Essay 3 workshop

Barbara Hough-Sisson

Lauren Servais

English 100

11-3-2010

                                                  “Forgiveness Liberates the Soul”

Forgiveness can free people from anger, hate or rage.  The importance of forgiveness is summed up in a quote by Nelson Mandela, “Forgiveness liberates the soul.  It removes fear.”  Forgiveness is a powerful weapon in the movie, “Smoke Signals”.

In the movie Victor needed to forgive his dad and let go of past hurts or his anger was going to consume him.   Although Victor had no control over his father’s disappearance, growing up without his dad had a negative emotional hold on him. Victor needed peace and happiness in his life and true peace for him would come from a sense of security and forgiveness.   Dr. Tom G. Stevens writes, “Remember that anger stems from fear and a sense of helplessness…”.  Victor was unable to admit that he was struggling with his emotions or feeling hurt or fear by his dad’s actions because that might show a sign of weakness, but in reality he felt both and showed this by being aggressive and disrespectful. By Victor keeping grudges bottled up he was hurting people in ways that he did not know or understand. Thomas knew the betrayal Victor felt by his father and stood by his side nonetheless, keeping his father’s memories alive through his stories.

  Without even knowing, Victor’s dad delivered pain by breaking three hearts, his own, his wife, and Victor’s through his aggression and abuse.  This pain was seen and felt by Victor and his mother who were witnessing it every day.  Was Victor’s dad asking for forgiveness and the only way he knew how to do this was by making a change?  Was he protecting his family from himself by leaving?  Arnold was not able to cope with his pain from the fire turning to alcohol and he destroyed the relationship with his family.  His inner turmoil terrified him and he feared for his family, and left.  This is a love not many men are capable of, but he did this to protect his family.

Even though Victor coped with a lot of deep-rooted anger throughout the movie he did learn how much his father loved him. Arnold’s friend, Suzy Song brought this to light through the stories she told Victor about his dad and Victor was able to mourn him.  While Victor was at his dad’s trailer he found a picture in his wallet of the three of them, mom, dad and Victor and on the back was wrote family, this told the story, his dad loved them. There is no way that a man would carry a picture in his wallet for so many years if the picture was not important. This brought Victor closer to hope and life.  Once the ashes were retrieved Victor wanted nothing to do with them until they were heading home.  He said to Thomas, “Let me hold onto my dad.”  This was a turning point for Victor in healing old wounds.   

This movie was built on a special friendship between Victor and Thomas which was difficult at times.  There had been a brother like bond from the time they were saved from the fire even though Victor was disrespectful to him throughout their young lives.   Thomas believed in people, Victor trusted no one.  Thomas felt that through his stories of the goodness about Victor’s father he kept him real in Victor’s eyes.  As in the movie, sometimes we all need help. Victor’s mother made a reference to Victor that maybe he should depend on Thomas for help, he needed financial and more important, moral support for the journey. Thomas was a rock that Victor could depend on.  

Forgiveness does not come easy, but while the two young men were on their journey life’s meaning and possibilities are discovered through their adventures. Life is not always fair but the miracle of forgiveness cleanses the soul.  By Victor making a liberating shift at the end of the movie he cleansed his soul by forgiving his dad.  

 In conclusion, a massive reform had taken place in Victor.  Victor chose to seek freedom and forgive with the help of his friend, Thomas, his mother and his father’s friend, Suzy. He was not chained anymore to his past.  He came to a crossroads in his life and was able to forgive and free himself as he was putting his father’s ashes into the river at Spokane Falls Bridge, and he fell to his knees and cried out forgiveness to his father.  Everyday people and situations deliver us with pain, sometimes knowing and sometimes not, but we need to rise above, be strong and forgive as Victor did.  Smoke Signals portrays that anger, alcoholism and hurt cannot defeat love.