Rediscovery In Stand By Me

Discoveries enable individuals to reconsider their world and self-perception. Therefore, discovery and rediscovery can have powerful ramifications, which James Bradley’s 1997 novel ‘Wrack’ and Rob Reiner’s 1987 film ‘Stand By Me’ explore to a great extent through their similar rediscovery of the past, consequently evoking suppressed emotions. The underlying process of discovery is also examined, prompting ramifications that can vary according to personal contexts and values.

As a consequence of rediscovery of prior occurrences, an individual undergoes significant emotional purging. In ‘Wrack’, Claire writes a cathartic letter to Paul concerning their past relationship: “When we met, I was shattered and remade...perhaps this is all life is.

‘Stand By Me’ is a coming-of-age film concerning a writer recounting his youth after the death of his friend Chris, when accompanied by three friends, he journeys to discover a missing boy’s body. Along their journey, while his friends are sleeping during early morning, Gordon, alone, spots a deer: “That was the one thing I kept to myself. I've never spoken or written about it until just now.” Through rediscovery, the deer symbolises his emotional ties, akin to Kurt’s connection with the ship as an emotional outlet, of the wonder of nature and the beauty of innocence which his younger self could not fully appreciate compared to the present Gordon. This is highlighted by close-ups on both Gordon smiling and the deer, combined with the diagetic chirping of birds. Additionally, Gordon’s admits, “I didn't cry at Denny's funeral. I miss him, Chris,” after he dreams of that incident. The dream is conveyed through a desaturated flashback, intensifying his reliving of the past, after which through his confession, he can unshackle his heavy sense of guilt of apathy towards his deceased brother Denny. Comparably, Kurt ultimately unfetters his burdensome emotions associated with Veronica and Fraser by disclosing the outcome of the caravel. However, upon seeing the child’s dead body, Gordon weeps for Denny: “Why did Denny have to die? Why?”. The body instigates the rediscovery of death,

In ‘Wrack’, David attempts to balance his search for the ship and process the death of his wife Tania and subsequently becomes trapped in the past. Sand is a motif implemented by Bradley to convey David swamped in research and buried in his lamentation of Tania, in the place where both the ship lies hidden and where Tania perished. The comparison, “His knowledge of the hills more reliable than his memories of Tania, ... unprepared to let go of these memories,” demonstrates his unwillingness to depart from the alluring sand and consequently compels him to cling onto former memories. Bradley utilises pathos and olfactory imagery: “They(Memories) and his grief the only things left now of her...the ship so close he can smell it,” reinforcing David’s wife and the wrack as his outlets for chasing the past. Again, his inconclusive process of discovering the ship and closure to Tania’s death is delineated by the metaphor, “The frameworks of reason and evidence that order David's desire, contain it, beginning to collapse...The murk of history rising all around him, infecting him,” resultantly illustrating the past as a malignant disease ensnaring him. Hence, individual values formulate discovery methods, from which various repercussions