Breaking Awayis Analysis

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Breaking Awayis a coming of age story with implicit meanings behind the movie’s title. One piece that I hope to focus on is how an 18 year old high school graduate learns to step away from imitating and grows into a self concept all of his own. The notionof breaking away when you are an 18 year old young man presents a whole world of newness. There are so many options available to you; it’sexpected for you to reach for the stars. But, when do you reach for the stars that are more attainable? That seems to be the question for a recent high school graduate, Dave in Bloomington, Indiana, who is coasting in between high school and deciding what to do with the rest of his life. He is snobbishly looked down upon by the college students…show more content…
His father feels that Dave should get a job and be exhausted at the end of each day, it was good enough for him, and itshould be good enough for Dave. But, Dave wants bigger and better things out of life, the only thing is, he is not sure exactly what he wants. And when he falls for a college girl, he is ashamed to admit he is a cutter and poses as an Italian exchange student to impress her. Bickel 2 When a bicycle racer breaks away from the main pack and leaves behind the other riders, he has created a margin of victoryand sense of confidence while leading that race. From reading, Linda Seger explainshow the hero doesn’t want to leave his safety zone, “he is afraid of the unknown” (Seger, 358). Dave is excited to learn his heroes -- the Italian racers -- are coming to town for a race. But they are even more snobbish than the college students and rely on dirty tricks to keep…show more content…
The Italian cyclists cheated. He finds out that reality stinks. He finds out that the Italians stink! Here, Dave has hit rock bottom. He works for his father washing cars at his used car lot and really thinks about what he wants to do with his life. His father has a heart to heart with him and Dave realizes he has to take that first big step and do something completely different. He has to break away from what he knows in order to learn a new way of life. In this way, Dave has been taken “from the ordinary into the extraordinary” (Seger 359). Seger compares this to a death experience and how it often leads to a rebirth of the character. He has to put the dream of being an Italian-like cyclist in the coffin, and have a mourning experience so Dave can move on with the rest of his life. Dave realizes that he_ can_compete with the college guys. He has passed the college entrance exam and he doesn’t have to walk around the buildings his father’s generation built, he can enter them, “seize the sword and take possession of the treasure that is inside” (Seger 359) and realize that he is in charge of his future. He has not completed his journey, but he is on his way to a new journey, the real journeyof breaking away and becoming an adult. His ability to grow from a real “life tragedy” willhelp him create the person he
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