1. Silver Linings Playbook
1.1. Patrick
1.1.1. Doesn't want rehabilitation at beginning of film - doesn't swallow the pills he's supposed to take - seen spitting it out.
1.1.1.1. Has a misconception that he's okay and doesn't need any help - he sees a psychologist but he refuses most of his suggestions and convinces himself that he's alright.
1.1.2. Thinks he has changed and moved on from incident.
1.1.2.1. Nearly beat the guy who his wife was sleeping with to death.
1.1.2.2. This theme of violence from him is strong throughout the entire film:
1.1.2.2.1. Seen when he attacks his mother when he is reminded of the night he found his wife cheating.
1.1.2.2.2. At the football game when there is other violence going on around him
1.1.2.2.3. Both of these events come back to the two things that set him off - his and Nikki's wedding song and seeing or perceiving violence.
1.1.3. Thinks that he needs to change for his wife to come back to him - thinks that that is what couples do, change each other.
1.1.3.1. "It's electric between us! Okay, yeah, we wanna change each other, but that's normal, couples wanna do that. I want her to stop dressing like she dresses, I want her to stop acting so superior to me, okay? And she wanted me to lose weight and stop my mood swings, which both I've done. I mean, people fight. Couples fight. We would fight, we wouldn't talk for a couple weeks. That's normal. She always wanted the best for me."
1.1.3.1.1. This still shows the misconceptions and delusions that run his life, and show that maybe he hasn't changed. For instance, he thinks he's stopped his mood swings, and yet he's seen having tonnes of them throughout the film - with his parents, around Tiffany, around his friends.
1.2. Tiffany
1.2.1. She doesn't 'change' over the course of the film in the strictest sense, although her reasons behind her incessant manipulation of Pat do develop as the grow to become more involved. There is an aspect of her that she tries to convince people she's changed in - her sleeping around.
1.2.1.1. She originally manipulates Pat because he is both an easy target and because she's lonely and feels as if she can gain something from him - this is probably a selfish ploy on her part to make herself feel better.
1.2.1.1.1. This develops into another type of manipulation that is aimed at keeping her as the powerful one in the relationship - this maybe also comes down to her falling in love with him and so his obsession with his (ex)-wife really hurts her. This is something that she aims to control - the ultimate act to try and get him to fall in love back.
1.2.1.2. "I was a big slut, but I'm not anymore. There will always be a part of me that is sloppy and dirty, but I like that, just like all the other parts of myself. I can forgive. Can you say the same for yourself, fucker? Can you forgive? Are you capable of that?"
1.2.1.2.1. "Officer Keogh: Hey, aren't you Tommy's widow? Tiffany: Yes, I'm Tommy's crazy whore widow. Minus the whore thing, for the most part. Officer Keogh: You want to get a drink sometime? [Tiffany turns around and walks away in disgust] Pat: You shouldn't say that to her. She doesn't do that anymore. Officer Keogh: What? What did I say? Pat: She doesn't do that anymore."
1.3. Patrick's Father (Patrick Senior)
1.3.1. He gambles throughout the entire film and he doesn't seem to consider stopping despite his wife and everyone else telling him to.
1.3.1.1. Takes it too far?
1.3.2. The remote controls have to be neatly stacked in the same way - OCD
1.3.2.1. Throughout the film we see the remotes in two states - stacked and not stacked - and this symbolizes the state of the family in the household. If everything was alright (like at the end of the film) the remotes would be stacked. Patrick Sr doesn't fix or overcome his OCD, but he does have a change where in which the remotes aren't stacked.
1.3.3. Superstitions do not change over the course of the film, only develop and deepen in understanding - furthered by Tiffany.
1.3.3.1. "Not that I give a fuck about football or about your superstitions, but if it's me reading the signs, I don't send the Eagles guy whose personal motto is "Excelsior," to a fucking Giants game, especially when he's already in a legal situation."
2. Border Crossing
2.1. Danny
2.1.1. Would like to believe in redemption.
2.1.1.1. "'Whereas you believe in redemption.' Danny was so startled his nostrils flared...'I don't know that I do. I'd like to.'"
2.1.2. His manipulative behaviors do not change over the course of the book - this is shown by other's views of him that Tom collects throughout the book.
2.1.2.1. Elspeth Green
2.1.2.1.1. "'Danny was a bottomless pit. He wanted other people to fill him, only in the process the other people ended up drained. Some people were...I don't know, mesmerized by the process, and so they kept going back for more. Or rather they kept going back to give more.'"
2.1.2.2. Angus McDonald
2.1.2.2.1. "'He might be curious enough to find out what he did to me.' 'What he did to you?' 'Yes, I suppose it does sound odd. I was in my twenties, he was fifteen. Obviously it was my fault.' He smiled. 'Anyway, what does it matter? Water under the bridge.'"
2.1.2.3. These views show how Danny sucks people in, and we can see the effects of Danny on Tom and Martha. They are 'over-involved' and they believe they're helping him.
2.1.3. Lights fires as a kid, yet always carries matches with him (not a lighter).
2.1.3.1. "Danny replaced the burnt matchstick carefully in the box."
2.1.3.2. Security? Does this make him feel safe, always carrying with him an aspect of his past?
2.2. Tom
2.2.1. Marriage and Divorce of Lauren
2.2.1.1. Tom and Lauren's divorce changes the atmosphere between them, and changes the way Tom perceives the world.
2.2.1.1.1. Tom recognizes that Lauren's absence gives Danny more of a chance to manipulate him (shows a lack of change on Danny and Tom's part - Danny is still manipulating people like he always used to, and Tom is still letting it happen.)
2.2.1.2. Changes in Tom due to divorce open him up for manipulation by Danny, showing that perhaps he hasn't changed as much as people would like to think.
2.2.2. Wants to believe in redemption, and to some extent does, but only under certain circumstances. You have to remove the environment that made them turn out the way they did, and put them in a new one.
2.2.2.1. "'It would be very easy for me to say yes, but I suspect in the sense you mean, I...don't."
2.2.2.2. "'...if you take a particular individual and change his environment, completely, for a long time, he's going to learn new tricks.'"
2.2.2.3. "'There's always hope that some of the new tricks might carry over.' 'But he might revert?' 'Yes. There's always that possibility.'"
2.3. Martha
2.3.1. Wants to believe that Danny can change, but she still questions his ability to do so - even if he seems to have changed, she can't fully believe it.
2.3.1.1. "Until tonight, she would have said without hesitation that he had changed...or rather she believed that he'd changed."
2.3.1.2. "He might have changed, but she didn't believe it. Not absolutely. Not without doubt."
2.4. Angus
2.4.1. "Angus rested his arms on the fence. 'Do you think confession's the only route to redemption?' 'I'm tempted to say no, though I don't know what other route there could be.' Angus shrugged. 'If you believe in redemption.' 'But you believe in the power to change, presumably?' 'Presumably.'"
2.4.1.1. Doesn't seem convinced that redemption can happen, but he doesn't deny that change can occur.
2.5. Water (Symbol)
2.5.1. Christianity and Other Religions
2.5.1.1. Is a symbol of cleansing and purity.
2.5.1.1.1. Baptism - everybody is born in sin and children are baptized to remove that sin - become pure.
2.5.1.2. Water was created on the first day, and can be considered 'close to God'. It brings life.
2.5.1.3. Flood stories to purify the Earth.
2.5.1.3.1. Ancient Mesopotamia: The Epic of Gilgamesh:
2.5.1.3.2. Christianity and the Bible: Noah's Ark:
2.5.1.3.3. South America: Incan
2.5.1.3.4. Others can be read about from these websites, as there is a variation of a flood story in almost every culture. It usually comes about because of an impurity in humans and the water is a way of cleansing the Earth. http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flood-myths.html http://nwcreation.net/noahlegends.html http://www.essene.com/Bible/flood.htm
2.5.2. In Literature
2.5.2.1. A river symbolizes the flow of life and fertility (ironic - Lauren can't conceive), and they are often used because they are continual and hence show change. A river is never constant, it is constantly changing and growing.
2.5.2.2. It is used generally as a symbol of cleansing and of power - it has the ability to both claim and free characters.
2.5.2.3. It can also symbolic of an enemy or adversary that has to be overcome.
2.5.3. The idea of water is something that is very much the basis of this story - Elspeth describes Danny's ability to make people feel like they are helping him as 'water in the desert', and Angus, when talking about his past with Danny, describes it as 'water under the bridge'. The book is also set in a wet environment - by a river.
2.5.3.1. It is meant to symbolize redemption, and yet how many of the character in the novel actually achieve this?