Own the rights?
The True Image of What happened to Puritans: They all Ended up being William Blakes, 24 December 2007 Author: Elaheh Jarrahi (elaheh.jarrahi@gmail.com) from Tehran, Iran
Plot: The film begins with a scene in which a man called William Blake (Johnny Depp) is on a train to get to the West. He's been promised a position in a factory but when he gets there, he understands that not only his job is taken but also he is left penniless in the town. After spending the night with an ex-prostitute, he kills her ex as a result of defending himself. William Blake then tries to escape from punishment with the help of an Indian named Nobody, but gets killed in the end.Setting: Time: the 2nd half of the 19th century Place: A town called Machine in the West. Social Class: The majority of people in the town of Machine are illiterate, uncivilized hunters and workers, while William Blake used to be an accountant and doesn't fit in the city.Genre: WesternMain Characters: 1. William Blake • Physical Characteristics: He hasn't got a strong body, showing the fact that he is not a laborer. He is also, in comparison to the other people in the town, peculiarly-dressed. • Psychological Characteristics: Inflexible, shocked and not adaptable • Other Characteristics: He is 30ish, and due to the previous place he was living in, he expects to see a rather civilized town with kind people but what he sees is completely different. 2. Nobody• Physical Characteristics: He has got a muscular, strong physique. • Psychological Characteristics: He is very well-traveled and has gained a sort of calmness which looks very strange to William Blake. He also has got a sacred vision. • Other Characteristics: When he was a child, he is kidnapped and taken to England where he is educated. He escapes from England by the inspiration he gets from reading the poems of a poet called "William Blake". He mistakenly thinks that his companion is the real William Blake and tells him that he must be dead (by telling him, "You're a dead man, then.") Besides, he is astonished that Blake cannot remember any of his poetry.Vocabulary:The words that are repeatedly used in the film are William Blake, Nobody, dead man, tobacco and gun. William Blake: William Blake (1757-1827) was an English romantic poet who was considered odd even among the other romantic poets. Here you see that William Blake in the film was considered odd by other people. But what this character mostly represents is the ideal thoughts the Pilgrims had when they came to America. They wanted to build "a city upon a hill", a utopia but what their descendants built is a dystopia, a mere scene of slaughter. This idea is well reflected in Nobody's remark to William Blake "Your poetry will now be written with blood."Nobody: The film starts with this sentence: "It is preferable not to travel with a dead man." Now, let's change this sentence to "Nobody likes to travel with a dead man." Makes sense, doesn't it? "Nobody" does like to travel with a dead man (William Blake) because they have one important thing in common: They are outcasts. Blake is trying to get away with murder while Nobody is living alone because his tribe didn't accept him. After escaping from England, he got back to his tribe and told his people about the extraordinary things he saw but nobody believed him and they named him Exaybachay meaning "He who talks loud, saying nothing." But he prefers to be called "Nobody".Dead Man: Dead man can have two meanings: the superficial one is what Nobody told William Blake. Because Blake, the poet, was dead by that time Nobody calls Blake "a dead man". The in-depth meaning is that if you are followed in the USA by anyone, there is clearly no possibility of escape and you are automatically turned into a dead man. Even if you are alive, you cannot live with your true identity. Isn't this situation like being dead in fact?Two other words that are repeated throughout the film are tobacco and gun. If you are an American, you must have both of these. The only person who doesn't have these two is William Blake. However, by the end of the film, both of them are accompanying him. Everybody keeps asking him whether he's got tobacco or not and he simply says that he does not smoke. The response Thel (the ex-prostitute) gives him when he asks why she keeps a gun is really thought-provoking. She honestly says "Because this is America."Conclusion:This English proverb gives a very good image of what this film is about: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Although the Founding Fathers wanted to do good in the continent, the only thing their descendants are doing by the end of the film is killing. The new generations have forgotten all those high values. They cannot remember any of those ideals just like William Blake cannot remember any of his poetry. What is very moving in the end of the film is the part in which Nobody is preparing Blake's canoe to be sent on water and Blake still cannot believe that he is a dead man. He still thinks he's getting back to Cleveland. There's also another similarity here between Blake the poet and Blake in the film. The former died largely unknown, now if we take this fact into account that both Nobody and that white murderer are killed in the end of the film, it is unknown to the public what happened to William Blake. This is again revealing the fact that nobody exactly knows what happened to the ideals the Puritans had when they came to this continent.
Add another comment
