Isolation In Casablanca

When people close themselves off from the world, it is because they are hurting and are trying to protect themselves from feeling more pain. In reality, however, that isolation does more harm than good because they are holding themselves back from their true potential. In Casablanca, a 1943 film directed by Michael Curtiz, the protagonist Rick, a self-declared “man alone,” overcomes his internal struggles, opens up and finds himself, which allows him to join the fight against the Nazis in World War 2. Casablanca follows the rules of a classic screenplay because Rick’s text, that he cares about no one other than himself, which is set off by his internal conflict, that he thinks he cannot be loved, is thwarted by his much more virtuous and heroic

subtext, that he cares about everyone and wants to save the world. We learn that Rick’s inner conflict, that he cannot be loved, is can be traced back to when Ilsa left him at a train station in Paris. Rick displays his text, that he is a man alone, when Ugarte is arrested. However, even though Rick denies his subtext at first, that he truly cares about others, he displays it when he talks to Annanina and helps Jan win at Roulette to pay for visas. Finally, Rick fully accepts his subtext when he helps Ilsa and Victor escape from Casablanca and then joins the fight against the Nazis in World War 2.

Ilsa, the most beautiful woman in the world, leaving Rick at a train station in Paris is the root of Rick’s inner conflict, that he is unlovable, which ignited his text, that he is a loner. In a flashback, we see Rick and Ilsa in love and thriving in Paris until the Nazis invade the city. Rick and Ilsa make plans to leave Paris together by train, but when Rick arrives at the station, he receives a letter from Ilsa, telling him she must leave him. Although Rick says nothing at this time, his facial expression says it all. He looks confused and betrayed at the same time. He believed that Ilsa loved him and would never leave him, but she did. This convinces Rick that Ilsa didn’t truly love him and that he is unable to be loved, which triggered his text, that he is a loner who only cares about himself.

When Ugarte is arrested, Rick demonstrates his text, that he cares for nobody but himself. When the police arrest Ugarte for killing two Germans for their visas, Ugarte begs Rick to save him, but Rick does nothing. When asked by a stranger why he didn’t help his friend, Rick replied, “I stick my neck out for nobody.” At this point in the story, Rick believes this to be true about himself. Only caring about himself is a defense mechanism that Rick created to protect him from feeling the pain of his inner conflict, that he thinks he can’t be loved because Ilsa left him in Paris. Instead of being hurt by the fact that she left him, Rick convinces himself that he is alone by choice, because he only wants to save himself, which causes him to display his text and do nothing when Ugarte is begging Rick for help when he is being arrested.

As Rick talks to Annanina and helps Jan win at Roulette to pay for visas, he displays his subtext, that he truly cares for other people, even though he denies it.

Annanina, desperate to get visas for herself and her husband, considers sleeping with Louis in order to get them, even though it would mean being disloyal to her husband, Jan. She asks Rick if anyone loved him so much, they did a bad thing to ensure his happiness and safety, if he could ever forgive her. Rick responds, “Nobody ever loved me that much.” Even though Rick had convinced himself that he is unlovable and a loner, the fact that he is taking the time to speak with Annanina says a lot about who he truly is. If he really didn’t care about other people, he would have written her off and sent her away, but instead, he sits with her and lets her speak, and his face exposes his concern. Later, Rick walks over to Jan, Annanina’s husband who is struggling with a game of Roulette, and tells him to “play 22,” helping him win money to pay for the couple’s visas. Annanina runs over to Rick, hugs him, and thanks him. Rick brushes it off and says, “He’s just a lucky guy.” Although we know Rick helped Jan win money in Roulette to pay for the visas so Annanina wouldn’t have to sleep with Louis because he cared about the couple and wanted to help them, he denies that he played any part in Jan winning. This is because Rick still believes his text, that he is a man alone, even though he just displayed his subtext, that he

cares about everyone, by helping Jan. By listening to Annanina ask him for advice and by helping Jan win money at Roulette to get money for their visas, Rick displayed his subtext, that he cares about everyone, through his actions, even though he denied it with his words.

When Rick assists Victor and Ilsa in escaping Casablanca to America and joins the effort against the Nazzis, he completely embraces his subtext, that he cares about everyone and wants to save the world.The night before Ilsa leaves, Ilsa goes to visit Rick and asks him to help her.

She tells Rick that she is still in love with him, which negates Rick’s text, that he is a man alone, and allows him to open up and accept his heroic subtext. He knows that the right thing to do is to send Ilsa with Victor and then fight against the Nazi’s, so he devises a plan. As Rick is about to send Ilsa away on a plane to America with Victor, she cries, saying that she can never leave him. Rick comforts her and replies, “I've got a job to do, too. Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I've got to do, you can't be any part of, Ilsa. I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that.” This demonstrates that Rick has embraced his subtext because he is putting his own wants aside for the good of everyone else. Even though he wants to be with Ilsa more than anything, Rick knows that she will be safer with Victor, and he realizes that his problems are small in relation to the rest of the world, so he decides to join the fight against the Nazis. With his inner conflict negated, Rick can overcome his text and assume his full potential by accepting his subtext, that

he cares very much and wants to save the whole world.

In conclusion, Casablanca follows the rules of a classic screenplay because Rick’s inner conflict, that he can’t be loved, sparks a text that he believes to be true about himself, that he is a man alone and only cares about saving himself, but throughout the movie, his subtext, that he cares about others and wants to save everyone, is slowly revealed. Ilsa leaving Rick at a train station in Paris is what we see causing his inner conflict. Rick demonstrates his text, him only caring about his own well-being, when Ugarte is arrested. Lastly, Rick unfolds and embraces his subtext, that he cares about other people very much, twice, first when he talks to Annanina and helps Jan win money at Roulette, and again when he sends Ilsa to America with Victor while he joins the fight against the Nazis in World War 2 in order to help save the world. People isolate themselves from the rest of the world when they are in pain, however their detachment does more damage than they expect. Detachment and isolation hinder people from reaching their full potential, as seen in Rick from Casablanca.