Within the film “Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (AJJCRF) this idea is shown strongly throughout. It is most evidently displayed in Robert Ford and his relationship with Jesse James, as well as the public's image of Jesse James as a whole. Robert is used as a tool to demonstrate our need to have idols and heroes to strive for something greater than ourselves. In the early stages of the film, it was made clear that Jesse was Robert’s hero and had been since he was a child. This was shown in the opening scene by Robert’s desperation to be in the James gang as he felt by being part of it, he was in some way connected to Jesse. Also, he knows when Jesse’s birthday is, and this, in combination with his desire to be in the gang, shows a long …show more content…
These books most likely portray a caricature of Jesse with the positive traits like his bravery, devil-may-care attitude and his ability to be in control, no matter how the odds were stacked against him would have been exaggerated while his negative traits like mental unstableness and ruthlessness would have been overlooked. This highlights how people can be turned into heroes or villains by exaggerating certain aspects of their personalities while ignoring others. Roberts idea of Jesse James was distorted from the real person. Reading books about his idol also explains why he exclaims, “I can't believe I woke up this morning wondering if my daddy would loan me his overcoat and here it is just past midnight. I've already robbed a railroad train and I'm sitting in a rocking chair chatting with none other than Jesse James.” This quote shows that he is living in his fantasy world to an extent. Robert is obviously tired of being a boring and insignificant and desires more excitement in his life. Not only that, Robert feels as if he has been looked over and ignored his whole life, in contrast to Jesse James (JJ) who has become a folk hero with the admiration of the people of the former Confederate