Analysis Of Dead Man Walking Essay Research

Paper

People in society today have changed their feelings towards

humanity and religious practises. This change is seen clearly in the

movie ?Dead Man Walking.? The characters go through changes in their

view of religion and their feelings about human morality and humanity

towards each other. The characters of Sister Helen, Matthew, and the

victims parents all went through these changes during the movie for

different reasons.

These emotional changes that the characters went through are very

common. Everyone changes their ideals and morals depending on their

situation. Matthew?s ideals changed because he feared that he was

going to die alone. Sister Helen?s feelings changed because she saw a

side of Matthew that no one else was able to see. The parents of the

victim ?Hope? were filled with revenge because of what Matthew did,

not why he did it. The father of the victim ?Walter? was very

sympathetic, he understanding of what Matthew was going through.

SISTER HELEN

Sister Helen was very unsure about what she was doing in life.

She became a nun to give back to the community which gave her good

Christian morals and values. By becoming a nun she was able to teach

others to respect life and become more like Jesus (A Son of God). As a

child Sister Helen was taught to be very supportive and to give this

support to those who needed her help.

When confronted with Matthew, Sister Helen tries to see the good

in him and show him the respect she believes he deserves. She believes

that there is good in all man and that every person deserves respect.

Sister Helen understands that what Matthew did was wrong, but she also

knows that every person is worth more than their worst act, and that

,?No man deserves to die . . .?. In Sister Helen?s mind every man

deserves a chance. From insight into her background and Christian

upbringing Sister Helen is able to see and feel for Matthew as a

person and not as an object of ?…scum or as a monster…?.

The media?s understanding and the victims parents understanding

is that Sister Helen believes that Matthew was wronged by the system.

They feel like they have been betrayed by a God?s messenger (Sister

Helen). To them Sister Helen is on Matthew?s side by helping him find

God. Sister Helen is being torn apart because she does no want to hurt

anyone?s feelings. She is compassionate and sympathetic to everyone?s

feelings, but does not mean to hurt any by her actions of helping a

murderer find God.

At the end of the movie Sister Helen wants Matthew to see a face

of love (Hers) not one of hate and resentment (The Victims Parents).

This means a lot to her because she has seen Matthew the person no

longer Matthew the monster. Sister Helen felt compassionate towards

Matthew because of the person he had become through getting to know

her and understand what she believed and wanted.

MATTHEW

At the beginning of the movie Matthew is rude and abrupt to

Sister Helen that?s what happens on death row, ?… you start to hate

and resent everyone.? Matthew never thought that he would be visiting

with a nun. Soon Matthew trusts Sister Helen and persuades her to help

him by filing a petition not to kill him by lethal injection. This was

a turning point in his attitude in understanding right and wrong.

Matthew thinks that he got screwed by the system that?s why he?s going

to die, not because he did something wrong. Matthew never had anyone

that really cared about him except Sister Helen. Matthew was always

lonely and only cared about number one ( Himself ). By talking and

sharing with Sister Helen he starts to understand what he did was

wrong.

Matthew?s mother was asked to pled for his life. This allowed the

media and the parents of the victims to see him as someone?s child

much like their own, and to explain that he was good boy not a

monster. She explained in court that he had, ?…had a hard life but

he was a good boy.? Matthew wanted to protect his mother and not let

her see him on trial for what he did. Matthew wanted to keep his pride

by not seeing his mother crying for him. He wanted her to be happy and

to not worry about him. This compassion is crucial to the total change

in ideals and morals that Matthew has now (After knowing Sister

Helen).

Matthew was going through a lot of changes now that he was going

to die within a week. His understanding of life and humanity changed

drastically from being a racist, saying that all the Black are victims

and keep having slavery, to feeling compassion to everyone. Many of

these feelings are because of his understanding of human life, as his

life nears the end. This changes are all caused by the situation he is

in.

At the end Matthew hopes that the father of Walter (the victim)

can forgive him and accept that he knows what he was wrong and should

be punished for it, but not punished to death. Hope?s farther does

forgive him at the vary end of the movie. As for the parents of Hope,

Matthew hopes that his death makes them happy even after the death of

their son. Matthew also accepts responsibility for what he did and

Sister Helen explains to him that by doing that he is now a son of God

and can die with dignity. This is what was needed for Matthew, as a

person.