The Big Lebowski is a story that explores the spectrum of morality, however it is different from the traditional storylines that are meant to emerge a clear sense of right and wrong. The sections of the spectrum blur as there is no easy distinction between villain and hero. As the pervading narrator (Sam Elliott) says at the very beginning of the film “Sometimes there’s a man, I won’t say a hero, ‘cause what’s a hero? But sometimes there’s a man...And I’m talkin’ about the Dude here...well, he’s the man for his time ‘n place, he fits right in there—and that’s the Dude” (The Big Lebowski). The Dude faces a hardship as the center of the morality spectrum in The Big Lebowski. His purpose is not to live up to the perfect ideal of bravery and morality, …show more content…
Jeffrey Lebowski is highly successful, a war veteran, and disabled. He is around sixty years old, with a wife in her twenties. His entire life is based off of hard work and taking care of business himself. Mr. Lebowski is a conservative. He believes in a certain set of rules and will not hesitate to discipline those who disagree with those rules. Even before we meet Mr. Lebowski, we learn about his life from his assistant, Brandt (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). After The Dude gets his prized rug, Brandt is giving The Dude a tour of the Lebowski estate, the camera pans over Mr. Lebowski’s wall of fame. It is covered in pictures of Mr. Lebowski posing with various political celebrities, a key to the city, as well as a photo showcasing the group of inner city children Mr. Lebowski supports; otherwise known as The Little Lebowski Urban Achievers. The title of this charity tells us Mr. Lebowski is more interested in giving himself a good name rather than helping the children. Finally, Mr. Lebowski emerges from the bowels of his home and reprimands The Dude for asking for compensation for his rug. He bestows his life philosophy upon The Dude, “I hope that my wife will someday learn to live on her allowance, which is ample, but if she doesn't, sir, that will be her problem, not mine, just as your rug is your problem, just as every bum's lot in life is his own responsibility regardless of whom he chooses to blame. I didn't blame anyone for the loss of my legs, some chinaman in Korea …show more content…
The Dude notes the good and bad of reality as he rides the ebb and flow of life. The stranger bequeaths unto The Dude a peculiar expression, “Sometimes you eat the bear. And sometimes, the bear, well he eats you” (The Big Lebowski). The bear in this expression represents problems that one may encounter. Sometimes the problem presented is solvable, and other times it is not. The Dude is able to decipher the difference between these, which is a characteristic that places him in the middle of the Coen Brothers morality spectrum. The Dude chooses his battles, however when he chose to seek justice for his rug, The Dude realizes he may have broken one of his own cardinal rules. As shown with the previous rule, The Dude expresses distain for the situations he is put through throughout the entire film because he chooses to be active and search for his rug. However, he proceeds to deal with his problem as well as he can, nor does he let his problems cause him too much anxiety. For example, when The Dude receives a phone call from Walter after a failed attempt at retrieving The Dude’s stolen car from a young boy, The Dude yells at Walter, “Well that's your perception…Well you're right, Walter, and the unspoken message is fuck you and leave me the fuck alone!…Yeah, I'll be at practice” (The Big Lebowski). What we can take away from this dialogue is The Dude will always forgive,
Enter Willie Jay, the man of god, who has the potential to change Perry’s life for the better. Willie Jay has stated of Perry that he currently exists, “in a half-world suspended between two superstructures, one self-expression and the other self-destruction” (Capote 43). Perry is on his way to seek out Willie Jay and his spiritual words of wisdom, right before Dick intercepts him, displaying his moral malleability. Capote once again has conscientiously amplified Perry’s capability to change based on others values. Furthermore, reprehensible values others may offer have the potential to validate Perry and others who are equally
“The Big Lebowski,” is about “The Dude” (Jeff Bridges), a down-and-out, unemployed drifter who is still living in the haze of the '60s. Most of his time is spent moping around his apartment, doing nothing and puffing on joints. On rare occasions, he makes his way over to the bowling alley for a league game with his two best friends: Walter (John Goodman), a veteran who still suffers from post-traumatic stress from his days in Vietnam, and Donny (Steve Buscemi), a moron. Most of the time, however, T...
"Let the dead bury the dead." This quote from the Classic American novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, sums up what we will be talking about today. My understanding of this quote is that what's done is done, one man is dead for no good reason, but the one who killed him is with him in death. No harm, no foul. But is this really right? The first thing we need to look at is the actual problem, then the question posed. So without further ado, I present my essay:
In Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird, most of the younger characters show growth throughout the book and Scout Finch showed the most growth in becoming mature. If it weren’t for her family, acquaintances, and people she saw regularly every day, her personality and growth would have been extremely different. The people that lived in the town of Maycomb had the biggest impact on how Scout grew up and became the person she was.
“Learn to deal with the fact that not everyone is perfect, but everyone deserves respect, honesty, justice and equality, I’m for truth no matter who tells it, I’m for justice no matter who it is for or against” (anonymous)
Puritans also known as Pilgrims are nonconformists who refused to accept authority. The Puritans were almost entirely city people. They were not farmers and left Great Britain because they were not pleased with the way they were treated. Even those who had lived in the country had not been farmers. So when they arrived in America as the Plymouth Colony group and suddenly had to become farmers, it was extremely difficult for them. The Puritans had many contributions such as predestine to go to heaven because they lived at a small place in Massachusetts. The teachings of Calvin was followed and believed, like the Separatists, that man are born in sin and they all weary the guilt of Adam and Eve. Therefore, the concepts of life that Puritans want to accomplish set forth the character of America today.
Allegedly, those in the game of life, all have a chance to win. For a man like Lennie Smalls, in John Steinbeck’s novella in “Of Mice and Men”, has less of a chance as everyone else. Lennie is a mentally handicapped man who wishes to pursue a life as normal as others. In the novella, John Steinbeck provides no chance for his dehumanized character, Lennie Smalls, to obtain the American Dream because he is mentally handicapped.
In every civilized society you will always find many varying forms of morality and values, especially in the United States of America. In Societies such as these you find a mosaic of differing religions, cultures, political alignments, and socio economic backgrounds which suggests that morality and values are no different. In Friedrich Nietzsche’s book, Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche discusses morality and the two categories that you will find at the very basis of all varieties of morality. One category of morality focuses on the “Higher Man” and his superiority to all those under him and his caste. The second system is derived from those of a lower caste that may be used by those in higher castes to further themselves and society. These categories as described by Nietzsche are known as Master Morality and Slave Morality. In this modern time in our culture, morality is becoming a more polarizing topic than ever before. Morality is often times held synonymous with religious practice and faith, although morality is an important part of religion and faith, everyone has some variation of morality no matter their religious affiliation or lack thereof. Friedrich Nietzsche’s theories on morality, Master and Slave Morality, describe to categories of morality which can be found at the very basis of most variations of morality. Master and Slave morality differ completely from each other it is not uncommon to find blends of both categories from one person to another. I believe the Master Morality and Slave Morality theories explain not only religious affiliations but also political alignments and stances on certain social issues in American society. By studying the origins and meanings of Nietzsche’s theories, comparing these theories to c...
There is a hero in us all. A hero is someone who risks their own life to save or do good for others. Ponyboy is a hero because he risked his life to save children from a burning church. Johnny is a hero even though he killed someone it was to save his friend’s life but he also saved children from a burning church. Dally has been arrested, picks fights, and drinks, but when it comes to the people he is close with he has his soft spots for them. All bad boys have a good side.
In addition, Scout learns about morality from Atticus after she is taunted at school. Cecil Jacobs begins giving Scout trouble at school because Atticus is defending a black man. Scout isn’t sure what he means by that or why it is such a bad thing, so she consults Atticus to learn more about the matter. Atticus explains to Scout that he is defending Tom Robinson, a black man, in a trial. Atticus says he has to do it although he knows he isn’t going to win, he says “‘ If I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t this county in the state legislature. I couldn't even tell you and Jem not to do something again’’’ (100). Atticus wants to fight for what he believes is right, even if there is almost no chance of him winning. In addition, Atticus asks Scout not to fight when someone makes comments about him or this case. Through Atticus actions, Scout learns to have integrity, even if it means making tough decisions. For example, Scout walks away from a
Mustapha Mond is the most powerful character in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Mond keeps scientific and historic documents from reaching the people. Mond believes that science, religion, and art threaten Brave New World if let out, but religion would be bane of Brave New World.
Willy Loman is a 60 year old senile salesman who desperately wants to be a successful salesman; however, his ideas about the ways in which one goes about achieving this are very much misguided, just as his morals are. He believes that popularity and good looks are the key to achieving the American dream, rather than hard work and dedication. He not only lives his entire life by this code, but instills his delusional beliefs in his two sons Biff and Happy. As a result, his sons experience similar failures in their adult lives. Willy led a life of illusion, lies and regret which not only ruined his life, but gad a negative impact on the lives of family as well.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? was phenomenal, and I found myself laughing an abundance of times throughout the movie. After viewing the film and the video essays, I agree that part of the reason why this story is truly successful is because Joel and Ethan Coen play with morality and in some ways, punish the characters repeatedly. Every time that something good occurred for a character, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the next bad thing to follow. I feel that their constant play on morality kept the audience 's attention and left them wanting more. It also added a more humorous aspect, as Everett, Pete, and Delmar would grow confident and let their "seven deadly sins" (i.e. Everett struggled with pride) arise once again when they
No matter where we go in the world, we will always be surrounded and tempted by sin. These temptations test our character and morality, and they prove that our human nature inherently causes us to fall to the sins that encompass us. Even though the world is a dark and immoral place to live, we all value our lives and are prepared to do almost anything to protect ourselves from harm’s way. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the green girdle serves as symbol that highlights Gawain’s incessant love for life that tempts him to stray from his knightly code of chivalry.
In this world one does not often encounter a hero. A true hero dedicated his life to putting others before himself. Through his actions as a hero, Atticus plants the seeds of morality in his community and watches them grow.