4.  “As opposed to tragedy, comedy creates a
more optimistic perspective on life, as it
tends to end happily”
 It deals more with minor human mistakes
than larger human sins.
 Get Shorty has a good ending and instead of
focusing on the deaths caused by Bones it
instead focuses on the mistakes of
Leo, Bo, and Harry.

5.  “A work or manner that blends a censorious
attitude with humor and wit for improving
human institutions or humanity.”
 The satire in Get Shorty is used to show how
a criminal from Miami can come to
Hollywood and not only be accepted as one
of them but also be better than most of the
people we meet.

6.  This idea is characterized by the empathy we
feel for a character that is more of a villain
than a good guy.
 A prime example of this is found in
children’s cartoons.

7.  We often sympathize with the villains or
antiheros in stories due to our connections
with rebellion in American history.
 Even according to Thomas Jefferson “evil is
productive of good”, and that “a little rebellion
now and then is a good thing.”(Woodward 193)

8.  The characters in comedies often have
simplified characteristics.
 In combination with the genre of Sympathy
for the Devil, Get Shorty has characters with
very simplistic goals and motivations with
very little else.
 Ex: Bones only tries to get the money from
Leo, but he doesn't have any other motivation
than pure greed.

10.  Chili Palmer
 Bo Catlet
 Karen Flores
 Harry Zimm
 Ray Bones
 Leo Devoe
 Michael Weir
 Bear

11.  A wise guy from Bay Ridge
Brooklyn.
 An Italian American but not
“FBI” so can’t be a made man
 Moves to Miami after his wife
leaves him.
 Main Character that is smart
and clever.
 Comes up with the idea for Mr.
Lovejoy.
 He s a shylock chasing after Leo
Devoe while being chased by
Ray Bones

12.  Can be compared to Nora
Ephron’s Character, Vinnie
Antonelli, in My Blue
Heaven, played by Steve
Martin.
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=nzDy3byWrQY

13.  A limo driver in Hollywood.
 Intelligent and is connected
to the gang lifestyle.
 Dies in a strange event.
 Can be compared to Daniel
Day Lewis in Gangs of New
York
http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=ADmX9eMEV9U

14.  These two are an example of foils because Bo
and Chili are both mob men trying to make
it big in Hollywood.
 They are very intelligent and use their wits
against each other.
 As foils they contrast because Catlet tries to
get rid of Chili because he wants his spot as
producer on the movie but it doesn’t work
out for Catlet.

15.  Karen is a female actress that
makes it big when she is
given a studio head Job
 She was in movies with
ZigZag productions
 She once dated Michael Weir
 She is very successful and
intelligent

16.  Harry Zimm is an over weight out of shape movie
producer.
 He produced mostly horror movies and is working
with Chili on Producing Mr. Lovejoy.
 Harry lacks intelligence

17.  Harry and Karen are both in the movie business.
 They have made many movies together and
sleep with each other in the beginning of the
novel.
 Karen is very intelligent and understands Chile’s
business and the movie business.
 Harry is stupid and doesn’t know much other
than the hype of the two worlds.
 This is why Karen is given a studio head
position.

18.  Ray Bones is in the mafia with Chile.
 Chile owes Ray Money.
 Ray and Chile have fought constantly through out their
lives.
 Ray isn’t to smart and is caught by the DEA handling
money that he took from Chile that was a set up for
Chile

19.  Both men are Mafia wise guys but neither
are made men.
 This means they are not protected by the
heads of the families.
 They are constantly after each other.
 Whether it be Ray trying to get his money
or Chile fighting with Ray over leather
Jacket.

20.  Leo owes money to Chile.
 His death is staged when a plane he was suppose to be
on went down.
 He ended up with insurance money and ran with it.
 Chile wants his money so he chases Leo down to get
the money.

21.  Leo’s wife tells Chile to get him.
 Chile ended up in LA looking for him and that’s
how the whole Hollywood thing comes into play.

22.  The movie’s name sake comes from this character.
 Michael Weir is an amazing actor that is being
casted for the lead role in the movie.

23.  Michael is short and they
are trying to get him for
the movie hence Get
Shorty
 Michael is a bit spacey
and was with Karen
Flores prior to the
beginning of the story.

24.  Bear has a daughter he loves
 Stuntman
 Bo’s muscle
 Chile fights Bear but it’s really
goofy
 Bear sets up Bo so that he falls
off the railing

25.  The reason we have sympathy for Chile even
though he is a murderous mafia type is
because we hate those like Bo and Bones
that oppose him.

26.  From Rooting for the bad guy “When you
empathize with someone and put yourself
into his or her position by sharing his or her
perspective, you are identifying with that
person”(Leonard 132).

28.  A “good” bad guy and “bad” bad guy for contrasting
view point.
› Necessary to allow the audience to see the “good” bad guy
as the lesser of two evils
› To help the reader focus contempt towards “bad” bad guy
 A “good” bad guy must have some hint of humanity
and self imposed code of ethics
› Displays compassion and integrity but still allows of the
above the law image of the character
› Allows for the audience to connect by freeing part of the
characters id while attempting to respect the voice of their
superego.

29.  Conflict between “good” bad guy and “bad”
bad guy to force the audience to choose sides
› Typically the audience will choose the lesser of two
evils and the character they can most connect
with.

30.  Leo thought about it another minute and said, “I
don’t see any difference who takes the money, you
or this other guy. Either way I’m cleaned out.”
[Chili] “Yeah but there are different ways of
getting cleaned out,” Chili said. ”Ray Bones’ll take
everything you have-“(Leonard 199). “Then he’ll
hit you with some kind of heavy object if he
doesn’t shoot you, so you won’t tell on him. I
won’t do that”, “I’m going to take the three
hundred you scammed off the airline, but the rest

31.  of it, the ten grand? I’m gonna borrow that
and pay you back sometime.” [Leo]“You take
all my money, but you’re borrowing part of
it?” [Chili]“At eighteen percent, okay? And
don’t ask me no more questions, I’m leaving.”
[Leo] “You’re saying you want me to loan you
the ten grand?” [Chili] “I’m not asking
you, Leo. What I’m saying is I’m gonna pay
you back” (Leonard 200).

33.  Allows comparison between Chili and Ray
Bones
› Chili makes the point that if Bones found him the
consequences would be more severe
 Displays self imposed ethical code of Chili
› The fact even though Chili could just take the
money and walk off he doesn’t.
› He sends the $300,000 to Fay and tells Leo he’s
going to borrow the other $10,000 at interest.

34.  “Chili shook his head, tired of this, but still
feeling a little sorry for the guy. The Bear didn’t
seem to have his heart in it; he was going through
the motions, doing what he was told. Chili looked
off in kind of a thoughtful way, turned to the Bear
again and kicked him in the left knee, hard. The
Bear stumbled, hunching over. Chili grabbed him
by the hair with both hands, pulled his head
down and brought his knee up into the guy’s face.
That straightened him and now Chili hit

35.  him high in the belly as hard as he could, right
under the rib cage. The Bear gasped and sucked
air with his mouth open trying to
breathe, helpless now and in pain. Chili took him
by the arm saying , ‘Lie down on you back. Come
on if you want to breathe.’ He got the Bear down
on the concrete, straddled his midsection and
reached down to lift him up by the waist of his
pants, the same blue ones he had on
yesterday, telling him, ‘Take deep breaths through
your mouth and let it out slow” (Leonard 281).

37.  Shows an inner humanity and compassion
within Chili that is essential for the audience
to connect with the character.
 Also shows the Bear’s transition between
being a “bad” bad guy and a “good” bad guy.
 Displays novel as a Bildungsroman for the
character of the Bear.

39.  Get Shorty is a quest story for that
Hollywood dream.
 The novel follows a collector for the Miami
Mob, Chili Palmer, out to Las Vegas to get
300 Grand from a dry cleaner who faked his
death and scammed an airliner doing so.
 When Chili arrives in Vegas he here’s ofan
opportunity to go out to LA to collect money
from a movie producer.

40.  Once Chili arrives in LA,he shares his
movie idea with horror film
producer, Harry Zimm.
 Harry and Chili work together to get the
money they need to start producing the
movie “Mr. Lovejoy.”

41. http://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=yNLaTtpovys

42.  Chili Palmer finds his place in the movie industry but
he handles his business as if he is still a loan shark.
 He realizes the movie business is hard work but he
enjoys a challenge. “Rough business, this movie
business. I’ll have to take a break and go back to being
a loan shark” (Get).

43.  As he continues on in his quest he discovers he enjoys
the movie business a lot more than being in the
Miami Mob.
 In the end, he becomes the producer he wanted to
be, but still continues to handle the movie business
like a loan shark.

44.  A young boy, Amsterdam
Vallon, witnesses his
fathers death in a bloody
clash between the Native
Americans and the Irish
Immigrants.
 Amsterdam vanishes and
16 years later comes for
vengeance on his fathers
death.
 He seeks out the man who
killed his father, Bill “The
Butcher” Cutting.

45.  Amsterdam starts his quest as a young boy looking
for vengeance. When he returns 16 years later, he
infiltrates the butchers inner circle and becomes a
trusted assistant all knowing that when the time
comes, he will take revenge upon the man that killed
his father.
 Before Amsterdam can carry through with his
plan, his identity is discovered and he is horribly
beaten, which then starts the second war between the
Natives and the Irish Immigrants.

46.  Amsterdam ends his quest with a dual
between him and Bill “The Butcher.” In the
end Amsterdam kills Bill by stabbing him with
a knife, just as Bill had done to his father 16
years earlier.

47. Comparisons
 Amsterdam Vallon and Chili Palmer both set out to
accomplish major tasks throughout their quests.
 Both characters succeed in what they set out to do.
 While on their quests, they both discover who they
really are and what they were meant to do.
 Both men fall in love during their quests.

48. Differences
 Amsterdam
› More set on vengeance for his father rather than
something for himself.
› Has to work hard to get what he wants in the end.
 Chili
› Sets out to discover more of himself.
› Makes it seem as if getting what he wants is easy.

50.  allows the reader to look at the world differently
 always means more that what it implies
“It compares two things in such a way that you find
the comparison interesting”
“Figurative language enriches literary motifs and
themes by adding further layers of style, meaning
and “flavor.”

51. Allusions
Metaphors
Personification
Similes
Symbols
Hyperbole

52. Similes: uses the words “as” or “like”, making the
comparison less direct
“They were in the kitchen now. It was as big as
the kitchen in the Holmhurst Hotel, Atlantic
City . . . ” (33).

53. Hyperbole: uses wild exaggeration for comic
effect
“Karen was slimed to death within twenty
minutes of her first appearance on the screen”
(29).

54. Understatements: to represent as less than in
the case; usually for ironic effect (opposite of
hyperbole)
“He’s going upstairs in a hotel to have it out with
Bobby Duvall” (163).

55. Incongruity: the quality of incongruous or
disagreeing
(when two unlike objects or characters are put
together in a story)
“. . . I noticed the way Harry was hanging on to that
script. Like it was made of gold. . .” (142).

57.  Although a fictional
literary work, it is based on
Erich Remarque’s personal
experience
 The Germans are thought
of as the bad guys in the
First World War

58.  Former Confederates
 Numerous movies made about
the leader, Jesse James
 Controversy surrounds Jesse’s
death, some say he was not
killed on April 3rd, 1882 but
rather escaped and died of old
age some time around the
1940’s
 All have become American
Icons of the lawlessness of the
frontier

59.  Stared Clint Eastwood
 Confederates are generally
portrayed as the “Bad Guys”
 A Confederate who ends up
on the run from the Union
soldiers who murdered his
 There are some comedic
elements within the film
 Had to flee the Union
Soldiers much like Chili
fled from Bones

60.  Due to the hard times, he was loved by the
public despite being a notorious bank robber
 Operated during The Great Depression

61.  Harry Zimm mentions actor Gene Hackman
as his first choice for the lead role in his movie
(88). Gene Hackman plays Harry Zimm in the
movie Get Shorty
 Numerous other actors are mentioned such
as: De Niro, Cruise, Pacino, Nicholson, and
others.

63. ZigZag Productions- "Zig for the maniac, escaped lunatic and
dope-crazed biker pictures. No vampires or werewolves. Zag
for the ones featuring mutations fed on nuclear waste, your
slime people, your seven-foot rats, your maggots the size of
submarines. ”
 B Grade Horror Films
› Grotesque, Part Two
› Slime Creatures
› Hairraiser
› Freaks
 Twilight Zone

64. Dec 29, 1972- Eastern Air Lines TriStar carrying
167 people crashed into the Everglades, first fatal
accident involving the new breed of jumbo jets.
 “Alive: The Story of
the Andes Survivors”
 “Wings of Hope”

65. Chili forces his way into the Hollywood
scene, ties his shylock lifestyle into dealing with
making a movie
 Polo Lounge
 Conference with Harry, Michael Weir, and Elaine