The Sound of Music story
The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical drama film produced and directed by Robert Wise from a screenplay written by Ernest Lehman. It is based on the 1959 stage musical composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Lindsay and Crouse, itself based on the 1949 memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp. The film stars Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, with Richard Haydn, Peggy Wood, Charmian Carr, and Eleanor Parker. Set in Salzburg, Austria, it is a fictional retelling of Maria von Trapp's experiences as governess to seven children, her eventual marriage with their father Captain Georg von Trapp, and their escape during the Anschluss in 1938.
20 total · 3 choice · 10 major · 7 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| dealing with children | choice | The story concerns a governess trying to care for a somewhat dysfunctional family of seven children bereaved of their mother. Maria became governess to the aristocratic von Trapp family, where her free-spirited approach to raising the seven von Trapp children brought her into conflict with their strict disciplinarian father, Georg von Trapp. |
| figuring out what to do with one's life | choice | Maria was at something of a crossroads in life: Should she continue studying to become a nun or leave the convent to see what new adventures might come her way? The nuns in the convent were quite eager for her to venture out into the world. |
| music | choice | Within the story, and independent of the musical format in which it is presented, there is an idea that music is emotionally liberating and a remedy for repression. Georg completely reformed his brooding ways when he heard the children sing. Maria spoke about the joy singing gave her. They formed a family singing group and performed at folk music festival to great fanfare. |
| clash of wills | major | Maria, who was free-spirited, and Georg, who was a strict disciplinarian, initially clashed over how to rear his seven children. |
| disciplined leadership vs. flexible leadership | major | Liberal minded Maria was starkly contrasted with the authoritarian father Georg in their approach to raising Georg's seven children. |
| grief | major | Georg was brooding, stern, and forbidding ever since his wife had past away and left him with seven children. |
| homework vs. play | major | Liberal minded Maria was starkly contrasted with the authoritarian father Georg in their approach to raising Georg's seven children. |
| human childhood | major | The story explores how the seven von Trapp children came to dearly love their new governess, Maria. She taught them how to ply like normal children. |
| love triangle | major | Georg's plan to marry Elsa came crashing down after he and Maria fell passionately in love. |
| Nazism | major | The story is set in Salzburg during the time of Austria's annexation by the Third Reich. In the end, the von Trapp family was compelled to flee the country. |