Mean Creek This is the last essay I owe you Ms. I hope its up to standard .=)
Briefly describe one important scene or event in Mean creek and explain why its important.
Scene description: Marty walks in to Rocky’s room. The room is lit by only one lamp and Marty see’s Rocky, Sam, Clyde and Millie all sitting facing each other. Marty then confronts the group about the meeting. After the confrontation Marty goes to leave and Rocky stops him at the door, at this point the two have a semi-privet conversation where they say good bye to each other. When this happens Rocky realises he will never see his best friend again.
This scene is important for three reasons, firstly because it shows the groups contrast from before Georges death and after his death. The second reason is it makes the barrier between how Marty feels and the how the rest of the group feels. The final reason for this scene to be important is it shows the destruction of Marty and Rockys friendship.
The groups contrast to before Georges death is clear, in the scene before his death the mood in the room is light, happy and jokey. This is a stark contrast to the mood in the scene after his death where the mood is depressed, remorseful and guilty. In this scene another contrast is the use of lighting. In the scene before Georges death the lighting is very bright. Its light reflects the atmosphere in the room which in the “before scene” is bright, well-lit and the light has a yellows tinge to it which gives off a homely a feeling.
The second reason for the importance of this scene is it shows the barrier between Marty and the rest of the group. This barrier is caused by Marty’s feeling towards telling the truth about Georges death. The way the director as drawn attention to the barrier by having the Sam, Rocky, Clyde and Millie are all facing away from Marty and facing inward as he enters. The reason an the importance of placing the group in this way is to symbolize the turning away from Marty’s leadership and choices. We need to see the group turn away from him in order to understand Marty’s choices after the meeting and the groups choices.
The final reason for the importance placed on this scene is the breakdown of Rocky and Marty’s relationship. We see this when Marty goes to leave but is stopped by Rocky, the discussion that entailed was reminiscent of a breakup conversation. The importance of including that conversation in the scene is huge, this because without the conversation between Rocky and Marty we don’t understand any of the choices Marty makes after this conversation takes place. It is my belief that Marty reaction of robbing a gas station is related to his talk with Rocky, my reasoning for this belief is that it was Marty’s way of dealing with what was essentially his and Rocky’s breakup. It also has the importance to Rocky and his decisions. For Rocky this talk with Marty is the last time he will talk and see his best friend and the last time he will consider Marty a friend.
