After a brutal hazing incident that leads to the death of a teammate, a conflicted hockey star under pressure to remain silent struggles with telling the truth and risking his future. STORY COMMENTS THE INITIATION is inspired by true events. It’s a dramatic character driven story of self-discovery. The story has the potential to make for an enthralling independent film or TV movie. It tells the harrowing story of a sport hazing event and the struggle of a hopeful star hockey player to tell the truth. The tone is dramatic and the plot offers a nice mystery about what happened the night of the hazing. The story also offers a plot with a solid moral dilemma for the protagonist. He’s caught between telling the truth or staying silent. He’s …show more content…
So this is confusing. Tony is a character one roots for. He has an external goal, but his inner struggle conflicts with his goal. If he tells, it may ruin his career forever. If he doesn’t tell, can he live with that? One thing Tony wants is respect, but he needs self-respect. The script does a great job of showing his range of emotional struggle. Eventually, when he sends the tapes to the coach, Emily, and the detective, there’s an inspirational spirit to the story. Tony clearly transforms into his own man. It’s very powerful. Jan is believable as the skilled hockey player. The reveal of what occurred to him is harrowing. There’s a feeling of great indignation. His role also can attract talent. Coach Gosek is another fascinating character. He has his own goal with winning. He’s under pressure too and one can tell he’s still grieving for his wife. The reveal that Jan came to him about the hazing is a smart story choice. Tony’s father, Mike, is another character that shows depth. He wants his son to succeed even at the cost of being truthful, yet he doesn’t believe in fighting or violent. It’s an intriguing contradiction although the backstory is a bit vague regarding Tony and
Tony does not attend the first meeting but notices how happy his cellmates come back every Monday, so he decides to go the next Monday.
He takes a necklace for his Gina, who is now grown into a beautiful young women and one thousand dollars’ cash for his mother. His sister is very excited to see him, but his mother not so much. His mother knows how he is making his money and is disgusted. She refuses the money he tries to give her and throws him out. This part of the movie shows a small glimpse into Tony’s past. A conversation between him and his sister, reveals that he was in the army with the communists and that is father abandoned them. It shows his deep love and protection for his sister as well as hers for him. He is able to sneak the money to her. Manny makes small comment about how beautiful Tony’s sister has become and Tony’s rage surfaces, instructed Manny to keep his mouth shut and to stay away from his
Maria had no authority over her restless family. The source of the conflict between Antonio and Maria originates from her oldest sons taking to going where they please and not caring about their parent’s wishes. The burden of pleasing their parents passes from the eldest sons to the youngest one. With the sole duty of pleasing his parents, Tony internally rebels against their wishes instead seeking to set to rest his churning mind by seeking his own beliefs. His brothers console themselves about abandoning their family by saying that “Tony will be her priest” (Anaya 36) and not knowing that the “dreams of their father and mother [haunt] them” (Anaya 36) also haunted Antonio. Having the responsibilities of his brothers and his family shape the way he grows and thinks. He isn’t just thinking about himself he also has the problems of redeeming his family on his head. Through the story and through Ultima Tony realizes that he is not bound by obligations and can instead shape his own
In the end, Tony plays the role of both hero and villain. His wife, Marcela, represents both the whore and the virgin Mexican-American. The both prove unfaithful: Tony to America and Marcela to Mexico. Herein lays the schizophrenic world in which good and bad coexist across the borders of two emerging world countries struggling for control of land and culture. There’s a price to be paid for such human greed and unrealistic expectations. Ultimately it proves to be a place where virtue doesn’t remain intact and villains abound, even among the good guys!
Uncle Lucas, Tony was able to literally take on part of his Uncle’s pains and help rid the
Tony also stands up against a mob for Florence; everyone wants to punish Florence for "not believing in God" (214) and Tony pushes the crowd away and refuses to give Florence the penance that Florence does not deserve. Although Tony knows that he will be given the "Indian torture" (214), he still speaks up for his friend. Anaya often presents Tony as a dependent character, never wanting to "be away from the protection of [his] mother" (51); in fact, he's so close to his mother that it seems that he's going through Oedipus's Complex. Anaya actually does this to increase the impact of Tony's bravery. One might expect Tony to stay in his undercover bushes when Tenorio is standing so close; however, when Tony hears that Tenorio knows the way to kill Ultima, the thought to warn Ultima supercedes his fear and encourages his legs to pick up and run home (255).
In Bless Me Ultima, Tony embarks on a rocky journey to discover who he is and what he believes. Tony must make the transition from a naïve six year old boy to a mature man. His experiences continually call his basic beliefs into question, and chip away at his innocence. For example, when he witnesses the brutal death of Lupito, he starts to question many ideas; sin, good and evil, punishment, and his faith. He begins to see the world of man as violent and sometimes ruthless, not the friendly, loving world where he had previously resided. He even becomes concerned about his own father's salvation because of Gabrielle's involvement in Lupito's death and begins to see his father as less than perfect. Death continues to haunt him when Narciso, a good man, is killed defending Ultima, while Tenorio, an apparently evil man, is spared. These outcomes are not what he believes should have occurred and yet again, a piece of his innocence is stripped away as he sees life is not always fair. He is beginning to realize that he must define his own beliefs.
Our first-time leading class discussion we presented the story called “Roller Ball Murder.” The story is about a player who plays this deadly game and is a legend at the game but is looking for something more.
Another example of the evolution of Tony's sense of good and evil through the utilisation of setting is Tony's own home. To him, his home provided him with warmth and safety. This was due to the people who lived in the house. Antonio's father creates a sense of protection in the home. When Tenorio and his men come to he house to take Ultima away, Tony's father "would let no man invade his home" (pg 123). This gave Tony faith that as long as his father was around, he would be protected. Antonio's mother made home a loving and caring place to be. She would always baby Antonio and give him the affection he needed whenever he needed it. The morning after Tony had seen Lupito killed, Ultima tells Tony's mother not to be too hard on Antonio; he had a hard night last night. His mother puts her arms around Tony and holds him saying he "is only a boy, a baby yet" (Pg.28). The Virgin also makes the atmosphere of Antonio's home peaceful and protected. Tony loves the Virgin Mary because "she always forgave" (Pg. 42). Tony thought she was "full of a quiet, peaceful love" (Pg.42) which she filled the home with. The most important person who contributed to the goodness of Antonio's home was Ultima. She made Antonio feel as though her presence filled the home with safety, love, and a sense of security. When Tony saw Lupito get killed, it was Ultima who calmed him. Whenever he had a nightmare, Ultima was there to comfort Antonio and "[he] could sleep again" (Pg.
Instead of choosing not to grant his brothers rest because he cannot use God’s power, he decides to use the golden carp. It shows that little things are able to persuade Tony into leaning towards the golden carp and the river, and away from God. His belief in God is not as strong as it used to be, and that could influence what he will do in the
The first step in Tony?s spiritual journey is when he questions his family?s long-standing belief in the Catholic religion and his own destiny to follow their dreams of him becoming a priest. Tony doubts his abilities as a priest, even though he is not one, because his mother dreams for him to become a priest. Subsequently, he believes that he should have been able to save Lupito?s soul from wandering the river, because he will one day be required to. Whereas, ?A priest could have saved Lupito.'; (23), Tony feels guilty that he wasn?t able to fulfill his duty even though it wasn?t his. This shows that the destiny at first laid out by Catholicism may not be the one that is best suited to Tony. By not saving Lupito or his soul, the town Tony lives in is no longer pure in his eyes. The river is the lifeline of the town and once it is stained then the town will also be tainted with the murder of Lupito. Tony asks, ?How would I ever wash away the stain of blood from the sweet waters of my river!'; (23), and in doing so also questions why God puts such obstac...
William Faulkner brings all aspects of the game to life by going beyond the game itself, and immersing the readers into the intricate details that are often overlooked by most spectators. While spectators and televised sports commentators focus on the literal game itself, the points and teams, Faulkner describes the “kaleidoscopic whirl” of motion, the grace of the players and the designs they carve into the ice. He goes beyond the typical description of skates and hockey sticks, depicting them as “knife blades of skates” and “deft sticks which could break bones.” Faulkner, through this fluid and detail oriented writing, portrays the game of hockey in a way most people fail to see.
Tony could’ve averted his death. If Tony had not wandered around in an alley late at night, and worn a Royal’s jacket, he would not have been stabbed and would still be alive. He was stabbed because he was a Royal, not because of his identity. He tried to be something he is not. People refused to help him because he was a part of the Royals. Also, if he wasn’t out late at night in an alley, he wouldn’t have been in a position to get stabbed. He went out late to get cigarettes, but the cigarettes could have waited another day. Although we don’t know it yet, decisions we make in our lives can come back to haunt
Tony saw through the prejudice though, he loved one of the PR's and when the Jets found out, they were ashamed. Tony's love for Maria was so real, he didn't care what happened. He died.Prejudice plagues this world now and forever, as long as there is a difference in people there will discrimination and prejudice.
As I entered the building which housed the rink, the warm, nostalgic scent of popcorn hit that part of my brain where dusty, cobwebbed memories live, memories of my own adolescence. I made my way past a group of exuberant teenagers at the snack bar until I reached the skating rink. Skinny, hard benches, made for small butts, lined one wall. I took a seat and scanned the rink. My eyes paused to read a sign; white, block letters on a black background warned, "Skate at Your Own Risk."