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The movie Dead Man Walking was a great American release in 1995 mostly because of its character’s behaviors and characteristics which were greatly identifiable as real-life behaviors. This paper discusses the behaviors of a selected number of characters in the movie and this description will be done in a way that depicts them as real-life behaviors that I have witnessed in my personal life. The paper, therefore, focuses on four characters namely: Sister Helen Prejean, Matthew Poncelet, Vernon Harvey and Robert Willie.
Sister Helen Prejean (a Roman Catholic nun) and Matthew Poncelet who is a convicted criminal are the main characters in the movie. To begin with, Prejean is a person who is concerned with the well-being of others. She has that compassionate heart that drives her to urgently request that Poncelet is accorded a less serious punishment despite his wrongdoing of killing and raping; a leniency request that asks the punishment to be reduced at least from execution to life immurement (Turan, 1995). She is also a straightforward lady who advocates for honesty. This is clear from the way she asks Poncelet to tell the truth so that he can be purged from his wrong advocating for honesty and truthfulness as the best way of accepting responsibility for actions taken (Turan, 1995). In addition to this, Prejean is committed to her faith as she believes solidly in the sanctity of life and this is shown by the way she strongly advocates for Poncelet not to be executed his criminal conviction notwithstanding but rather be accorded life imprisonment. These personal attributes by Prejean are great indicators of her behaviors that are typical of a piously religious person in our time. Her solid foundation in her faith further identifies with the expectation I would have for a Christian.
The behavior of Poncelet is typical of a convicted criminal as it is demarcated with lies, half-truths and arrogance. He first denies responsibility for the murder of the young man and instead blames it on his accomplice Carl Vitello (Turan, 1995). This hard stand however changes at the hand of religious appeal where he owns up his criminal activity at the behest of Prejean. This behavior is what is expected of someone facing murder charges where at some point, he should feel penitent and appear to appeal to the transcendent for forgiveness making peace with the deity with the expectance of execution under the law (Turan, 1995). The zenith of this penitence which is typical behavior of a guilty person comes when Poncelet begs the parents of the victim to forgive him for murdering their son and even considered the only retribution he should get to measure his crime was to be killed himself; in real life, this is the kind of response one gets when guilt and regret set in for actions done.
Pride is a human condition that tends to demean anything else around its bearer. In this movie, Robert Willie stands out as being the prototype of pride. Even after being convicted of his crime, he does not ask for forgiveness from the victim’s family but rather asks that they find comfort in the demise of their child! (Turan, 1995). It is no wonder the kinds of people that he considers in high esteem are the likes of Fidel Castro and Adolf Hitler and this is portrayed in the way he talks to the victim’s family and the arrogance with which he accepts his execution considering it like some sort of heroic thing. In real life, these behaviors are the fruits of a boisterousness that is caused by pride; creating in people false self-importance and consideration of others’ lives as inferior. This is the plague that takes Robert to the hang man’s noose (Turan, 1995).
Finally, Vernon Harvey is a considerate and modest man. The way he listens genuinely considers others’ points of view and empathizes with their situations makes him a truly human and gifted listener. This behavior is shown when he listens to Prejean even when he is hurt due to the loss of his stepdaughter at the hands of Robert Willie (Turan, 1995). Inasmuch as he is high ranking in the law department, he does not use his position and influence to bring retribution and avenge his daughter-in-law. In fact, he does not find solace and satisfaction in the execution of Robert (Turan, 1995). In a real-life situation, it is not common to find persons who are not vindictive in their expectations for justice especially when they have been wronged; it is usually inherent in people seeking revenge and wanting those who hurt them to pay in equal measure if not more dearly. Harvey’s ability to restrain his vengeance and desire to seek justice in retribution is therefore ostensibly peculiar and special for him as a character in the movie.
In a word, this short character analysis has tried to discuss the behaviors of different characters of this incredible movie, Dead Man Walking and has also tried to make such a discussion based on real-life human behavior that we come across on a daily basis.
Reference
Turan, K. (1995). Movie Review Dead Man Walking. The Los Angeles Times. Web.
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