Please leave a short reflection (one paragraph) on the film we watched in class today, The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). It can deal with one of the characters and the notes you took watching the film, or one of the themes in the film that most interested you. Then take a moment to read another student’s reflection and write 2-3 lines in response to their post.
War and Its Discontents: Writing From the Periphery
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Frank from the very beginning seemed to me like the cocky, confident, and alpha male. He was the one that got to experience war differently than the others. When they are flying, everyone else is amazed but him, that’s where he fought most of the war. When he first meets Homer, he feels bad for him because he lost both of his hands. When the characters get home, Frank again shows off his confident side. He is the last one to get dropped off and tells the Sergeant he will pay for the cab. When he gets home he avoids confrontation with his parents, it seems as if he is curious to know where Marie, his wife, is. But as the movie continues he puts no effort into finding her. Instead he goes to a bar to drink away all of his problems. At the bar he bumps into the Sargent, his wife, and daughter. While drunk he hits on the Sergeant’s daughter. Again showing no desire to find or any sense of care to find his wife. Once he does find his wife he seems to show the audience a side that he is comfortable and can adjust well unlike the others. But that’s who I think Frank is. He tries to seem like the confident soldier. Where the war didn’t really have an effect on hi,. But we do see his true colors show when he isn’t able to tame them. For example, when he is sleeping at the Sergeant’s house and has a bad dream (PTSD).
Homer, the one who once served in navy, really drew my attention because of his strong personal characteristic. There is a scene at the beginning of the movie: all three men smoked in the airplane on the way home. Homer firstly shown his disability——his both hands were replaced by the mechanical hook prostheses. The other two were so shocked, told by their facial expressions, when they saw Homer using his prostheses so agilely. So did I and at the same time I thought that must cost him so much time and efforts to practice getting used to. Also, there is another scene that when Homer finally got home, his parents and his fiancé came out of the house; they hugged each other, all being so happy to get reunion. However, when they noticed about Homer’s disability, suddenly their facial looks all changed and his mother cried. Later when his father asked to help Homer carrying his baggage, Homer refused and did by his own. According to that, I could tell that Homer must had been through a lot and he was such a tough and strong man.
Homer appeared to me to be a highly complex character. He appeared to be going through so many emotions upon getting back from being depressed to being happy to be back. When he first got back he was nervous right away about hoe his loved ones would think of him now that he has his disability. In the car with his fellow returning soldiers he first expressed concern about his girlfriend after mentioning he was scared she would be turned off by his injury. He was stressing out because he didn’t know what to expect. Once he was back in his house he became extremely with how people were either clearly looking at his hands or deliberately looking away. he just didn’t want to be treated any differently than he had been previously. He wanted to get away and went to his cousin butch’s bar just to get away from his house. I cant even imagine what homer must have been going through and I really sympathized with him.
I also agree with what Zach said in his response to the post. Frank appeared at first to be untraumatized by the war but as we get to know him we see he is hurting also deep down inside. He felt that he had to appear tough for his fellow soldiers to show that everything was alright when in fact everything wasn’t alright with him. I think he just needs someone to talk to or just be comfortable with and he really didn’t have that when he couldn’t find his wife and that led to him getting a little out of hand at the bar.
Homer also stood out to me for many of reasons. One of them though, was because he was so comfortable with the fact that he lost his hands and had these hooks as hands instead in front of his soldier friends. But I agree with Matt, once he came home he became more sensitive of the fact that he lost his hands and did appreciate the way his family was looking at him.
Homer caught my eye from the start of the film for being a bit goofy and funny. It was very emotional seeing Homer first be introduced with him signing a paper with his hooks instead of hands. People always had a puzzled and depressed reaction when they saw his hooks. This always made the situations awkward and put people he met in a weird position. He didn’t want that though. He was trying to show people that he was just like them and that he could do whatever they could do. He tried lighting a match to light a cigarette, sign papers, carry his luggage and lift a cup of lemonade. The saddest thing was seeing his family’s first reaction to the hooks- silence. This immediately brought his mood from excited and happy to be back to depressed and uncomfortable. If people really love Homer, they’ll accept him no matter what he looks like and they will treat him like everyone else.
I decided to focus on Homer Parrish because he seemed to be the one that was most affected by the war. During the war he lost his hands and came home with hooks in place of them. In the beginning of the movie, when he was first introduced, he seemed to be confident and not see his hands as a disability. However, as the movie progressed, we could really see it was starting to affect him. I think Homer really reflected how many people felt after the war, when he first meets Wilma again. It is almost like he has lost all his affection for her and doesn’t know how to be with her. We can really see how his hands are starting to be an embarrassment, like when he is with the family and he is not able to hold a glass. Overall, I thought Homer was interesting because he really represented the idea of war and the aftermath of it.
In addition, Frank seemed to be the one that put up a front in dealing with the war, and coming back home. At first he looks like the ideal image of a soldier who is coming back to his family after the war, but we later see that his marriage is not very clear and he doesn’t seem so happy. We can see that the war has really played a big role in his behavior once he is back home. It is almost like he has no self control and doesn’t know where to go from here.
One character I watched closely throughout the film was Al. Of the three in the plane, Al seemed the most mature and calm. It turned out that he had been married for 20 years and had 2 children. However, while he was away, his wife had become the head of the household. His children had grown almost unrecognizable to him and were used to listening to their mother. Al was upset to have missed out on so much. Despite that, of the three veterans on the plane, he falls back into society the easiest. While Frank has issues with his marriage and Homer with his hands, Al receives a promotion, and love and support from his family. Only his son shows some discontent, by not accepting his father’s gifts happily, but that doesn’t seem difficult to mend. His wife and daughter take him out to the city, even though they weren’t too content about it.
Homer appears to me as a very strong individual. In the beginning of the film, three men are sitting in a plane and smoking, and they see Homer’s disability for the first time. Homer, however, does not hide, contrarily, he shows that he is capable of doing many things. Behind the skillful operation with the artificial hands, I can tell how much effort he has put in. All he wants is that people can treat him just like everyone else.
I agree with Matt with his view on Homer. All Homer ever wants is people help him get through his depression of losing both hands by treating him the same as everyone else.
Homer was one strong central character who brought an emotional appeal to the movie. Like the other two characters, Homer was unable to fit back into the civilized world after the World War II. However, Homer’s attempt to live a civilian life was a greater challenge because he lost both of his hands during the war and now uses mechanical hooks. Homer feared that he wouldn’t be treated equally as others due to his disability, and so he would pretend as if he never lost his hands. For instance, when he first returned from the war, his dad was going to carry his bags to the house but he would instead carry it himself just to show his parents that he is still same as before. Furthermore, when his mom started crying after seeing his hands, he asked her what was wrong as if he didn’t know why she was crying. In a way, Homer did not want to look weak to his family nor did he want to become a burden to the family.
Since the beginning of the movie, Homer was afraid to return home because he was worried that he would be a burden and that his family would not accept him. He cried alone when the plane almost landed. When he was right outside his house, he suggested to Al and Frank that they go to Butch’s. He didn’t want his family to pity him because he had hooks, not hands. When he was to sign his name, light his cigarette, and carry his luggage, he was able to do so without any help. When he drops the lemonade, he feels bad for dropping it, but even worse when everyone makes it into a big deal and pities him. Even though Homer is dealing with these issues, he does not tell Al and Frank about them when they ask him. Homer does not express his feelings often and tends to hide them.
I agree with Itai’s response. Everyone felt uncomfortable when they saw his hooks, but he could do what they could do with hands. Its especially saddening that upon his return from the war, his family glared at his hooks and could not just be overjoyed that Homer is home.
The character that stood out to me the most was Al Stephenson. Al was the epitome of a an American man during the 1940s. He was a well decorated sergeant,a family man, very hardworking, social and expressive. He also had a sensitive side to him – which to be honest was quite surprising. See when most people think of war generals from WWII especially, they think stone cold hearted killing machines with total disregard for human life- but Al however, was a loving father who wasn’t afraid to display his affection for his wife Milly, his children, his community and the U S of A. During the journey back home he mentioned that what scared him the most was that people would try to “rehabilitate him”-this was a feeling most returning Vets experienced because they knew that re-assimilating themselves into society wouldn’t be easy after the horrors they witnessed.
I agree with a lot of what was said about Homer. His failing love life was a perfect example of the less talked about effects of war. It was clear that he still loved Wilma, but as Emilie pointed out- he couldn’t be himself around her because he felt embarrassed about his disability. And so he began to avoid her and do macho things like practicing with his gun to fill up the hole left in his heart. Wilma still loved him- but there was nothing she could that could be a quick fix to Homer’s identity crisis.
To me the most interesting character was Frank. From the beginning he is seen as a charismatic air force bomber and he’s the one who points out different parts of the plane to the other men. We find out he rushed into marriage and for the better part of 2-3 days he can’t find his wife. When they meet it seems she’s more interested in the romantic image of the soldier in the uniform rather than the man actually in them. The men wanted to forget about the war and acclimate to daily life in civilian clothing but to Frank’s wife Frank is nothing more than the soldier. They had no routine or past experiences to fall back on.
I agree with Lawrence’s thoughts and the same message can also be applied to Frank’s position. While in the air force Frank was an important pilot who ran bombing missions. In a harsh reintroduction to the real world, he find out he can’t even get his old jog back, something he took for granted. While the men were at war, the women took over many important jobs. Now with the surplus of troops coming home, who are unskilled at things not related to war, it would be tough to reintroduce them to society. Alot of them left jobs and found out they had been replaced and the job more advanced.
I agree with Omar. I didn’t realize this when I was watching the film, but Frank’s wife wanted to maintain the romantic image they created before he was sent off, of a soldier and his wife. When they got back together, she wanted him to wear his fatigues so she live in the past some more.
In the movie, best of our lives, Homer emerges to be a strong person who, even after loosing both of his hands during the war, still manages to do all work by his own, like at the beginning of the movie, when fred and homer had to sign to some papers and homer manages to do that with his two hook-like hands or when the three of them smoke in the plane, he perfectly lit his cigarettes without anyone’s help. But as much strong he was, he was scared to go back to his life because he knew that people would act differently in front of him. He would be shown as a helpless and weak person.
Homer stuck out to me the most due to his initiative personality. He was comedic, proud, and talented. Despite the tragic loss of his hands, he found many ways to utilize his hooks as if they were his hands in the first place. Although he wasn’t shown as much as Al or Frank, he was definitely just as effected by the war as they others. It’s upsetting to watch a young man feeling embarrassed when the one he loves shows me affection regardless. He’s very proud and tries to hide his pain as he prefers to act if he has hands of his own, carrying his own bags.
I absolutely agree with Itai’s response. He picked the same character as me and showed different ways of how Homer was proud. Homer did make sure that no one felt awkward about his hooks, but that didn’t change the fact. It felt as if Homer wanted to escape from the inevitable and pretend like everything was okay.
I found Emily’s response quite interesting. Emily also analyzed Homer, but she found Homer confident with hooks in place of his hands in the beginning of the film. I, however. thought Homer was pretending to be confident because he did not want to come out weak in front of other people. Indeed, Homer was way more confident with Fred and Al at the start of the movie. But that’s because it was common for Fred and Al to see a guy without handsafter the war. Thus, it wasn’t a difficult task for Homer to pretend to be confident as it came out naturally.
In the beginning, Homer seemed like a highly interesting and different character. With both arms gone due to a fire when his station sank, he seemed the most optimistic about his situation than Frank and Al. I remember he said that he got it lucky than most. This spoke to me about his personality. One example was the flight back home, Homer was looking in amazement at the view and how beautiful it was. I thought to myself, If i was in his shoes I would be too self absorbed in my misery that I would have never appreciated the things around me. However, I think because of his disability, Homer doesn’t take life for granted and appreciates the simple things in life more now. Another characteristic that I noticed was his independence. In replace of his arms were these metal hooks and he never let anyone do things for him. During the scene of Frank and Homer, Frank tried to help Homer to sign his name and carry the bags. Despite his obvious situation, Homer does both by himself. He explains later on that he just wants to be treated like a normal human being.
I agree with Dhanur’s comment about Homer. He said how Homer was scared to go back to his life. This was contradictory to Homer’s personality in the beginning, and like Dhanur said, it might have been because he would feel helpless and weak because everyone would feel pity and try to do things for him.
I agree with Harval commentary based upon Al. As a father is is necessary to be among your children as they age because you then loose a connection which will be difficult to gain back. If one didn’t have wealth in the family during wall it would be very difficult to come back home and have a relaxed life.
Holmer was a character who was very captivating to me. Relying on physical acquires
to survive is what us humans are known for. So watching him live without his two
hands due to the battle fought in WWII was interesting. He wanted to be treated
like a regular person not like an outcast. But he was always being watched
consistently, people making sure no accidents happened by always watching from a
side eye, nervousness arose every second they thought he was incapable of doing
something. His family looked at him closely with a magnifying glass every time
he used his hands . Always questioning his capabilities. Always being watched
and questioned can become very nerve wrecking. When he arrived back to his home
he met with his family and a girl he had relations with. She ran to him with
love, compassion, happiness, and excitement. Unfortunately, he didn’t know how
to respond.The army may have taught him how to cope with his arms but not how to
show affection to others with it. People start to look at you with a disability
which forms the first stage of insecurity. Where many of us can relate. When we
become insecure we tend to care about others perspective of us more. He was
reluctant to come out and speak among his family. He became hesitant to
express himself, restraint to do daily activities because he felt uncomfortable.
I don’t know why I mainly focused on him but he was a very captivating
character. He became a introvert when he came back to his family. Before we
ended the movie I realized that it wasn’t his family that needed to get
comfortable with him but he had to feel comfortable with himself. In life we
must to accept ourselves first before we care about who will accept us.
Coming home from war is never easy. After all horror and gruesome sights the battlefield can display, it can be very difficult for veterans to adjust to civilian life. Reverting back to the familiar can be scary and strange especially if one has been away from home for a long time. Homer was a returning veteran who lost both of his hands and had to rely on prosthetic metal hooks. Right from the start I knew he was a bit apprehensive to come home. For instance, when the taxi arrived at his house, Homer asked Fred and Al if they wanted to get drinks or go out one last time. To me this seemed like Homer was making one last desperate attempt to avoid going home to see his family. He was afraid that they’ll think less of him due to the absence of his hands. Much to his chagrin, Fred and Al declined his request and made him get out of the car. When he got out of the car, he walked to the front door and his family greeted him with open arms. However his reaction was emotionless. When his wife hugged with such happiness he felt nothing. He just stood there and with a blank face. I could tell that he was very uncomfortable at that moment. Furthermore I noticed when his father offered to help him with his bags, Homer declined. I think he felt that the assistance would make him feel like less of a man. Also when he practicing shooting with the rifle I could tell he was having a hard time with it. However he did not want his wife to help him shoot. In his mind, if he refused her help, his manhood would be intact. Homer’s desire to be independent negatively affected his relationship with his parents. He also inadvertently distanced himself away from his wife. Homer is a character that many veterans relate to. He struggled to adjust to common life without the use of his hands. He knew that he was going to have to get used to this new chapter of his life
I agree with Bisi’s point about homer. How do we expect someone to love us or care about us, if we cant do the same for ourselves? Homer’s problem was that he didn’t want to accept the fact that he lost his hands. This in turn made him lose his confidence that he previously possessed. It caused him to be afraid about what other people thought of him. like Bisi pointed out, he had to be comfortable with his insecurities and change the way he thought of himself. Only then will his family’s perception of him change.