Theme Of Stand By Me

Stand By Me Hayden Chan

Discus how the relationships between people or groups impact on our sense of self. Refer to both Stand by Me and your own experience.

Stand by Me is a story that explores the maturity and growth of the 4 boys, specifically Gordie. The relationships between people and groups impact their sense of self through their journey. Reiner explores how people and groups affects people’s sense of self. This is conveyed through the family relationships between the characters and the friendships they have in their childhood and further on, these two theme’s intertwine through Gordie’s journey of growth and maturity. Overall, the impact that people in Stand by Me have on lives cannot be understated, as they change their

Friendships build us up, and are often memorable in our lives and make a change on our personality. A word-wide known example of this from the famous movie trilogy, Star Wars, is the relationship between Han Solo and Chewbacca, their relationship is known for their bravery between each other, staying loyal and protecting each other. Their relationship is comparable to the relationship between Chris and Gordie, as they stand side by side for each other, willing to risk it all for on another. Though they never share deep emotional conversation in comparison to Gordie and Chris during the campfire scene they are always there for each other as best friends. They impact their sense of self for each other, as they choose to risk their lives for one another and make decisions that reflect their emotions as loyal best friends. Comparable to Chris and Gordie from their iconic scene where Gordie holds the gun to protect his best friend, Gordie. When Chris notices Gordie cry after finding the dead body, “My dad hates me…”, Chris is there to comfort him because he is his best friend and is willing to listen and help him change and get him past such an emotional moment. He reassures him, “You’re gonna be a great writer someday”, giving him a change in perspective and pushing him to change for the better. This is later known when we see Gordie becoming a writer,

Relationships with family influences the things in life that you value, thus affecting your sense of self. A key issue that family helps you overcome which has become apparent in the past could years, cyberbullying, with the introduction of social media. Family is a critical component, across the world, during your childhood they help you in the toughest things in life, such as cyber bullying. During our most vulnerable parts in life, especially during an age where social media is so influential, our relationships with family help us and build up the values that the hold so dearly. This is contrast to the family relationships of Gordie and his father, his father neglects Gordie’s needs and doesn’t help him through the tough times that many families across the world do. The idea of family, is to maintain the wellbeing of its members, which is depicted globally when they assist their children through tough times. We all need family to be our backbone and support us through whatever troubles they may be going through, which is the antithesis of the relationship between Gordie and his father. Their troubled relationship is revealed by Gordie’s outburst, “I don’t want to be a writer. It’s stupid. It’s a stupid waste of time…That’s your dad talking”. Their problematic relationship leads to Gordie’s low self-esteem, elucidating that children need their parents and