The Rural Road
In Straight Story, Alvin Straight travels on a rural road. This provides a unique type of road that leads to a new understanding of his own identity. I think that one of the main differences in this road from most of the other roads we’ve seen is that it is quiet and empty. The film showed a solitary character making this quiet, yet significant journey and I think that this emphasized the importance of self-reflection. Alvin was able to think about his life and put things in order on his own. It seems that it represents the ability to find one’s self independently, without the influence of other people, which could be seen as the ultimate understanding of your identity. The quietness, the solitude and the slow pace of traveling on a lawnmower all emphasize the independence of the main character. The film seems to tell us that the noise and the hustle and bustle of city-life can cloud our views of ourselves, and we lose our identity when we are surrounded by so much activity and people. When you take that away, you are left with all that you are, whether that is good or bad.