Throughout the class film,
The Graduate, the protagonist, Ben, is every parent's dream. He was the track star, won several awards, and achieved various other successes. In the beginning of the film, Ben's parents throw him a graduation party, but none of the guests are Ben's age. The party was just another way for his parents to brag about Ben's achievements to their friends. After graduating from college, Ben realizes that he is indeed, his parents' dream, not his own. Up until this point in his life, all of his decisions were made for him, but suddenly he was the one to choose his life path. Ben felt a lot of pressure from his parents to do something with his life. They constantly asked him what his plan was, and when he was going to act on it. In one scene, as Ben floats around in the pool, his parents come up on either side of him, circling him like sharks. They attack him with more questions and it is clear that they drove him over the edge. Because of these pressures Ben faced, he made several bad decisions in spite of his parents. The first one was sneaking off to see Mrs.Robinson. This affair was highly inappropriate and Ben knew his parents would never approve of it. Ultimately, this affair did not make Ben happy, he still felt empty and lost. The affair stretched on for months, and in that time Ben still did not know what he wanted to do with his life. Another bad decision Ben made was crashing Elaine's wedding. This was a rash decision, and this choice, in the end, did not make him happy either. In the final scene, the camera stalls over Ben and Elaine's face as they ride away on the bus. At first he is laughing, but his face becomes much more solemn as he realizes the repercussions of his actions. Although he may have thought marrying Elaine would be the next step in his life, it didn't really change anything. He still has no job, no house, and now he has a bad relationship with his parents.
Although Ben's parents thought they were doing what was best for their son by raising him to be idealistic, they ultimately hurt him by making all of his decisions for him. When Ben was finally allowed to make his own decisions, he didn't know how to and made several bad choices. Do you think that Ben's failures were his parent's fault, or his?
I really like your point on Benjamin's face at the end of the movie and how it looks just like how we saw it in the beginning. Although this is a step in the right path for Ben I don't think that he will be happy with his decision. This was a very risky decision and could potentially be a decision that won't ever make him happy. I do however think that Ben is going in the right direction with his life now and that he's trying to find common ground for people his age. He's trying to figure out what to do with his life and Elaine is a step in the process. I also disagree with the point where you say he ruined his relationship with his parents because I don't think that that can necessarily be inferred from the movie because we never see him and his parents disagree to the point where their relationship seems poor.
ReplyDeleteI think this is such a cool topic to write about especially with all of us going through the college process and dealing with unwanted parental advice and overall direction. The whole idea of Ben trying to fill this lack of something with the first girl who makes him feel something reminds me almost of Romeo and Juliet. Even though he thinks he loves Elaine it might because she is forbidden fruit by Mrs.Robinson, and he is so use to being on the straight edge path, breaking the rules felt good. I think that they both realize the consequences as they drive off into the "sunset".
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