Themes in Rebel without a Cause Writing Assignment

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Themes in Rebel without a Cause
The movie Rebel without a Cause by James Dean revolves around the main themes of running away and acceptance. Using interactions among the various characters the movie has extensively explored these themes especially in relation to teenagers and families. Both emotional and social problems have been shown to push teenagers into running away in search of acceptance from new, and more understanding friends.
Running away is one theme that cannot be missed when analyzing the characters in the movie. This case is true for Jim`s family who kept relocating from one place to another whenever his parents sensed any looming trouble as a result of Jim`s actions. As seen from the movie, the moment Jim`s parents realized that he was involved in the death of a student at school named Buzz, their first instinct was to move to another place. Most of the time these decisions were influenced by Jim`s mum who exercised a domineering attitude towards Jim`s father, Frank. As a result of his father`s coward behavior coupled with Frank`s inability to confront reality head-on like a man, Jim goes to every extent to try and prove that he`s not like his let-down dad. Running away is also evident in the cases of Judy, Plato and Jim. On one hand, the troubles between Jim and his parents and the less attention given to him makes Jim escape from home. The same is true for Judy who feels her father`s love towards her has reduced and thus opts to run into the world in search of an alternative love provided by Jim. Plato also shares in the same fate as he`s seen creating a “fantasy world” in which he has a lovely...