The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

What do you think of Dr. Caligari? What are some of his characteristics?

What do you think of Dr. Caligari? What are some of his characteristics, and do you think he is a static or a dynamic character? Why?

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The first part of your question calls for your opinion. Over the course of the story, Francis tells how Dr. Caligari appeared in town one day as sideshow entertainer whose act involves a somnambulist named Cesare that sleeps in a box. Caligari’s admittedly slim act involves awakening Cesare to get him to answer questions posed by members of the audience that appear to indicate the man in the trance has some sort power of precognition of future events. When Francis reveals to the police that Cesare is only a dummy in the box after suspicion is thrown on and then off the sleepwalker for a series of murders, Caligari flees for sanctuary into a mental asylum, followed closely by Francis and the law. They are stunned to find that Caligari is the director of the asylum, but eventually becomes a patient after Francis proves he’s actually quite mad. The other half of the tale is the movie’s famous twist end: Caligari actually is the director of a mental asylum in which Francis, Cesare, Jane and the other man on the bench are all, in fact, patients.

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The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari