Sunday, October 12, 2014
The Graduate
In the final scene of The Graduate, Ben breaks his silence in efforts to win Elaine back by disrupting her wedding. Throughout the film, we see Ben start off as a very passive character, one who wants to please those around him and fails to identify with himself and his actions. As we get deeper into the plot, and the relationship between Mrs. Robinson and Ben progresses physically yet Ben takes an interest mentally in Elaine. Up until he dates Elaine, I don't believe that Ben was ever fully content with himself despite all of his previous achievements and awards. Elaine helps him enjoy life again and experience happiness- something that he didn't experience much of with Mrs. Robinson. In the moments leading up to the last scene, we see a very demanding side of Ben who will stop at nothing until he has Elaine back in his life for she is his ultimate goal. The thing that I love most about the ending after Ben grabs Elaine and hops on the bus is the look of uncertainty and blankness on their faces. They realize what they've just done by essentially messing up the status quo and even though they were so confident in their decision five minutes ago, they're now processing what just took place and how their future is wide open. Does all marriage begin with a certain sense of uncertainty? Should one be 100% confident in their spouse/decision?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I really liked how you used the last scene of the film to justify your point that Ben was used to be a character that always "let people walk all over him" per say, but that personality of his soon changed after he dated Elaine. I think it was hard for Ben to become who he is in his childhood and young adulthood because of his parents. They are always asking him questions and think they know what is best for him when he himself doesn't even know what he wants. For example, the scuba suit. Ben seemed less then thrilled to receive it as his graduation gift despite his parents thinking that he would love it. Another example of this is the scene in the pool where they swim around his almost like sharks. That scene exemplified to me their relationship. I also agree with you when you said that Elaine was the one person who was able to get Ben out of that state. You see him come out of his shell, the shell of his parents essentially, and start making his own decisions and going after the girl that he loves.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with what you said about Ben being with Mrs. Robinson physically, but not mentally, as her was more consumed with Elaine. As far as what you asked at the end, I think that it depends completely on the person and relationship. There are those that are willing to settle for less, those who feel rushed and maybe unsure of what they actually want but force marriage upon themselves anyways. In my opinion, it is different with every marriage. In the beginning, there may be a sense of uncertainty but that should not be based off of affairs, it should be on smaller issues if anything. However, before marrying, you should definitely have 100% trust and confident in your spouses decisions. If trust seems to be a problem, then it is not meant to be. Like with Mrs. Robinson and Mr. Robinson, they clearly had problems with their relationship because Mrs. Robinson was unsatisfied with him, and felt she needed to seek other attention, (Ben).
ReplyDeleteI like what you said about the blankness of Ben and Elaine's faces on the bus after the chaos at the church because so much had just happened and they confessed their love for each other, but since it all happened so quickly, they're just then deciding if it was the right choice. I think that all marriages and relationships begin with some level of uncertainty because it's a whole new world and style of living. I also agree with Colby in that the partners should had 100% trust in their spouse and their decisions for the marriage to work. I think Elaine and Ben had this from the time they spent together at Berkeley while Ben made up for what he had done with Mrs. Robinson.
ReplyDelete