Road Trip In Thelma And Louise

1159 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Native American and European settlement

The myth of an American Road Trip is one that has existed in some way or another for nearly as long as European settlers came to North America. Even the very migration of European protestants to the New World could be seen as reflective of the same aspirations of road trippers today. To explore, seek, and see beyond the surrounding of their early years. In many ways, it is also possible to think of the Oregon Trail as the first and ultimate road trip before the advent of the automobile. These first road trippers were some of the first to truly go bolding into the unchartered and vast lands of the American West. Many films portray a common story of coming of age through the frame of a road trip. The 1991 film, Thelma and Louise, two adult women have their own spin on a rebirth of sorts that accompanies their road trip adventure. The urge to suddenly travel to unknown places with no obvious destination in mind appears to be a purely American tradition that had upheld the test of time. Even today a simple search of road trip supplies endless tips, routes, and …show more content…

Thelma is in a semi-abusive relationship with her husband and Louise is working a dead-end job waiting tables. Both women are a bit older than the traditional ranges for a coming of age story. Perhaps it is for this reason that story has a less than optimistic ending. However, despite the unorthodox ending, the overall feeling of the film is upbeat. After they escape their boring lives for the open road and share in their fair share of adventures and failures, the two characters seem to be completely changed from the people shown in the dreary beginning. Their story seems to portray that road trips are not just for young adolescence and perhaps even young men, but that the American road trip and the experience that goes along with it is something that can be shared across the gender and age

Show More
Related

  • Central Ideas in "Travels with Charley" by John Steinbeck

    615 Words  | 2 Pages

    Could you imagine traveling the United States in just your specially made camper and the only company you have is your pet? John Steinbeck, the author of "Travels with Charley" wrote about his 1960's road trip about visiting multiple states. "What are Americans like today?"; that was the question that started his journey. His travels began in Long Island, New York, then he followed the outer border of the United States; from Maine to the Northwest. After he traveled to the Pacific Northwest, he went to Salinas Valley in California then across Texas, and through the Deep South. Finally after that 10,000 mile journey, he made is back safe and sound to New York.This rough and long trip included: meeting new people, exploring, and visiting different states.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Come Home: The Trip To Bountiful

    1430 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mrs. Carrie Watts, the main character in the movie, personifies the three common dilemmas of old age, e.g., “Where will I live? How will I cope by myself? And, What should I do about money” (Solie, 2004, pp. 91, 95, & 99). Having lived most of her life in the wide and open field of the town of Bountiful, Mrs. Watts cherished the thought of coming home to Bountiful. There had been several attempts in the past, that were all foiled by her over-protective son and overbearing daughter-in-law. Time and time again, she would express to her son, her desire to go back to Bountiful. The son, for the practical reason of employment opportunity, always decided against the idea of going back to Bountiful. It was a toss

    Read More

  • Two-Lane Blacktop: An Existential Road Journey

    1734 Words  | 4 Pages

    Two-Lane Blacktop is a 1971 road movie with no beginning, no ending and no speed limit, is directed by Monte Hellman. Actors and actress are singer-songwriter James Taylor (the Driver), the Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson (the Mechanic), Warren Oates (GTO), and Laurie Bird (the Girl). “Blacktop” means an asphalt road. It is existential road movie, because, as the race grows increasingly, the road itself takes on a real identity as if it were a place to live and not just a place to pass by. This is a freedom according to Monte Hellman, the road goes forever but that doesn’t mean there is anywhere to go but it will forever stand… Two-Lane blacktop might not have a destination but has a direction. It has been associated with

    Read More

  • Three Day Road

    1383 Words  | 3 Pages

    Similarly, Xavier and Elijah from Three Day Road go through a path of losing love and friends eventually turning to enemies. To begin, Xavier and Elijah war quickly noticed by other comrades because of their hunting skills. Xavier and Elijah grew up with a native background where Xavier doesn’t see killing as an ordinary thing to do. This is seen when Xavier is being shot at for the first time. He witnesses how close it was for him to be killed, responding, “The other side wants to kill me, and I’ve never even seen their faces” (Boyden, 33). Much like Paul, Xavier share many similarities to show guilt, shame and innocence. Xavier as well as Paul, thinking for all his comrades and there service for the war. Showing how his culture has taught and raised him to do so. War gives soldiers the main purpose to kill, while for Paul and Xavier killing a human is not morally wrong. In addition, Paul, like Xavier haves regret and shame for all the comrades and enemies that they have lost. This causes them to go into a state of anger and guilt which they cannot control. This is seen after Xavier cannot think straight after destroying a base along with enemies, Xavier proclaims, “I replay it over and over in my head so that I don’t sleep all night, pulling the pin on my mill bomb, throwing it and watching it arc until it disappears into the crater, the concussion and screams. I have killed someone now” (Boyden, 75). Images of horror replay in Xavier head after he kills a group of men. It is shown that Xavier is attached emotionally to his victims. While most soldiers are alone and cannot express their feelings, this leaves these thoughts as a burden which can lead to insanity. However, Xavier finds love during the war which gave him hope again...

    Read More

  • Analysis of The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West

    911 Words  | 2 Pages

    of the American Dream. They travel west hoping to escape less than perfect lives and pursue success in

    Read More

  • Film Analysis Of Dennis Hopper's Easy Rider

    1561 Words  | 4 Pages

    By adapting the standard Hollywood ‘road’ movie narrative (east to west), incorporating modern music as non-diegetic sound and utilizing shocking scenes – both socially and in terms of ignoring every written and unwritten filming law - Dennis Hopper’s Easy Rider stands as a testament to the changes going on in the US during the late 1960s and creates a certain distance to the previous way of seeing America.

    Read More

  • Film Analysis On The Social Class In The Bridesmaid

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    The film reflects the class difference from beginning through the end, especially between Annie and Helen. Annie is a single woman in her late 30s without saving or boyfriend. She had a terrible failure in her bakery shop, which leads her to work as a sale clerk in a jewelry store. When Annie arrived Lillian’s engagement party,

    Read More

  • Essay Comparing Louise of Story of an Hour and Nora of A Doll's House

    1933 Words  | 4 Pages

    Both Nora and Louise's lives have been shaped and molded to conform to their husbands' wishes. At the time these stories took place, it was basically unheard of for women to assert their beliefs or to act upon their ideas. As a result, Louise was forced to succumb to the role of an obedient wife, in order to abide by the norms of society. This is apparent because of the way she reacts when she learns of a false rumor regarding her husband's sudden death. While in deep thought, and staring out the window by herself, she has a sudden realization of complete happiness and total freedom. As she tries hard to repress these fresh, new feelings, she speaks the words, "free, free, free" (23)! These words help the audience to understand the repression she has been forced to withstand for many years. She feels sudden exhilaration as she reflects on what her new life will bring her. She speaks of the treatmen...

    Read More

  • Into The Wild

    1678 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sometimes a character may be pushed over the edge by our materialistic society to discover his/her true roots, which can only be found by going back to nature where monetary status was not important. Chris McCandless leaves all his possessions and begins a trek across the Western United States, which eventually brings him to the place of his demise-Alaska. Jon Krakauer makes you feel like you are with Chris on his journey and uses exerts from various authors such as Thoreau, London, and Tolstoy, as well as flashbacks and narrative pace and even is able to parallel the adventures of Chris to his own life as a young man in his novel Into the Wild. Krakauer educates himself of McCandless’ story by talking to the people that knew Chris the best. These people were not only his family but the people he met on the roads of his travels- they are the ones who became his road family.

    Read More

  • Spaces of the New American West

    1088 Words  | 3 Pages

    In an attempt to overcome writers’ block, Jack Kerouac, alongside Neal Cassady, explored the American West in a series of adventures that spanned from 1947 to 1950. On the Road is the “lovechild” of Kerouac and Cassady’s escapades, fueled by jazz, poetry, and drug use. Its political and aesthetic dimensions are thoroughly complex, yet intertwined. On the Road portrays the story of a personal quest in search of meaning and belonging in a time when conformity was praised and outsiders were scorned. It was during this ...

    Read More

  • The American Dream and the Post War Era

    1173 Words  | 3 Pages

    Martindale, Linda Ann. "The Drifters." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 1. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. 769. Student Resources in Context. Web.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Life On The Road

    1561 Words  | 4 Pages

    It’s fair to say that life on the road is something most people do not desire, as a way to live out their days; but a young man named Chris McCandless believed it was necessary to avoid the venomous grips of society. McCandless goes as far as to venture out to the rest of the United States and even crossing borders to achieve his true destination, Alaska. He shows us living such a life can hold many unique and wonderful experiences. Consequently, he also shows us the difficulties that most do not expect upon leaving for such a journey. Many speak about the advantages, like the freedom they enjoy, and the wondrous relationships formed along the way; but even so, some disadvantages outweigh the advantages, like the

    Read More

  • Physical Journeys

    1515 Words  | 4 Pages

    A physical journey occurs as a direct result of travelling from one place to another over land, sea or even space. The physical journey can occur individually or collectively, but always involves more than mere movement. Instead physical journeys are accompanied by inner growth and development, catalysed by the experiences and the decisions that impact the outcome of the journey. These journey concepts and the interrelationship between physical and emotional journeys is exemplified in the text; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost, the children’s book Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers and the film Stand By Me directed by Rob Reiner.

    Read More

  • The Portrayal of Solo Female Travelers in Modern Media

    2176 Words  | 5 Pages

    From an early age, women are ingrained with the idea that traveling presents a danger to them; they risk their safety, their morality, and their purity. The traditional fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood” imparts a wise piece of advice to young women who wish to travel alone: “As long as I live, I will never leave the path and run off into the woods by myself if mother tells me not to” (Grimm). The general consensus among the population is that female travel is very different from male travel. There is a strongly held belief that women who travel without a man are more susceptible to attacks, while solo men travelers are at far less risk. Furthermore, women have more romantic motives for traveling, while men do it for the sake of adventure. In many films ranging from classic action films with heroes such as Indiana Jones and James bond to recent biographical films like The Motorcycle Diaries, men are allowed to travel the continent with relatively little romantic attachments or safety risks that they are unable to overcome themselves. In a contemporary female counterpart, Eat, Pray, Love, the main character’s entire journey is concerned with romance and male presence from start to finish. These stereotypes have so deeply permeated society’s perceptions of travel that, even though they have little basis in fact, modern cinema continues to perpetuate them even in films supposedly advocating women’s independence.

    Read More

  • Kate Copin's Feminist Theory

    1236 Words  | 3 Pages

    She is marginalize from society by her partner and she has to live in the shadows of him. She is unbelievably happy when she found out about the death of her husband. She expresses her feelings of freedom in her room where she realize she will live by herself. This illustrates that Louise has been living in an inner-deep life disconnected form the outside world where only on her room away from family and friends she discovers her feelings. It is important to mention that even though Louise has a sister, she does not feel the trust to communicate her sentiments towards her. We discover a marginalization from family members and more surprising from a women, Louise’s sister. The narrator strictly described Louise’s outside world but vividly reveals what is in her mind. At the same time she feels guilty of her emotional state by recognizing that she loved Brently mallard sometimes, her husband. Louise contradict herself but this demonstrates her emotional feelings about her husband disregarding her marriage. The situation of this woman represents the unhappiness and disgraceful life that women had to suffer from their

    Read More

More about Road Trip In Thelma And Louise

Open Document