The Searchers: Great Themes

 Kaitlyn Woodard

Professor Matt Wisniewski

English 280

September 18, 2020

    The Searchers follows Ethan, a racist confederate soldier who has come home after going missing for three years. The Searcher’s provides us with a character that we do not view in a forgiving light. With themes circling around sinful desires hiding in the darkness it can easily draw someone in. 

 Ethan is arguably the most complex character with several hints towards an undesirable lawless past. This is most obvious in the first scene by the fireplace with Ethan, his brother Aron, and Aron’s wife Martha. Aron stated that he would be perfectly willing to let Ethan stay as long as he pleases but, it is obvious by his tone that his brother does not want him there. Ethan becomes upset and hands Aron a bag of unminted Union money. This leads to everyone in the room becoming quite quiet and Aron stuffing the money under the cushion. That money is far from something that he should have after five years of serving the Confederacy and then wandering on his own for three years. In a later scene Ethan is about to be sworn in by the reverend, and then Ethan stops him warning him that the action would be illegal. Moments later the reverend asks in a joking manner if he is a wanted criminal, so when Ethan does not respond another heavy silence ensues. A lot of the darkness though is to the fact that Ethan is heavily suggested to have an at least flirtatious and most likely sexual relationship with Martha. There are multiple scenes which support this idea. First, is once again the one by the fireplace. When Aron has a hostile tone and states that he can stay as long as he wants, “...Right Martha.” This moment can seem awkward and out of place. However, when you consider other moments within the beginning of the story it makes it seem as though Aron is aware of his wife’s and brother’s affair. Martha watches from the doorway as Ethan arrives at their home at the beginning of the story, anticipating and yearning for his arrival. Along with her caressing Ethan’s coat as she retrieves it for him when he’s leaving with the reverend, followed by her watching him fade into the distance. She is obvious in the affection that she holds for Ethan. It is this affection though that plagues him. Ethan can not enter the happy home of Martin, Laurie, and the others.

These elements that are highlighted through contextual clues are the most consistent elements of the story and are quite easy to find especially when you are aware of the underlying themes of the film. Ethan is not the most sympathetic character, but the story could not exist without him.

Comments

  1. Shawn AdilettaSeptember 26, 2020 at 6:24 PM

    I totally agree. It's amazing how much we can learn about Ethan as a character and his relationships in such a short span of the movie. As you said, this complexity makes Ethan an integral part of the story and adds to that consistency. Loved your essay

    - Shawn

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 27, 2020 at 4:28 PM

    Ethan's flawed nature is in fact one of the most interesting things about him. He is not sympathetic and carries himself in such an insensitive, callous demeanor. Which is why one can't help but search for reasons for his behavior, for it very much does not fit the norm. He does not change much by the end of the film, yet I feel that it would be fun to re-watch the movie to see moments in his actions that would further uncover some deeper truths into his character.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownSeptember 29, 2020 at 2:13 PM

    Ethan is a very interesting character especially because he fought in the civil war for the south I want to see a movie of him in the civil war

    ReplyDelete

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