? What are they doing for? They just like a machine, doing the same thing, according to the orders. They are alone; they don?t know what to say. Nobody cares for others. More problems occur in their life, and it makes them unhappy. Even though, they are rich enough to buy a big building, or even a city. But it does not matter, that?s none with happiness. System, law, and the marriage are human for fear of loneliness and make choice of the helpless. They can make humans have the survival of courage, but not eliminate the enslavement and numb life lies. And this anger is a full offensive and joy of strength, instead of resentment and revenge of the product. Mutual love equality is the basic motive force, human progress. While business technology management is obtain happiness life tools. The world is lifeless, nothing can interest the people. They just like lost their feelings, only a few people know that, they lost nothing but themselves. 5

XXXX学院本科论文（设计）

Ⅴ、Conclusion

A: The Changes of the Society

The world is changing, and everything is no longer single. The biggest paradoxical modern society lies in that, when we realize the modern society's ills, we are already without it. The desire in through others see themselves, we will find that their souls cannot control the physical needs. Sharp social industrialization and urbanization at each level more or less have significant changes, and produce a variety of social problems as well. From the perspective of social development, the social development process is somewhat universal problems. Therefore, both past and present, with the economic development, the influences of moral standards are our eternal reflection of things. But since the relationship become continuous friction and conflict, the world still bad impressed. With the development of science, technology and society, the market environment has changed tremendously during the past years. The relationship between man and society has become more complex; people no longer are the society's host, they just like passages living on the earth. As for the "alienation" Marx defines who put it: "the rule of the thing to work in the death of the rule, live on labor. The rule of products,"

B: The Changes of the People

Therefore, someone says, leave this cold city, far away from this weird world, to find a real jungle, a warm smile at a distance of life on the way. To the position, to the salary, to the boss, to the girlfriend, forget all of these, just smile, starting form tomorrow, facing the ocean, looking at the flowers at every spring. But it?s easy to say but hard to do. No one hand, people feel lost, and a deep feeling of injustice is spreading across large swaths of society. They always feel that the world owed them too much injustice. On the other hand, they become greedy; they want to gasp every opportunity to get power, money. They are no longer hospital; instead, all the things can be seen are many kinds of indifferent appearances. Even though The Lost Thing is just a 15-minute animated short film, people can see that it is of significance. It just gives people a warning that the changing world and the changing people. As John Connolly writes in his book “It was your own strength and courage that brought you at last to an understanding of your place in this world and your own.” 4 It worth 6

XXXX学院本科论文（设计）

thinking that who am I? What are we live for? Maybe, when think these two questions clearly, people will not feel lost any more.

7

XXXX学院本科论文（设计）

Notes

1. H. L, Mencken, Advanced English (revised edition) Book 2, (Beijing, China: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2010) 109

2. H. L. Mencken, Advanced English (revised edition) Book 2, (Beijing, China: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2010) 114

3. 刘彦博, 美国丽人：寻觅遗失的信息，环球纵览，20xx年第14期 45 John, Connolly, the Book of Lost Thing, (Ireland: Viking Publisher, First 4.

Edition 2005)

8

XXXX学院本科论文（设计）

Bibliography

Mencken, H. L, Advanced English (revised edition) Book 2, (Beijing, China: Foreign

Language Teaching and Research Press, 2010) 109

Mencken, H. L, Advanced English (revised edition) Book 2, (Beijing, China: Foreign

Language Teaching and Research Press, 2010) 114

Connolly, John, the Book of Lost Thing, (Ireland: Viking Publisher, First Edition

2005)

Salinger, J. D, the Catcher in the Rye, (Boston: Little, Brown and Company 1951) 刘彦博, 美国丽人：寻觅遗失的信息，环球纵览，20xx年第14期 45

9

XXXX学院本科论文（设计）

Acknowledgements

It was really a laborious task to accomplish this paper. Many people gave me support and help in the process of writing it. I?d like first to give my grate to my dear teacher, Miss Li Li, who generously gave me her kindly help and instructions during the whole process of my paper-writing. Then I?d like to give my many thanks to my classmates who helped me a lot with my information collecting and paper-polishing. Most important of all, I want to give my thanks to my mother university, Neijiang Normal University and all the teachers in it, these teachers educated and cultivated me to be a qualified teacher in the future.

10