Film Analysis: The Best Years Of Our Lives

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Recommended: Impacts after World War II

“The Best Years of Our Lives” displayed what life was like for returning soldiers from the war and their families. This story revolves around three men that meet on a plane ride back home after World War II and shows how their relationships grow and change in different situations. The three main characters: Al Stephenson, Homer Parrish, and Fred Derry faced family problems, personal struggles, and financial hardships. Homer Parrish was played by a real man that was in World War II, he had lost his hands in the war and had hooks that took their place. Parrish was able to operate his hooks quite well, but he couldn’t handle the humiliation that came with them. This film truly displayed what life was like after the war and how people were trying to cope with it. Both Al and Fred turned to alcohol the first night they returned home from the war, however, Al continued to binge drink over the next few nights. Al had a wife and two children that loved him dearly, and they were worried about his drinking habits. He was just trying to forget the war and carry on with his normal …show more content…

Men that fought in the war had to find jobs to support themselves and their families. This was hard because the people that did not fight took all the jobs so it was hard to find one. Fred found one but it didn’t last very long because he couldn’t control his anger, but he was also protecting Homer. It was hard for these military heroes to return back to their life the way it was before the war because so many things changed. They had to cope with what they saw while fighting and that was really hard to do because they lost friends and saw some horrible things. Just because the war was over, that didn’t mean things would be the same or good. People were struggling to find jobs and maintaining them like Fred. This era was definitely full of difficulties but they didn’t stop people from working hard to be

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