Edward's Death

1446 Words3 Pages

Edward’s Death

Edward, the android-like being portrayed in Tim Burton’s film Edward Scissorhands, is essentially killed off from society because he falls victim to the malicious lies spread by the community and by the hatred that is cultivated by those lies. Although he never physically dies, Edward’s rejection from society leads to a life-long seclusion away from the outside world. The events that lead Edward into this isolation are brought on by a few misunderstood acts that he commits and the negative reception of those acts by an impressionable community. He is caught committing a break-in (a felony that is not completely his fault yet nobody gives him the benefit of the doubt) and is, from then on, seen as a dangerous criminal. He is also deemed a sexual predator because a townswoman claims that he sexually assaulted her. Also, his attraction to and love for Kim (the Bogg family’s daughter) provokes her jealous and violent boyfriend into harming Edward and trying to turn Kim against him. Edward is never given the chance to explain himself of the accused acts and so he finds himself the target of the town’s hatred; a hatred that is based upon and fueled by jealousy, lies, and rumors. The eventual shunning of Edward by the community is not surprising or shocking because Edward never really fits in with society to begin with. However, what is shocking are the justifications of hatred that are used by the community. Their emotions and attitudes are influenced by the lies and jealousies of a few people and by believing in the religious motivations and accusations of the erratic Christian woman who lives in the neighborhood. By being non-human, Edward is immediately suspected of being guilty of all he is accused of. Hi...

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...er he dies, Edward remained alone in his mansion for however long he was alive.

Edward’s detachment from society is the result of a floozy’s lie, a deranged woman’s religious claims, and a teen with an inflated ego that all seem to hate Edward because of his differences and because they cannot tell what he is and what his intentions are. Edward is a good person and he is not even a real human being. He is more kind and uncorrupt then the real human beings who live in the community. It matters to Joyce, Esmeralda, and Jim that Edward be definable and that they can recognize him as something with emotions and motives. However, Edward does not make any sense to any of them at all and their prejudices continue to exist because they do not and will not take the time to figure out that Edward’s differences are actually not as horrific as they make them out to be.

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