Unbreakable
Alex van der Mout
ENG 4UE
Rockland District High School
10/28/08
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Likewise the journey of a hero begins with a single act of kindness. Their journey may take years or even just days. It can lead them to unexpected places, forcing them to rub shoulders with the people they serve. Their actions may save lives, or can make them to hate the ungrateful populace pushing them towards the ‘dark side’. Throughout M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable, the archetypes used create a unique idea of one’s place in society and the actions one must go through to find it, for better or for worse.
A hero is “a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal”. (Random house) In Unbreakable, that hero is undisputed Bruce Willis’s character David Dunn. David through his many deeds of valor proved that he is able to known as a ‘hero’. Subconsciously David whishes to help, he chose to become a security guard, he chose to help others. He chose to help protect what others valued most even though what he valued most, his marriage, was in shreds. He put others before himself. Others came before his own personal safety, to such an extent that he rushed into a home to save the trapped family, even knowing that the invader had already killed the father.
David also sacrificed what he loved most, football, so that Audrey (his wife) could be happy. David did everything he could so that others, not himself, could be happy and content. David wished no harm on good people, he served to protect them. There is no question: David Dunn is the hero in Unbreakable.
On the other hand Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), is the essence of evil through the film. By his hands thousands perished due to his ill deeds. He himself purposely destroyed a plane, de-railed a train and setting fire a hotel. A villain is “a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime”. (Random house) Elijah is both malicious and devoted to wickedness, by his deeds and actions it is clear that he is the villain in the movie.
Every person has a journey, or path to follow, hero or villain alike. This journey revels to one the role they are going to play on this world’s scene. This role could lead to be the cause of a thousand deaths, or to being a savior to a handful. All must take such a similar journey in a variety of degrees, there is no holding out, all must conform.
David’s journey was simple: becoming what he really was, a hero. The first steps of his journey, ironically, was not taken by himself but rather by Elijah. Without Elijah’s prompting, David would have never have questioned his unusual existence. Elijah planted the seeds of doubt in David’s head, and time made it grow. David begin to ‘learn’ his abilities, and by his son’s believe in him was able to put it towards practical usage. David’s son was prove of two things. First: we all need to believe in something or someone; we all need someone to be there for use. We all need a sturdy mountain, to keep us rooted in this hectic time. Second: we in turn need to be believed in order in to become great. How true that is! To keep ourselves sane we must believe in something that is greater then ourselves, something or someone that can and will fix all our problems. But in hand, we must be believed in, in order for us to rise to our greatest potential.
“Do you know what the scariest thing is? To not know your place in this world, to not know why you're here.” (Elijah Price, Unbreakable) Elijah’s path was altogether different from anyone else’s. From a young age Elijah had always been the social reject. Mocked and ridiculed for him being different, he was fugitively pushed into an isolated corner. Everyone in that corner has asked the questions: Why? What is my purpose for being here? Elijah was no different. His journey, his quest was to find his purpose here on Earth. Being drawn to comic books, he begin to think in line with what he read an saw. That we all have a purpose, there are always roles that we play, and guidelines that we play by. That one has to find their inner person. Elijah chose to find himself and his role in society.
Elijah’s journey made a villain out of a boy. He reasoned that if there was himself on one end of the spectrum, one that can brake with ease, there must be one on the other end, one that cannot be broken. So he set about cause deeds of destruction, trying to find that one soul survivor, one that can walk away from a crash without a scratch. He found his man, in David. As it turned out they were “on the same curve, just on opposite ends.” (Elijah Price, Unbreakable) By finding David, Elijah found himself.
“Now that we know who you are... I know who I am - I'm not a mistake! It all makes sense, in the comics you know who the arch villain is going to be? He's the exact opposite of the hero! And most time's they're friends like you, and me. I should've known way back when you know why David?! Because of the kids! They called me Mr. Glass.”(Elijah Price, Unbreakable)
To find one’s place can be a long deadly road to follow. Sacrifices need to be made either on the individual or upon others. One must find his/her place and status in society in order to be a able to function as a citizen. In Unbreakable, that journey was made by both Elijah and David alike, although their paths intersected, they had different destinations. By identifying the hero and villain one can clearly see the struggles that has to be undergone. Only when we find our postion in this world, will our lives be truly complete, then a hero can be born.
“A hero is more than a person, a hero is a belief. A belief that, against impossible odds, the world can be saved—and that the world is still worth saving. Heroes inspire that belief in us. They renew our faith and give us that most precious of all gifts—hope. The world needs heroes. That's why, when a true hero arrives, the world will honor him.” (Halo 3 Commercial: "Museum")
"hero." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 25 Oct. 2008.
“Unbreakable”. M. Night Shyamalan. Touchstone Pictures, 22 November 2000.
("Museum", youtube.com . 26 Oct. 2008 . <Youtube.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQiMfG6MAOM)
"villain." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 25 Oct. 2008.
3 comments:
Strong arguments man.....HAHAAHA your prolly gunna see "1 new comment" and think that Mr.Murray marked your essay, but no, its only me. Only Jonathan....lol
i actually did think it was Mr. Murray . . . Why would you do that Jon? I almost cried lol
OK. This time it really is me, lol. Good essay Alex. Nicely written.
T 4
A 4
C 4
K 4
Post a Comment