¶ … Mr. Forrester Mr. Crawford
Comparing and contrasting the character of Mr. Forrester and Mr. Crawford in Finding Forrester
The 2000 film directed by Gus Van Sant entitled Finding Forrester could be described as a classic 'fish out of water' story. The main protagonist Jamal is an intelligent, young African-American adolescent who is offered the opportunity to attend a prestigious private preparatory school on a scholarship because of the strength of his SAT scores. Jamal has been concealing his academic interests from his friends because he is afraid it will make him seen stuck up or 'white.' However, he reads widely and writes a great deal on his own. Through a series of improbable events, he comes to be privately mentored by Mr. Forrester, a reclusive writer who wrote one great book and then stopped writing entirely.
Jamal's encounter with Forrester is rather unexpected, beginning when he sneaks into Forrester's house on a dare. However, the two form a real, genuine friendship. This is in stark contrast to his relationship with Jamal has with Mr. Crawford, his English teacher at his prep school. Crawford regards Jamal's presence as alien. Crawford clearly sees Jamal's admittance to the school as the product of affirmative action, not evidence of the young boy's brilliance and commitment to learning....
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now