Rebel Without a Cause
By: Scott Zimmerman
Character Traits
Some traits of Plato are that he is jumpy, lonely, and scared. His jumpiness shows when he shoots at Jim just because he doesn't know who is there. Plato misses his family and tries to use Jim and Judy as a substitute, this shows that he is lonely. Plato's most apparent trait is that he is scared. He is always hiding, shaking, and running
Problems and Challenges
Plato's main challenge with his family is that his family is gone and he lives with a housekeeper. This may be the cause of him shooting the puppy. He may have killed the puppies because they symbolize the family that he doesn't have.
Character Growth
I feel that Plato did not learn from his experiences. He is still very jumpy and scared. His fear gets him killed in the end when he tries to run from the police and ends up getting shot.
Symbols
The chickie run is a symbol of a challenge that tests Jim's fear of being a chicken like his father. He doesn't want to back down from the challenge. He wants to be brave and face the challenge so no one will call him a chicken.
Theme
I think the main lesson of the film is that every family has its own issues, but those issues can be solved with a little time and compromise. If the issues are not addressed, then they could have catastrophic results.
Explain whether you think the parents’ decision to move would help or hurt Jim. How?
I think the parents decision to move would hurt Jim. It's exactly what he doesn't want to do. He is tired of running and wants to be strong and not be a chicken.