The movie Finding Forrester teaches many lessons about courage, dreams, and transformation, many of which can be relatable to people of all ages. The most iconic, however, are the lessons about trust. Finding Forrester is the story of leery old hermit, William Forrester, who hasn’t stepped foot outside his apartment in several decades, and his unlikely friendship with Jamal, an aspiring writer attending a public high school. After his brother’s death, Forrester secludes himself and decides not to trust anyone, that is, until Jamal comes along. After numerous conflicts and skirmishes, the two finally began to trust each other, eventually leading to Forrester opening up about his guilt over his brother’s death. Finding Forrester shows that, …show more content…
in confusing and uncomfortable environments - especially when strangers are involved - trust tends to be more scarce and conflicts, more common. In confusing or difficult times, it can be hard to know who to trust.
Near the beginning of Finding Forrester, Jamal and his friends are confused by the behavior of “The Window” - who later is discovered to be the author, Forrester himself, in hiding. Because Jamal and his friends are confused by Forrester’s habits - such as peering out of his corner apartment window to the basketball court the young boys haunt and the fact that they have never seen the hermit, pale from decades without seeing the sun, go outside- they find it difficult to trust him. Jamal and Forrester begin to grow closer, though, after his friends dare him to sneak into Forrester’s apartment, take a picture, and steal something. The two begin to grow close - though not without a few bumps in the road - and, as Rob Brown observes, “Forrester brings out Jamal’s intelligence, and Jamal brings Forrester back into life . . .” (Movielocity, 2001, p. 2), both Forrester and Jamal come to count on each other. Forrester is able to give Jamal an unprejudiced point of view he cannot find anywhere else, just as Jamal is able to give Forrester the courage to go out in the world and migrate back into society. When Forrester brandishes a letter opener at Jamal not long after they meet, it is because the former has forgotten how to interact with people, so he and Jamal anger each other. After being secluded from society for nigh on four decades, it is hard for Forrester to trust anyone, and Jamal is confused as to who …show more content…
Forrester really is, so they cannot trust one another yet. As stated by Paul Clinton (2001, p. 1) “. . . Jamal brings Forrester back into the world of reality which the author rejected decades before.” Forrester secludes himself from the harsh reality of the outside world because he tires of the constant analysing and critiquing of his first and last published book, Avalon Landing. Jamal is able to introduce Forrester to the joys of the real world in new way, convince the hermit to face his fears, and compel him to learn to trust others again, starting with Jamal himself. This proves that people tend to be less trusting if they are in a confusing or difficult setting. When figuring out who to trust in a comfortable environment, the answer seems to be obvious.
When Jamal breaks into Forrester’s apartment, near the beginning of the movie, Forrester does not trust the intruder. Forrester is comfortable in his apartment, he knows who should be there and who shouldn’t. Because of this, he knows not to trust the intruder and thief, Jamal and “. . . scares him [Jamal] off with a furious roar” (Holden, 2000, p. 2). Forrester has been secluded off from society for so long that there is not a trusting bone left in his body. Likewise, when in an uncomfortable situation, it can be hard to know who to trust. When Jamal attends his new school, he is unfamiliar and uneasy with his new peers and teachers, so he is unsure of who to trust. The other kids attending the school do not like Jamal because he is an outsider. Paul Clinton states, “. . . Jamal is recruited by an elite Manhattan prep school. He’s been chosen not just for his writing skills, but also for his prowess on the basketball court. Jamal knows it, which further alienates him from his rich white classmates.” Jamal’s peers do not want to trust him because he is African American and he comes from a poor family. It can be seen that it is clear who to trust in if one is comfortable in their environment and in tense or antsy settings, it is hard to know who to rely
on. When strangers interact, there is less trust and more conflicts. When Forrester first interacts with Jamal, he is wary and does not invite him into his home. Because they are strangers, it is hard for them to interact and trust each other, as friends do, and this leads to conflicts, such as the previously mentioned Forrester waving the letter opener at Jamal. The former is angered by Jamal and is afraid of being “critically misinterpreted”. Forrester stays in his lonesome apartment because of this “paranoid fear” (Holden, 2000, p. 2). On the other hand, when Jamal first meets Claire, a pretty young girl attending his new school, they trust one another almost instantaneously. They have less conflicts than Jamal and Forrester do because of this instant trust. This lack of conflicts may because they sympathize with each other. Movielocity says, “Family isn’t always what you’re born with - sometimes it’s the people you find, sometimes it’s the people who find you,” (2001, p.1). Jamal and Claire found one another and consider the other family; this connection may be the source of them not having any conflicts and their immediate, mutual trust. Conflicts happen more often between strangers who do not trust one another. In conclusion, when people are in uncomfortable and unfamiliar envirnments with strangers, it is often hard to know which people are to be trusted; this leads to skirmishes and conflicts. Conflicts tend to happen more between strangers than friends, even more so when those strangers are uncomfortable with the situation and trust between them is scarce. When people are in secure settings, who to trust can be more obvious. This shows that trust and who it is turned to completely depends on the environment and the people involved. Trust becomes merely a point of view.
The characterization of Finding Forrester is the key to help the reader understand more of each character and how they battle through
At the end of the movie rides off on his bike with plans to go back to his home country, Scotland. By the end of Finding Forrester Jamal and William have become good friends. This allows Jamal to help William overcome his fear of leaving to show off Jamal’s writing. Because of this friendship, William realizes who he truly is, a writer, and he then leaves to revisit his home country of Scotland. Forrester and Jamal’s friendship starts out poorly, however, by the end of the story they realize the importance each other: “Forrester brings out Jamal’s intelligence, and Jamal brings
The film, Finding Forrester, characterizes the unlikely relationship formed, between a withdrawn, hermit writer William Forrester, and Jamal Wallace, a basketball star from the Bronx, through their mutual proclivity for the art of writing. The plot of the film revolves around Jamal’s transitions to a highly prestigious private school and the events that led to Forrester becoming a mentor towards Jamal’s writing. Both reclusive in nature, for Jamal his academic endeavors, and Forrester nearly all aspects of his life; together, their shared bond opens them up further to the world. The title, Finding Forrester, refers to the mutualistic beneficial nature of their friendship, in that Jamal helps Forrester find himself, in addition to Forrester
The characters are different in many ways; Forrester is a male Caucasian in his mid seventies who graduated from Columbia University and lives by himself. Forrester has confined himself to his apartment for ten years. His only foray to the outside world is when he leans out the window to clean off the grime. Forrester pays for all other necessities that are handled by outside service. Another difference is that Forrester is non-confrontational. He would rather handle a problem behind closed doors than confront the person face to face. For example, when Jamal's English professor thinks he used a title from another author's writing without permission he demands Jamal to write a letter of apology and read it in front of ...
“Trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair. - Anonymous”. If you have ever felt isolated from society, or feel that you are constantly begging for the mercy of your own subconscious, then you know the pain accompanied by expending trust. It is imperative for humanity to cultivate trust; if we lose it, we will simply degenerate into insanity. For instance, in the texts “On the Sidewalk Bleeding”, “The Tell-Tale Heart” as well as “The Landlady”, characters were tasked with uncovering the role that trust plays in conquering challenges. In doing so, they also suffered through fluctuating degrees of tailored hardships.
In the film Finding Forrester, their was a big conflict between Jamal and Mr. Crawford. Mr. Crawford and Jamal had their difference though out the film. Their were lots of problems that Mr. Crawford had against Jamal. The conflicts were based Jamal race, and his intelligence.
Forrester finds his courage by being outgoing and visiting the school to speak to them, while Jamal finds his courage differently by setting himself outside of the stereotype. Jamal is a very smart boy but he also plays sports; thus, he is outside of the stereotype. Jamal goes to his basketball practice at the school and meets Heartwell. Heartwell is a classmate who plays on the basketball team with Jamal. From the start, Heartwell and Jamal did not get along.
Why does trust help build an enduring friendship? Coming from “Freak the Mighty” Kevin a.k.a “Freak” has a rare disease that makes it so that his insides grow faster than his body. That disability makes it hard for Kevin to move around. So Max a.k.a “The Mighty” helps him out by carrying him on his shoulders. This makes it easier for Kevin to travel
Trust is one of the most fragile relationships individuals have between one another, and it is a dynamic that is constantly changing. From the start of Finding Forrester, after meeting one of the main characters named William , one is able to tell the theme is trust. In the beginning Jamal meets a man named William by breaking into his apartment one night after playing basketball with his buddies, and accidentally leaving his bag on the way out the door. Jamal starts visiting William daily to get help with his writing and they become friends through this. As their friendship develops through trust, Jamal learns his true identity of how he is a famous author of a well known book published decades ago. William makes a deal with Jamal stating
In the novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the protagonist, Gene Forrester “battled” within himself to find “a separate peace” and in this process directed his emotions at Phineas, his roommate. Forrester and Phineas formed the illusion of a great companionship, but there was a “silent rivalry” between them in Forrester’s mind. Self deceptions in Forrester led him to believe that Phineas was “out to get him” (Forrester). Subconsciously Forrester jounced the limb of the tree and forced Phineas to fall and break his leg. Phineas found out the truth of his “accident” with the help of Leper Lepellier and Brinker Hadley, who were friends that attended Devon High School. Gene Forrester’s conflict between his resentment of and loyalty toward Phineas’ personality and athletic abilities was resolved by the death of Phineas.
Trust is a trait one should obtain for the people they know are the most honest. To trust someone means to put ones full confidence and reliability on an acquaintance such as someone one is close with. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Brutus, one of the leading characters put his complete trust in the people trying to tell him what he should believe. Brutus joined the conspirators to help take down Julius Caesar because he believed it was what was good for Rome based on what he was deceived. This resulted in the killing of Caesar and the death of himself and others. Not considering the right kind of trust in someone can lead to very troubling things. Cassius told a lie as if it was a truth so Brutus
Not too many people thought of him as being anything more than that, due to the fact that Jamal makes mediocre grades in his school in the Bronx, he does just enough to get by and to maintain a “C” average. Jamal did not push himself any harder in the classroom than he needed to. Jamal’s passion is writing, He meets a famous old writer named William Forrester through a dare, who has been watching him when he plays basketball at the parking lots. Little do they know when they first meet what a great difference they would each eventually make for each other. William is the first to help Jamal by helping him in his writing. Jamal is a great writer but just doesn’t know it yet. William helps Jamal find himself in his writing, and Jamal prospers into quite a good writer. The help didn’t really stop there either. Jamal would tell William all about his day and
Forrest’s IQ is significantly lower than the average person’s and as a kid, it restricts him from going to a normal school. Even though it is not him who creates the opportunity to have a proper education, when he is given the chance he makes the most out of it by graduating high school, and going further to attain a college degree. Academics are not the only part of school that pose a challenge to him; Forrest has to put up with exclusion as well as verbal and physical abuse. Even though it is not easy for Forrest to get along with others, he is able to get through his social hindrances by finding someone special named Jenny. She loves him, looks out for him, and through the bullying Forrest ends up finding great happiness with his one special girl. After school, Forrest joins the military, which is one of the best solutions for him. As a result of his IQ, finding a long lasting career would be very difficult. The army is a respected job that Forrest excels at far past the ordinary person. Thus, joining the army creates many opportunities for Forrest, changing his life for the better. He wins a medal of honor and discovers ping pong which he goes on to play in the Olympics. Something far better than honor and fame that he finds in the military is friendship, and out of the friendship Forrest finds riches. There are
Trust is defined as the reliance on the integrity, strength, ability or surety of a person or thing. To break ones trust is to lose their confidence in the person or thing. Trust can be broken with a single, unreliable action and is often challenging and difficult to win back. In the case of the one whose trust was broken, it is a difficult, jarring and abrupt change of reality to discover the betrayal and loss of trust in someone who they once relied upon . In William Shakespeare 's play entitled Hamlet, the protagonist Hamlet is unable to take swift revenge on his father 's murderer. This is due to the fact that Hamlet has become distrustful of the most important people in his life and so this sparks a question in those around him but also
...ain starts to know everything about the different side of his wife. That basically questions does Mrs. Forrester have true love for Mr. Forrester or was she just putting up an image that was solely about the money that Mr. Forrester bestowed.