John "Plato" Crawford
Rebel WITH a Cause
Plato's Family Problems
Character Traits
Needy/Lonely
- Plato is needy and lonely and uses Jim and Judy to feel loved. In the movie Plato says "If only you could've been my dad.. Wanna come home with me?" This shows that Plato is looking for somone to call his own and be loved by. He wishes Jim would be his dad because he has been there the most for him out of anyone so far.
Aggressive
Plato is an aggressive young man. He has been through a lot of loos and abandonment in his life, dealing with having no parents that live with him and also having no friends until Jim comes along. With everything he has gone through, he has shown aggression towards many people for the fear of being left again. In the movie there is a scene where Plato runs around with a gun at the mansion while trying to find Jim. He proceeds to shoot at one of Buzz's friends and later a police officer while trying to protect himself at the observatory.
Rebellious
Plato has been through all these family problems that it has caused him to become rebellious. Plato is not afraid to break curfew since he does it many times in the movie. He has gotten arrested after murdering some innocent puppies, and he has a gun under neath his pillow which he eventually uses as a threat to people, for he runs around town with it. He has nobody to go to or nobody to yell at him when doing inappropriaate things so he isn't afraid to run around and be rebellious.
Did Plato Change?
Symbolism
In the movie, Plato wears a pair of mismatched socks, one blue and the other red. This is a symbol of some sort. I believe this is to show both his anger and sadness. Anger is usually represented by the color of red, standing for the devil, fire, and other evil and angry things. Blue usually represents sadness and despair being the same color as tears. I believe this is how it is shown. The red sock shows his anger toward his parents for abandoning him. It also shows all the people who made fun of him or left him out just because he was a bit odd. The blue is to show his sadness and want for someone to just call his and to be there for him. Socks may not seem like a big deal, but I think these show something he is afraid to say.
Theme
Who's The Man?
In the movie being a man is someone who is strong and tough, but also smart, loving, and caring. Jim's father was not very manly because he was doing house work and wearing an apron all the time. I believe Jim portrayed this title best. Jim was the only person to step out and become friends with Plato when no one else would. Jim was also strong and tough. He knew the right thing to do even when people told him otherwise, for example when his parents told him not to go tell the police about the chicky run and the death of Buzz, he went and did it anyways since he knew it was the right thing to do. Jim is caring towards Plato's and Judy's feelings as well. He takes in mind what Plato was doing with the gun and helped get the gun away from him. He also takes in mind Judy's feelings and makes her feel loved like she was missing from her father. Jim is the true man in the movie.
http://moviecritic16.blogspot.com/2011/02/james-dean-as-jim-stark-in-rebel.html