SPIRITED AWAY – ESSAY EXEMPLAR YEAR 10
Q. Describe at least ONE relationship that was important in the text. Explain how the
relationship helped you to understand one or more characters in the text.
(Use examples of visual and/or oral language to support your ideas.
In the film Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki, an important relationship is the one
between Lin and Chihiro/Sen. It helps the viewer to understand what Chihiro can
become.
The relationship between Lin and Sen is very strong but it does not always seem to be so.
When Lin first encounters Chihiro in the boiler room she is very shocked and cries out “A
human!” The director uses this dialogue together with a wide shot that shows Lin
standing one one side of the room and Chihiro on the other to emphasise that Chihiro is
from the human world and is an outsider to the spirit world and to Lin. When Kamaji asks
Lin to help Chihiro, Lin at first refuses to and is only persuaded by her greed for a roasted
lizard. However, once Chihiro becomes Sen and gets a job from Yubaba, Lin soon takes
Sen’s side. The director uses different scenes to show how Lin helps Sen and becomes
Sen’s mentor. In the stink spirit scene, the director uses a close up of hands under the
water to show Lin guiding and helping Sen to tie a rope to the bicycle. This aids Sen
greatly because she is then able to cleanse the spirit and save the bathhouse, which she
becomes a heroine for and the director shows us this with strong and uplifting music to
celebtrate. Sen is always doing exactly what Lin tells her to do and shows her ability.
Later on in the film, Lin works hard to help take Chihiro to the train station, which we can
hear by sound effects as Lin rows their tub through the water. Lin also threatens No Face
to protect Sen, so the director is using dialogue to show her bond with Sen. The wide
shot of the water shows the peaceful trust that is between them.
This important relationship is showing two strong ideas about Sen in the film that change
her character. These are the ideas of hard work and helping each other. Because Sen and
Lin work hard together, Sen is able to change her place in the spirit world and thus save
her parents in the end. In working hard to overcome challenges together, they form a
unbreakable bond in the end, despite being on opposite sides at the start. So we learn
that Sen can change from a whiny and frightened child into a strong independent one
because she has enough support from many people, especially Lin, and because she is
willing to work, even when it is not fair. But without Lin’s help, Chihiro could not do it by
herself. Lin is a mentor that helps Sen to go on a heroine’s journey into the unknown and
come back a stronger person who has new experiences.