Silent Hill, according to Angela:
Posted: 04 Nov 2005
...as a House.
The town of Silent Hill Angela Orosco sees is seemingly the same as James'—slightly different in places, of course—but this seems far from the truth. Angela's Silent Hill, from my observations, isn't a town at all: it's a house. Hers, to be precise.
When James first meets Angela, she hasn't made it to town quite yet; she's on the outskirts, lingering around, looking for her family, in a cemetery no less, where only the dead reside: she hasn't made it "home" yet. She also doesn't act terribly odd—not considering how she acts later on, at least. Upon meeting her the first time, everything is relatively normal between the two strangers: an awkward teenager; an equally awkward introvert. Not until James confronts her for the second time—this occurrence being inside Silent Hill—does her personality drastically change.
The location of said room in Blue Creek Apartments doesn't exist: The room itself exists, but the way into it does not. It's through an off-white door—one appearing in only one other location in Silent Hill 2—with the standard apartment doors immediately to the right. Why then are there two doors leading into the same room? one of which is unopenable, the other, not leading into a room at all.
This door leads to, for James, a room in Blue Creek Apartments—for Angela, her house. She leaves the room, but as long as she's in the town, it seems she doesn't leave the house: She moves from room to room, hallway to hallway.
Her presence in the Labyrinth further suggests she's going through the house. The doorway—the aforementioned door—also leads into the piston room: the room in which James confronts Thomas Orosco, her abusive father. Afterward, Angela conveys her ardent hatred for her father, smashing a television over the monster's body. The off-white door again suggests this isn't the same to James as it is to Angela: These particular doorways are what Angela's traversing through, to get from one place to the next. This room, to her, may very well have been the living room, where she killed her father, according to the news article.
The final meeting with Angela occurs in, yet again, an impossible room: a nonexistent staircase. It's an example of Nowhere from Silent Hill, in which two realities collide: James', the hotel; Angela's, her home. This mysterious staircase is one that ostensibly mimics her own home, much like all of the other rooms Angela is encountered in. Of course this staircase doesn't end, it only lasts as long as Angela does.
The point being: To Angela, Silent Hill is her house: the white house with white siding Angela is seen running through in the introduction; the white house with the off-white doors—think chastity, virginity—leading James into Angela's reality. Perhaps, then: to Angela, her house is Silent Hill.
*codicil: I revised this slightly on 16 July, 2009. I may do so again soon.
*codicil 2: I revised this slightly, again, on 7 September, 2009. I may do so again, as well.
*edit 3: I edited this for formatting on 23 September, 2022.
The town of Silent Hill Angela Orosco sees is seemingly the same as James'—slightly different in places, of course—but this seems far from the truth. Angela's Silent Hill, from my observations, isn't a town at all: it's a house. Hers, to be precise.
When James first meets Angela, she hasn't made it to town quite yet; she's on the outskirts, lingering around, looking for her family, in a cemetery no less, where only the dead reside: she hasn't made it "home" yet. She also doesn't act terribly odd—not considering how she acts later on, at least. Upon meeting her the first time, everything is relatively normal between the two strangers: an awkward teenager; an equally awkward introvert. Not until James confronts her for the second time—this occurrence being inside Silent Hill—does her personality drastically change.
The location of said room in Blue Creek Apartments doesn't exist: The room itself exists, but the way into it does not. It's through an off-white door—one appearing in only one other location in Silent Hill 2—with the standard apartment doors immediately to the right. Why then are there two doors leading into the same room? one of which is unopenable, the other, not leading into a room at all.
This door leads to, for James, a room in Blue Creek Apartments—for Angela, her house. She leaves the room, but as long as she's in the town, it seems she doesn't leave the house: She moves from room to room, hallway to hallway.
Her presence in the Labyrinth further suggests she's going through the house. The doorway—the aforementioned door—also leads into the piston room: the room in which James confronts Thomas Orosco, her abusive father. Afterward, Angela conveys her ardent hatred for her father, smashing a television over the monster's body. The off-white door again suggests this isn't the same to James as it is to Angela: These particular doorways are what Angela's traversing through, to get from one place to the next. This room, to her, may very well have been the living room, where she killed her father, according to the news article.
The final meeting with Angela occurs in, yet again, an impossible room: a nonexistent staircase. It's an example of Nowhere from Silent Hill, in which two realities collide: James', the hotel; Angela's, her home. This mysterious staircase is one that ostensibly mimics her own home, much like all of the other rooms Angela is encountered in. Of course this staircase doesn't end, it only lasts as long as Angela does.
The point being: To Angela, Silent Hill is her house: the white house with white siding Angela is seen running through in the introduction; the white house with the off-white doors—think chastity, virginity—leading James into Angela's reality. Perhaps, then: to Angela, her house is Silent Hill.
*codicil: I revised this slightly on 16 July, 2009. I may do so again soon.
*codicil 2: I revised this slightly, again, on 7 September, 2009. I may do so again, as well.
*edit 3: I edited this for formatting on 23 September, 2022.
Cheers!
