Nicolle Chesin

Period 5

Little Shop of Horrors Extra Credit Essay

The Little Shop of Horrors was an eye opening production that I was intrigued by very
much. There were several parallel reflections in Little Shop of Horrors to the everyday life we
live today. Little Shop of Horrors demonstrates how today's temptations and actions can affect
where we end up tomorrow. This production made me aware that many things influence who I
was shaped to be today such as my environment, peers, and cause and effect relationships of the
decisions a person makes. The traits of each character can be seen in our peers or maybe even in
ourselves if we look hard enough.
Little Shop of Horrors evil mirrors the world in which we live today.Currently, there are
many temptations in the world which help us decide the path we follow and the decisions we
make. The temptation of murder is showed multiple times in the musical. For example, when
Seymour kills Orin, Audrey’s abusive boyfriend who is a dentist, due to his envy of having and
hurting Audrey, his secret love. The temptation of drugs also plays a role in the character of Orin.
The sadistic dentist , Orin, is addicted and abuses drugs which ends up causing him to lose his
life. His addiction affects his personality and how he treats people, especially his girlfriend,
Audrey, with disrespect. Lying is also a parallel of todays society in Little Shop of Horrors.
Many people repeatedly lie in todays society which lead them into trouble. In the production,
Seymour lies when Mushnik confronts him about the killing of Orin. Due to the amount of
pressure Seymour is under, he tells Mushnik the receipts are inside Audrey II for safe keeping so
Mushnik ends up getting devoured by the carnivorous plant who quenches for the taste of human
blood. Seymour gets caught in a web of lies which results in the death of Mushnik, Audrey, and
eventually himself. Another parallel demonstrated in the production is physical and verbal abuse.
This is shown when Orin physically and verbally abuses Audrey multiple times. The evils in
Little Shop of Horrors are existent in today's society.
The characters in Little Shops of Horror reflect our peers and who we are in life. For
example, in the beginning, Seymour is an insecure naive florist clerk working for Mushnik's Skid
Row Florist Shop. Seymour is sweet and means well as he lacks in social skills. He is the owner
of Audrey II and changes due to his environment and peer pressure of the carnivorous plant.
Seymour gets caught in a web of lies and makes many crucial decisions and is focused on the
temptations of a bigger better life and not the consequences. Almost everyone has seen a person
change due to peer pressure, a situation, or their surroundings. We have all seen a good human
become someone who they were not due to the temptations of their surroundings. Audrey is the
bleached-blond secret love of Seymour’s life. Audrey is an attractive girl with very low
confidence. Lacking in education and self-esteem, she suffers from feelings of hopelessness at
her situation in life, including her abusive relationship with her boyfriend. In today's world,
many people have low self confidence and accept being treated like they are trash. Audrey II can
represent a street- smart, funky, conniving villain in todays society. In the production, it is
represented as a blood thirsty plant, man-eating plant who will do almost anything to fight its
way to the get fame. Orin is Audrey’s abusive dentist boyfriend. Orin Scrivello is a
 Nicolle Chesin
Period 5

motorcycle-riding black leather jacket-wearing tough-guy. He is sadistic and achieves pleasure

by causing others pain. He is egotistical, rough, and insensitive to his peers around him. His
fondness for drugs lead him down the wrong past of death instead of a successful dentist. In
society there is always that one kid who love to bring others down and act like the tough guy
who doesn’t care about his future or where he is heading. The urchins can be recognized as the
bystanders. They know what's going on and don’t let temptations get in way of their decisions.
They think before they act. The characters in Little Shops of Horror may be similar and relate to
our peers surrounding us or maybe even to ourselves through similar experiences.
Satire plays a big role in the Little Shop of Horror. There are several examples were satire
is used to get a point across to the audience. For example, Skid Row demonstrates poverty and
ghetto and how the environment can play a role in your decisions. The venus fly trap is most
well known species of carnivorous plant. Carnivorous is known as meat eating while the venus
fky trap eats insects therefore, it should be labeled insectivorous plants. The venus fly trap
attracts prey by its sweet nectar then devours them up. The production, Little Shop of Horrors
satirizes the Faust legend by he Faust motif involves a human being who steps above the laws of
God and man. The original Faust sold his soul to the devil in order to gain wealth and power. The
most famous example of the Faust motif in horror films is the mad scientist who "tampers with
nature." In Little Shop of Horrors, Seymour is considered the Faust character.
Little Shops of Horrors is a reflection of the world we live in today with the temptations
of blood, gore, murder, drugs, violence, guns, knives, etc . Characters from the play also are
parallel to our surrounding peers and may be seen in each of us. The musical shows how our
environment and peers can play a role in to decision making but in the end we are responsible
from the consequences created from the decisions we make. These consequences can affect
tomorrow and a persons future in multiple ways. Little Shops of Horror evils of the play mirror
the world in which we live.