Farewell to the king
When I first watched Farewell to the King, I simply thought that it was just the story of how an American GI, through a series of unusual circumstances, became the king of Borneo and then was forced to lead his tribe into a war that he no longer wanted any part of. Upon further analysis, it became evident that this was really the story of Nigel Fairborn who comes into the story with a strong sense of British superiority, loyalty to the King of England and the desire to be a successful military leader. As the story unfolds, Nigel becomes less aware of his superiority, is torn between his loyalty to England and his new found loyalty to King Learoyd, and the reality that he is no longer able to lead.It is evident that Nigel's character represents an attitude of British superiority. It is not by accident that the only soldier that accompanies him to Borneo is his radio operator named Tinker, a black man from Africa. In two scenes the viewer's attention is directed to the racial difference. The first time is when the two of them are brought before King Learoyd. When Nigel discovers that the tribe's king is white, he makes the comment that he is as white as we are. As he says it, he turns
It is interesting that so much attention was placed on the idea of superiority in the beginning, but it was necessary to establish Nigel's attitude, so that we would see the change that takes place. He no longer saw Learoyd as this American playing king. We, like Nigel, have to learn to juggle the two and hope that we can meet the expectations of both. When this betrayal is looked at more closely, it is clear that it was done out of Nigel's desire to protect King Learoyd, his people's way of life, and their freedom. After all, the British were planning to chase Learoyd down to either make sure he was dead or captured and returned to the United States. King Learoyd taught Nigel that life was more important than man and that all men were free. Learoyd's wisdom, compassion, and fairness inspired his admiration. It is also a natural assumption that once Nigel's loyalty shifted to Learoyd, he was also bound by his decisions. Learoyd commented that Nigel should feel lucky, for they could sell his head to the Japanese and be done with it. Learoyd and all the remaining white soldiers offered themselves to British forces in exchange for the salt. Or more specifically, Tinker was something less because he was not white. Ultimately, as predicted by Nigel's Commanding Officer, Nigel was forced in the end to betray King Learoyd. As the story unfolds, this element becomes less important and simply fades into the background.
Common topics in this essay:
King Learoyd,
Africa Tinker,
Learoyd Nigel,
American English,
Learoyd American,
King England,
Furthermore Nigel's,
Tinker Tinker's,
Nigel Tinker,
African Finally,
british superiority,
king learoyd,
nigel's loyalty,
scene nigel,
attitude british,
attitude british superiority,
loyalty king,
british superiority loyalty,
superiority loyalty,
king england,
strong sense,
england desire,
sense british superiority,
superiority loyalty king,
king england desire,
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Acceptance Essays
