3:10 to Yuma Essay Example
Cameron Moon
Kamian Harmon
English 105
February 24, 2011
“3:10 to Yuma”
The movie 3:10 to Yuma uses complex characters to keep the audience involved and maintain a level of uncertainty towards the outcome of the movie. It takes a certain level of analysis to understand these characters; why they do what they do, the significance of the things that they do, and how the things they do effect the plot of the movie. One character, Ben Wade, is particularly deceiving. Often times, the persona that is normally exhibited by your typical villain is contradicted by the actions of Wade, thus, extensive analysis is required to understand him and his motives. This paper will analyze the character Ben Wade in the movie “3:10 to Yuma”.
The audience’s first impression of Ben Wade depicts him as a criminal because, in one of the first scenes he is shown robbing a band of Pinkerton’s transporting money from one town to another. If you watch his actions closely, however, you will see that his gang commits the robbery while he is seen perched on a hill watching. Also, while his gang kills several people each, Wade kills only one man, and that man happens to one of his own. The reason he kills his own man is because he betrayed him and his gang, putting their lives at risk. Some may still see him as a criminal, but in reality, his actions in the first scene are neither criminal, nor unjust.
Following the robbery, Wade and his gang convene in a saloon to recap the events, in the scene, Wade says, “Proverbs 13:3, he that keepith his mouth, keepith his life, he that opens his lips to wide will bring on his own destruction.” This statement does two things for the character of Ben Wade. First, by referencing this excerpt from the bible Wade justifies the act of killing the fellow member of the outlaw gang. Ben is saying that the man he killed deserved to die because he “…opened his mouth to wide” thus putting them all in danger, and “…bringing on his own destruction.” The second
Kamian Harmon
English 105
February 24, 2011
“3:10 to Yuma”
The movie 3:10 to Yuma uses complex characters to keep the audience involved and maintain a level of uncertainty towards the outcome of the movie. It takes a certain level of analysis to understand these characters; why they do what they do, the significance of the things that they do, and how the things they do effect the plot of the movie. One character, Ben Wade, is particularly deceiving. Often times, the persona that is normally exhibited by your typical villain is contradicted by the actions of Wade, thus, extensive analysis is required to understand him and his motives. This paper will analyze the character Ben Wade in the movie “3:10 to Yuma”.
The audience’s first impression of Ben Wade depicts him as a criminal because, in one of the first scenes he is shown robbing a band of Pinkerton’s transporting money from one town to another. If you watch his actions closely, however, you will see that his gang commits the robbery while he is seen perched on a hill watching. Also, while his gang kills several people each, Wade kills only one man, and that man happens to one of his own. The reason he kills his own man is because he betrayed him and his gang, putting their lives at risk. Some may still see him as a criminal, but in reality, his actions in the first scene are neither criminal, nor unjust.
Following the robbery, Wade and his gang convene in a saloon to recap the events, in the scene, Wade says, “Proverbs 13:3, he that keepith his mouth, keepith his life, he that opens his lips to wide will bring on his own destruction.” This statement does two things for the character of Ben Wade. First, by referencing this excerpt from the bible Wade justifies the act of killing the fellow member of the outlaw gang. Ben is saying that the man he killed deserved to die because he “…opened his mouth to wide” thus putting them all in danger, and “…bringing on his own destruction.” The second