Mystic River Symbolism

Within the film, Mystic River, there are many symbols and themes; a major symbol is only half of Dave’s name written in the cement symbolizing that Dave is only half present and that he lost his innocence. Dave is shown as being withdrawn, awkward and shy, which is due to Dave being half present and his lost of youth. The theme of unspoken secrets is present throughout the film. Both the symbol and the theme help to drive the movie forward. Dave has unspoken secrets about what happened to him as a child, but also the night he killed a man. The first time the symbol of only half of Dave’s name written in cement is when Dave is a child. Dave was held and sexually abused for four days before he escaped. After those four days of being

Jimmy states, “That was twenty-five years ago, going up this street, in the back of that car.” Even Jimmy believes that the Dave that got in that car is not the same Dave that returned.
Dave keeps secrets from his own wife we first see this when Dave tries to talk about what happened to him all those years ago. He says the name of the people that took him for the first time ever Dave says he has never told anyone their names before. Dave also says he had to pretend to be someone else and that’s why part of him died.
Again we see Dave keeping secrets when he lies what actually happened the night he came home with blood on his clothes. Dave claims the blood on him is from a mugger, but Dave does not tell anyone whom he actually killed until the end of the movie. Dave keeps this secret to himself, because he does not want to be reminded of his past and talk about what happened to him when he was a little kid all those years ago.
It is arguably human to keep our darkest secrets hidden from others, this truth is explored within the film Mystic River, in which characters are marked by their secrets and find themselves struggling to cope with their