Internal And External Conflict In Shutter Island - 1416 Words

Statement: For a text to be successful characters must experience internal and external conflict. In the film Shutter Island directed by Martin Scorsese, the main protagonist Teddy experiences both internal and external conflicts which he struggles to resolve as his denial of the truth prevents him from doing so. Teddy goes to the Island as a US marshal to investigate the missing patient, however, he is faced with the truth that he has suppressed for so long. Teddy creates a false reality to cope with his guilt of killing his wife as he’s unable to admit his true identity of Andrew Laeddis. Scorsese’s techniques and conventions are used to highlight the importance of characters battling internal and external conflict as it makes it a†¦show more content†¦The fire symbolises the lies he created to shield himself from the truth, he’s struggling with his external conflict as he proceeds to fabricate his reality with lies. In a close up we see him reach out to hold her in the place where he shot her, however there’s water flowing out instead of bl ood, the truth is pouring out his subconscious is trying to force him to face the truth. The place starts to turn to ash the overwhelming amount of fire furthers the illusion he’s created and destroys the memories of the truth. He’s left with the water slipping through his fingers exposes how the truth is slipping away from him as the fire engulfs him with lies. Teddy suppresses the truth as he cannot face what he has done, it is human nature to suppress things we cannot face. When we struggle to cope with certain things we find it easier to repress our problems, that way we don’t have to deal with them. Teddy conflicts are relatable for an audience as they will often experience the same thing when suppressing things and end up creating lies to help shield yourself from the truth because facing the truth can hurt which can be hard to overcome. This is why it is easier for humans to suppress things because they are able to avoid the pain. Teddy continues to struggle with the battle of internal and external conflict as he slips further into the fantasy that he created to shield him from the truthShow MoreRelatedInternal And External Conflict In Shutter Island1505 Words   |  7 Pages The film Shutter Island directed by Martin Scorsese is about a patient called Andrew â€Å"Teddy Daniels†. The film takes place in a mental institution called AshCliffe. Teddy is a patient who had killed his wife. Teddy feels extremely guilty and tries to hide the truth by creating a fantasy of his own where his wife died in an apartment fire. Scorsese uses Teddy’s internal and external conflict to make the film successful by showing the idea that: It is human nature to suppress things we cannot face