Ms Paine
8 ENGLISH
Name:________________
Edward Scissorhands dir. Tim Burton
Questions for Understanding & Analysis
1.
How does Edward Scissorhands start? What story is being told? By whom?

At the start of Edward Scissorhands, a grandmother is telling her granddaughter a story before bed. It
is only at the end of the film that the viewer find out that this grandmother is actually the character,
Kim.
2.
Compare the two settings - the neighborhood and the old inventor's house. Make notes under the following headings.
(Remember to note anything that you find significantly different between the two places):
See notes on board
Neighborhood
Old Inventor's house (Edward's home)
 color – bright pastels
 color – dark greys, black
 lighting - bright
 lighting – shadows, darkness
 style of houses – very similar except for
 style/ feature of house – gothic and
unique
the colour

neighbors – gossips, women stay at
home, men work

Edward’s father (the old inventor) – loving,
kindness
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3.
Describe the members of Edward's adopted family and their attitude to Edward.
 Peg
 She door knocks and sells Avon cosmetics
 She appears to be the only woman who works in the neighborhood
 She’s kind and adopts Edward like he’s her own son.
 Peg accepts Edward and treats him with love and kindness eg. Welcomes Edward into her family’s
home
 Peg is unique compared to the other neighborhood women as she works and is willing to first go to
the old inventor’s house and secondly welcome Edward into her family.
 Always gives people a ‘second-chance’
 Bill
 Peg’s husband
 Attempts to get to know Edward
 Bill tries to educate Edward about the world like a real father would
 Very supportive and similar in the way he just accepts Edward
 Kim
 Daughter of Peg and Bill and is a teenager at high school
 Dating Jim
 Kim is part of the ‘cool’ kids at school
 Kim initially dislikes Edward because he is different and strange
 Kim finds Edward embarrassing
 Kim realizes
 Kevin
 Son of Bill and Peg, and Kim’s brother
 Youngest child
 Kevin thinks Edward’s scissor hands are unusual and exciting, and want to take Edward into school
for show and tell
 He soon accepts Edward as part of the family
 Edward saves Kevin from Jim’s mate’s out of control vehicle.
4.
Describe Edward, focusing on the following areas:
 appearance (costuming)
 very gothic




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extremely pale white skin
dark eyeliner around his eyes
long black, tangled hair
many scars on his face because he can’t touch it without hurting himself – not disfiguring to the point
of being scary, just enough so appears vulnerable.
black clothing that appears almost mechanical as though it’s a part of him – includes straps, buckles,
leather
mannerisms including speech (acting style).
 stiff, almost ‘robotic’ movements, partly because of his dangerous scissor hands
 very softly spoken and quiet, speaks quickly
 quiet, doesn’t speak often, which makes him seem shy and awkward
 voice pitch is high like a child
 voice lacks the same emotion/ inflection as a normal person
 very polite and humble
 loves Kim and cares for the whole family.
5.
Why is eating a roast dinner with Peg’s family difficult for Edward? What words would you choose to describe his clumsy
attempts to eat a pea amongst other things?
 Edward, because he has scissors for hands, struggles to eat the roast dinner due to a lack of fine motor
skills. This is because he does not have hands which would allow him to use a knife and fork.
 Words to describe Edward eating his roast dinner – uncoordinated, clumsy, awkward, hopeful to
hopeless, despite having scissors for hands he is vulnerable and dependent on others, he is also
determined to try and eat dinner, perseveres.
 The director shows us Edward’s attempts to eat a roast dinner with Peg’s family, to highlight how he
is already one of them and included in family meals.
6.
What do the neighborhood women originally think of Edward? Who is the only person to treat Edward differently? Why?
 Peg and Bill’s neighbors, particularly the women, treat Edward as an interesting and unique guest.
They find his scissorhands exciting. The women force Peg and Bill to put on a barbeque, where the
feed him their salads. They also get Edward to cut and decorate their gardens, cuts their hair and their
dogs’ hair. As the women don’t work and stay at home, Edward is the new, exciting ‘thing’ for them
to talk about.
 Joyce is the most significant of the local women as she takes everything including her sexuality to
extremes especially in her treatment of Edward.
 The only woman to treat Edward differently, is the strange, extremely religious neighbor who sees
him as a “temptation” sent by the devil. This woman is dressed differently in much darker clothes to
the others, and her house is full of crucifixes, bibles and an organ which she plays.
7.
How does Jim treat Edward? What does the attempted burglary reveal about Jim's character to the viewer?
 Jim treats Edward as someone who is different and can be bullied and who doesn’t have any feelings.
 When Edward is electrocuted on tv, Jim finds it hilarious and wants to watch it again, and doesn’t care
whether Edward has been hurt.
 As Edward becomes closer to Kim, Jim becomes extremely jealous and violent.
 The robbery reveals Jim’s cruelty and meanness. He gets Kim to ask Edward to break into his parents’
house, and when the alarm goes off he abandons Edward. This means that Edward takes the blame
for the burglary.
 Jim is very selfish and sees Kim as his ‘property’ so is incredibly angry when she breaks up with him.
8.
How does Kim change in her relationship of Edward and Jim?
 Initially Kim is shocked and frightened to find Edward asleep in her room.
 She is embarrassed that her parents have taken in Edward, who is so different from everyone.
 Originally, Jim is her boyfriend.
 After Jim’s cruelty in leaving Edward to take the blame for burglary, Kim realizes that he’s a bully,
and decides break up with him.
 Kim starts to show real affection and kindness to Edward. She tells him to ‘run’ when the police are
after him towards the end of the movie.
 Kim tells the neighbors that Edward and Jim killed each other and shows a spare scissorhand of
Edward’s as evidence. She does this protect Edward from the neighbors who are now angry and
fearful of him.
9.
As Edward develops his gardening and hair-cutting skills, his mannerisms and appearance also change. What is different
about Edward in the middle part of the story?


As Edward becomes renowned for his gardening and hair-cutting skills, the viewer sees a change in
his manner and appearance. He no longer appears awkward and shy, but when cutting hair (etc) he
appears supremely confident. The director makes him look like an artist by dressing him in a long
white coat and showing his scissorhands move in a similar way to a painter.
Edward is also becoming better at socializing with other people and becomes part of the
neighborhood.
10. Flashbacks are when a director shows something from a character's past, which helps the viewer understand that
character and their motivations. Who features in Edward's flashbacks? What are your impressions of these memories?
 In Edward’s flashbacks to his life before, the old inventor who created him is shown. The old
inventor is like a father figure to Edward who teaches him manners and life skills. Tragically, before
Edward can be finished with real hands, the inventor dies. Peg and Bill offer Edward a new family
after he lost his father, hence their importance to him.
11. What causes the neighbors to change their attitude to Edward? Give examples of how their treatment of him towards the
end of the movie is quite different from at the start.
 When Edward is caught during the burglary at Jim’s parents’ place and blamed for it
 The neighbors see Edward on the ground wrestling with Kevin as though he is attacking him, when
really Edward has just rescued Kevin.
 Joyce tries to seduce Edward and he runs away. She later lies and says how he almost raped her.
 The women cancel all their haircuts and the gardening jobs
 The women gossip about how dangerous Edward is, especially towards a young teenage girl like Kim.
 The neighbors decide not to attend Peg and Bill’s annual Christmas party.
12. Why does Kim show the neighbors a spare pair of Edward's scissors at the end of the movie?
 To protect Edward, Kim states that the roof caved in on Edward and killed him as he killed Jim. To
back up her story, she uses a spare one of Edward’s scissorhands to make it look like he has died.
This convinces the neighbours that Edward is no longer a threat and they return home.
13. At the end of the film, who is revealed to be telling the story and making the snow?
 At the end of the film, the viewer realizes that the old grandmother is Kim who is telling the story of
Edward to her granddaughter. The grandmother knows that Edward is still up in the old inventor’s
house, because now it snows in the neighbourhood and it never did before. This is because he is
making ice sculptures like he did at Peg and Bill’s.
14. Why in the end do the neighbors become fearful of Edward? What makes him stand out? Are they being fair?
 It is easy for the neighbours to turn on Edward after the attempted burglary and incident with Joyce,
because he is so different with his scissorhands and appearance. He is no longer seen as unique and
interesting, rather his difference makes him dangerous. Edward is never given any chance to explain
himself, as it is easier to blame him due to his appearance.
15. What gothic elements does Burton include in Edward Scissorhands?
 Edward wears very pale white makeup for his skin and has very unkempt dark hair.
 Edward speaks quietly and is shy. He comes across as mysterious.
 Edward’s costume with the buckles and leather-like pants all in black, as well as his scissorhands.
 Old inventor’s house – is colored mostly black and grey, covered in cobwebs, shadows, mysterious
objects
 Music helps create a scary atmosphere
 The contrast with Peg and Bill’s neighborhood makes Edward appear much more gothic.
16. How would you describe Edward's personality? Circle the appropriate ones.
 inexperienced – has no
 wise
experience, lacks life
 innocent – does not
skills
know much about people
and their motives
 cool
 honest – he doesn’t lie
 conformist
 different –due to his
 forgiving – forgives Kim
appearance and the way
for leaving him after the
he acts
attempted burglary
 manipulative
Explain why you think that your selected character traits are important in describing Edward.
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lonely – at the movie’s
beginning he is very
lonely
friendly – keen to get to
know everyone
bully
17. Complete one of the following creative responses to Edward Scissorhands. Each response should be three or more
paragraphs long.
1) Imagine you are either Kim or Peg and write a letter that explains what happens after the end of the movie
and how much you miss Edward.
2) Write a newspaper report for the local newspaper about the mystery of the old inventor’s house and the
story of Edward.
 ANY ANSWERS ARE FINE