The Rural Road
Even though Alvin never leaves the rural, his journey is just as significant as that of any of the characters from other movies we've watched in class. It is because he carries out his mission on the tractor that his rural journey is full of as many life-changing elements as other road movie travels. Alvin travels slower, and even though he doesn't cover as much ground, he meets many people and is able to reflect on his own life through their stories. His purpose is also strengthened through listening to the people he meets. For example, the hitch-hiking girl is struggling with family problems, and Alvin's advice to her is to face her family, because having them is the most important thing. This advice crosses over to his own purpose of making amends with his brother, Lyle.
Because Alvin never leaves the rural, it is more apparent that the revelations he experiences are not due to geographical travel, but an inner journey. In other films such as Thelma and Louise and Easy Rider, the road also served as a place for self-actualization, but there was also dramatic change of scenery which underlined this theme. In Straight Story, the stability of the rural road may punctuate the severity of Alvin and Lyle's harsh feelings towards one another, because their physical separation is nowhere near as large as their emotional separation. On this road, Alvin goes through internal changes that define the road movie. The rural road implies the permanence of Alvin's realizations. He has changed even though his environment hasn't.