Symbolism In The Revenant

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Living in modern society, there are certain rules everyone must follow. People are to live by their moral compass and not to hurt one another, for any reason. All deals must be treated fairly and with honor and respect. Lastly, people expect that once they pass away, they are given a proper burial. However, in the wilderness, that all changes when every decision a person makes can mean life or death. When one person has his or her life at stake, that person will go to any lengths to survive in a cruel world. In the Revenant, Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is left for dead by his crew in the deep woods during the Northern American winter. While he is in the deep forest, the harsh environment changes him and the rest of his crew as they try to make it back to civilization. The savageness of the wilderness makes any civil man turn into the one things he never dreamed of becoming. The director, Alejandro …show more content…

Nature is a symbol of life and death in many cultures around the world. In the movie “The Revenant”, nature plays a key role in the lives of anyone in the woods. At the beginning of the movie, Glass’s wife was killed and a bird flew out of her chest after she died to show her soul flying away. Birds make a strong appearance throughout the movie. One example is when Hawk was stabbed to death by Fitzgerald because Fitzgerald was greedy and didn’t want Hawk to get in his way, the sound of a distant bird's chirp is heard as if the mother was calling out to her son. Whenever Glass’s life is at stake, the sounds of the bird’s chirp is always heard. She calls out to her husband and tells him to keep being strong. In the words she said before she died, she said “As long as you can still grab a breath, you fight. You breathe. Keep breathing.” She said these words, even in the form of a bird calling out to Glass in the woods, to tell Glass to keep fighting through others’

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