Stereotypes In Aaron Sorkin's A Few Good Men
The 2016 presidential election has forced the United States in an extremely divided position, which can be seen in the vandalizing of many political yard signs in suburban neighborhoods. The root of this schism lies in the polarizing candidates; Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are doing everything they can to repair their faulty past, whether it be controversial misogynistic statements or a frightening email deletion. However, their actions seem to be alienating people even more, and whether or not they prove to be effective in the long run remains to be seen. Nevertheless, these self-preserving behaviors can be paralleled with several characters such as Jessep and Dr. Stone found in Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men, and especially Jocasta
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Stone’s performance in court is used to demonstrate how attempts to cover up past mistakes ultimately contribute to the decline of someone’s reputation. While discussing Santiago’s cause of death with Jessep in preparation of the trial, Jessep convinces Stone to testify that Santiago died of poison by saying, “...the first thing I’ll do when I leave is tell the folks upstairs I want Walter and the big Stones coming with me… That’s why I think it had to be poison [that killed Santiago]” (Sorkin 72). However, in the courtroom, after confidently stating that Santiago died of poisoning, Dr. Stone contradicts himself, saying that Santiago “...complains of chest pains, shortness of breath, fatigue,” which hints to the fact that Santiago died because of his coronary disease, not of poisoning (Sorkin 81-82). Selfishly blinded by the promotion Jessep hints toward, Stone does not consider the negative affects his decisions will have on him in the future, thus his reputation is tarnished by his greed for a higher position. Any attempt to save his reputation as a doctor would fail, for he clearly contradicted himself, and it can be inferred that the jury now knows that Stone lied about the poison on the rag. Therefore, because of the hole he dug himself into, he has no way to save himself from humility, proving that trying to preserve one’s reputation by lying only makes himself look
Stone’s performance in court is used to demonstrate how attempts to cover up past mistakes ultimately contribute to the decline of someone’s reputation. While discussing Santiago’s cause of death with Jessep in preparation of the trial, Jessep convinces Stone to testify that Santiago died of poison by saying, “...the first thing I’ll do when I leave is tell the folks upstairs I want Walter and the big Stones coming with me… That’s why I think it had to be poison [that killed Santiago]” (Sorkin 72). However, in the courtroom, after confidently stating that Santiago died of poisoning, Dr. Stone contradicts himself, saying that Santiago “...complains of chest pains, shortness of breath, fatigue,” which hints to the fact that Santiago died because of his coronary disease, not of poisoning (Sorkin 81-82). Selfishly blinded by the promotion Jessep hints toward, Stone does not consider the negative affects his decisions will have on him in the future, thus his reputation is tarnished by his greed for a higher position. Any attempt to save his reputation as a doctor would fail, for he clearly contradicted himself, and it can be inferred that the jury now knows that Stone lied about the poison on the rag. Therefore, because of the hole he dug himself into, he has no way to save himself from humility, proving that trying to preserve one’s reputation by lying only makes himself look