by Huanlin » Thu Aug 06, 2015 9:01 pm
What is the basic conflict in this story?
I think there are actually two major conflicts in this story. The first conflict in the story is about racism, in particular, white versus black. Throughout the story, we can see a lot of themes with fights between white and black, including the school, basketball court, jail and so on. People are opposing to each other only because of their race and unreasonable hatred. You will be punished not only when you have different skin color, but also when you refuse to maintain the rival situation. For example, when Derek didn’t want to stay in the neo-Nazi gang and want to let go his hatred against Black, the members of the gang started to abuse him and his old friend Seth even tried to shoot him. These people worshiped him as a god, but right after they found out that Derek didn’t want to get involved anymore, they treated him as an enemy. That was how blind and how serious the race conflict is in the movie.
The second conflict is family relationship. The story starts with Danny’s report, which shows his embracement of Nazi. Later the movie used flashbacks to show the reason why Danny is neo-Nazi. Most of the impact comes from his brother Derek, who was a former Nazi-gang leader. To Danny, and to many people in the gang, Derek is a hero. He wasn’t afraid to express his anger and hatred toward Black and wasn’t afraid to take action. So when Derek came back from jail with an absolutely different attitude, the conflict started. Derek didn’t want Danny to be like him, but Danny acted exactly like how Derek acted before just to make Derek proud, so when Derek stopped him, he was confused and angry. Luckily, the family conflict was all solved at the end of the movie.
What does Derek learn in prison?
He learned to let go his hatred toward people of other races. He built a friendship with an African-American-Lamont. Though he was really rude to him at first, the prisoner never argued with him or persuaded other black prisoners to revenge. In contrast, he tried to communicate with Derek. They finally became friends and even accomplished great teamwork in the laundry room. Lamont was also the one who saved Derek during Derek’s the last 6 months in prison by secretly asking the black gangs not to hurt Derek. Mr. Sweeny also showed his concern for Derek. Though Lamont and Sweeny are all black, they both helped Derek. While the white gangs, the ones Derek first considered as alliance, beat him and raped him. This made Derek realize how pointless his bias and hatred was.
He also learned that what he had done, including the riot, the murder and all the other things he did, didn’t make his life better, but make him lost and in jail. He realized that anger wouldn’t improve the situation.
Is the ending Derek’s final step toward redemption or a U-turn back into his previous life?
I believe it was a step toward redemption. Just before the movie ended, Derek and Danny both let go of their hatred. They got rid of all the posters in the bedroom together. [Despite] the ending of the movie, I don’t think Derek would go back to who he was because he has really realized how pointless hatred was. Also, Derek should live a redeemed life not only for himself, but also for Danny. Derek must knew how Danny has changed so I don’t think he would want to disappoint him.
Write a setup/opinion of American History X
I watched the movie with a heavy heart because I know that although the movie wasn’t based on the true story, it doesn’t mean that the racism issue isn’t severe. It was bizarre how people would hate another just because of the differences between skin colors, however this problem has never really been solved. Also, I learned how family could affect a child. The power of family education is even stronger than school education. At first, Derek doesn’t feel anything among black people, he even though Mr. Sheeny was really brilliant and special. However, he was affected by his father’s words and his death. He turned from a normal student into a fanatical Nazi, and he even turned his brother Danny into a Nazi as well. Luckily, the negative effect can also be cured by family. Danny wouldn’t listen to his teacher, but he always thought about what his brother said or did. Only one night with Derek, Danny changed his mind. It was really sad that he didn’t have the chance to live his new life and make friends from different races.