Stand by Me Response

In the film Stand by Me directed by Rob Reiner, there were many important relationships that explain a lot about the characters involved. They were between Gordie and his brother Dennis, Teddy and his father, and Chris and the gang. The story takes place in the small town of Castle Rock, with a population of one thousand two hundred people. Although not much is known about Teddy Duchamp and his fathers relationship, it is seen in the film as a negative one. Because his father stormed the beaches of Normandy, Teddy gets the idea that he is a hero. We as viewers of the film see that Mr Duchamp is in the wrong. An example of that is when Teddys burnt ear is explained. During a moment of rage, Mr Duchamp held the side of his sons head to a hot element on the stove, effectively burning and badly scarring his whole ear badly. Teddys father is portrayed as very unpredictable, and I think that his nature heavily influences Teddys reckless and carefree personality. This shows how easy it is for Mr Duchamp to influence his son. Gordie Lachance and Deniss relationship was a valuable one to both of the brothers. With their father focusing on Dennys football, Gordie quickly becomes the invisible boy at home. Before the unfortunate accident that took Dennys life, the siblings had a close bond. Dennis could see that their father favoured him, so he made sure to pay extra attention to Gordie and encouraged his young brother with his budding talent for writing, something that his father discouraged. I am glad that as Gordie grew up he started to take after his brothers caring, thoughtful personality - instead of being like his father, inconsiderate and narrow-minded. I think this offers a lot of insight to how Gordie feels throughout the movie, and it also helps me to understand what Dennis was like. Chris Chambers has different, but very complex connections with each of the members of the gang; Gordie, Teddy and Vern. All of the relationships are good ones, but from whats seen in the film, it appears that Chris and Gordies is the strongest. Chris is incredibly protective of his friends, and unfortunately has to protect them from his own brother. Later in the film we hear that Chris became a lawyer, but ends up being stabbed whilst attempting to break up a fight. I am glad that this is stated because it lets me know that although Chris never saw his friends again, he continued protecting innocent people and standing up for what was right. Looking into a few of the relationships in this film has definitely helped me to understand the characters personalities and how they react to certain events that take place. I learnt that friendship can be brief but memorable, and even if the people involved go their separate ways, they can still remain close friends forever. By Claudia Garcia.