Finding Forrester Lessons

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The movie Finding Forrester teaches many lessons about courage, dreams, and transformation, many of which can be relatable to people of all ages. The most iconic, however, are the lessons about trust. Finding Forrester is the story of leery old hermit, William Forrester, who hasn’t stepped foot outside his apartment in several decades, and his unlikely friendship with Jamal, an aspiring writer attending a public high school. After his brother’s death, Forrester secludes himself and decides not to trust anyone, that is, until Jamal comes along. After numerous conflicts and skirmishes, the two finally began to trust each other, eventually leading to Forrester opening up about his guilt over his brother’s death. Finding Forrester shows that, …show more content…

Near the beginning of Finding Forrester, Jamal and his friends are confused by the behavior of “The Window” - who later is discovered to be the author, Forrester himself, in hiding. Because Jamal and his friends are confused by Forrester’s habits - such as peering out of his corner apartment window to the basketball court the young boys haunt and the fact that they have never seen the hermit, pale from decades without seeing the sun, go outside- they find it difficult to trust him. Jamal and Forrester begin to grow closer, though, after his friends dare him to sneak into Forrester’s apartment, take a picture, and steal something. The two begin to grow close - though not without a few bumps in the road - and, as Rob Brown observes, “Forrester brings out Jamal’s intelligence, and Jamal brings Forrester back into life . . .” (Movielocity, 2001, p. 2), both Forrester and Jamal come to count on each other. Forrester is able to give Jamal an unprejudiced point of view he cannot find anywhere else, just as Jamal is able to give Forrester the courage to go out in the world and migrate back into society. When Forrester brandishes a letter opener at Jamal not long after they meet, it is because the former has forgotten how to interact with people, so he and Jamal anger each other. After being secluded from society for nigh on four decades, it is hard for Forrester to trust anyone, and Jamal is confused as to who …show more content…

When Jamal breaks into Forrester’s apartment, near the beginning of the movie, Forrester does not trust the intruder. Forrester is comfortable in his apartment, he knows who should be there and who shouldn’t. Because of this, he knows not to trust the intruder and thief, Jamal and “. . . scares him [Jamal] off with a furious roar” (Holden, 2000, p. 2). Forrester has been secluded off from society for so long that there is not a trusting bone left in his body. Likewise, when in an uncomfortable situation, it can be hard to know who to trust. When Jamal attends his new school, he is unfamiliar and uneasy with his new peers and teachers, so he is unsure of who to trust. The other kids attending the school do not like Jamal because he is an outsider. Paul Clinton states, “. . . Jamal is recruited by an elite Manhattan prep school. He’s been chosen not just for his writing skills, but also for his prowess on the basketball court. Jamal knows it, which further alienates him from his rich white classmates.” Jamal’s peers do not want to trust him because he is African American and he comes from a poor family. It can be seen that it is clear who to trust in if one is comfortable in their environment and in tense or antsy settings, it is hard to know who to rely

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