Hornby

   One rather obvious motif in How I Learned to Drive is the application of periodic headings. Each title describes/parallels the events to come. That said, I think they’re utilized for foreshadowing. Honestly the titles mislead me a couple times. Whenever the titles described an acceleration or shift in gears, my mind automatically expected the worst. They ended up making me really nervous rather than explaining when the event occurred. However, once I realized that I was interpreting them incorrectly they began to make more sense. While they do hint at what is going to happen in the following scene, they are there more to tell the when something happened rather than the why.

   One reoccurring theme or motif in Ian McEwan’s Atonement is light. The amount of  light is directly proportional to how well a scene is understood by the main character Briony.  Light, in this case symbolizes knowledge and enlightenment.

   My personal opinion is that motifs in a script are more powerful than in a fully realized production. As someone who enjoys writing and playing music, I recognize written motifs and appreciate them more. However, repeated motifs in a fully realized production can also be extremely effective and often more easily detected. Lighting and sound or even the use of certain music cues can be very effective in showing connections and establishing a certain mood.