The Theme of Friendship and Writing Style in Finding Forrester and Freedom Writers

“Writing and Friendship” in the films “Finding Forrester” and “Freedom Writers”. “Finding Forrester” and “Freedom Writers” portray some of the admirable qualities and attributes that teachers should have, particularly in inspiring students to perform and become good people in society. “Finding Forrester” is an exciting movie that tells the story of Jamal, a young African American boy from the Bronx who won a scholarship to a private school not because of his basketball talent, but because of his high examination scores (Readers, par 1-2 and SantoPerf).

The movie continues by showing the challenges Jamal faced until he met his teacher, Forrester, who inspired him to become an excellent writer. “Freedom Writers” is another interesting crime-drama film that portrays Erin Gruwell and her experience as a teacher in a new school where she encountered unruly, gang-like students. Despite the two movies being different, they share literary elements and themes that make them similar.

Firstly, according to “Finding Forrester,” friendship is created in a strange manner. Jamal is portrayed as a person who enjoys expressing himself with other basketball playing colleagues, while Forrester prefers seclusion and spends most of his time in his apartment (SantoPerf). When Jamal sneaks through the window, he finds himself in Forrester’s house, where Forrester scares Jamal with a knife (Readers, par 1). When Jamal goes back to collect his backpack which he had left behind, he finds out that it had been reviewed and critiqued. This is how their friendship began (Pickering, par. 7 and SantoPerf). Jamal requested that William teach him writing styles. From this film, a friendship is created between the two because of their shared interest in writing. The theme of friendship is also depicted in the film “Freedom Writers”. The dedicated teacher, Erin Gruwell, arrives at a new school and does everything within her power to foster a positive environment in her class (LaGravenese). She manages to help her students view issues constructively.

Even though the theme of friendship is similar in both films, it is developed through different approaches. Forrester invests in fostering a relationship with a single student, Jamal, while in “Freedom Writers”, Erin cultivates a community-like friendship and empowerment. Erin does not just inspire one student, but the entire class. She realizes that her class is highly discriminated based on race when one student claims that whites run the country and have the permission to shoot blacks. She mitigates the conflict by encouraging the students to engage in freedom writing: creating diaries that encompass each other’s stories and other narratives they find interesting in their lives. Erin contrasts Forrester by spending part of her salary to purchase learning and writing supplies for her students. She leads her students to fundraise in order for them to help another child join their school. This fosters friendship while simultaneously extending to community service.

In “Finding Forrester,” William Forrester imparts his writing style knowledge to Jamal. He read Jamal’s diary and commented on it. However, Forrester did not just offer critique to Jamal’s writing; he also provided feedback on how Jamal could improve his writing and establish himself as a top writer (Pickering, par. 7). In fact, Jamal became so proficient that his grammar teacher penalized him for plagiarism, as his writing style resembled that of an article Forrester had previously published. Similarly, Erin uses a comparable approach. She purchases diaries and instructs her students on how to share and write personal stories (Pickering, par. 7). This form of teaching motivates the students and facilitates their understanding of Erin’s writing styles.

In conclusion, “Finding Forrester” and “Freedom Writer” serve as excellent examples for current teachers and students in ethnically and racially diverse school settings. Teachers must realize that every student, irrespective of their racial background, can succeed academically. Moreover, it is crucial for school administrators to support teachers in their roles of imparting knowledge to students. Despite the differences, teachers bear the responsibility of creating a learning friendship with their students and inspiring them to succeed.

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