No One Is Born a Backbone of His Country

Xiao Zhiyue

Abstract： The Patriot tells the story of Benjamin′s growth from "family feud" to "national hatred" in the American War of independence. However， some people think it′s not a patriotic film but a story of personal revenge， because almost all of the film revolves Benjamin′s family life. But in my opinion， no one is born a hero. From beginning to end， his patriotism went through a process of awakening to maturity. It is precisely because the film maker takes the family as the starting point to show his feelings of defending the country in the American War of independence， which makes the patriotism in this film credible.

Key words： hero， family， patriot， war， growth

The protagonist Benjamin′s personal experience in the Anglo-French war made him deeply aware of the cruelty of the war. And the sudden death of his wife which made Benjamin hate war and only wanted to live a safe life with his family. But no country， no home. In the specific historical period and social background at that time， Benjamin had to be involved in the war again. After experiencing the psychological process of escape， wokeness and growth， he gradually became a mature patriot.

StageⅠ  Escape： Only wanted to keep a safe home

As a resident of the British colony， Benjamin was forced to fight in the Anglo- French war for seven years. Young Benjamin did not know why he was fighting. After experiencing the bloody war， he vowed to stay away from the war and take good care of his children. Therefore， in face of the oppression of the British colonists， he compromised， endured， insisted on negotiations， and did not want to take up arms to resist.

1. He was tortured for the past sin of killing

In the opening of the film， Benjamin put his axe， machete and guns into a large storage box and closed the heavy lid of the box. For a long time， he felt guilty for his killing in the Anglo-French war. He did not want anything about the war to reappear in his life again.

With the suspense in the narration of the plot， Col. Bull， the voters of parliament， neighbors， and his eldest son repeatedly proposed the Anglo-French war， but Benjamin refused to tell about the war. He dare not talk about it. He thought it was a crime to kill. Finally， almost till the end of the film， Benjamin told his son about the cruel and bloody details of the war. Benjamin′s deep sorrow and fear of this memory left a deep impression on the audience.

2. He enjoyed the relaxed and calm life

In the first scene， the peaceful environment of farm showed Benjamin′s pursuit of peace： The sun was shining brightly. Everything on the field was warm and clear： golden corn， green cotton seedlings， tall acacia trees……The servants （I use this word because the family and black slaves got along well） were working quietly--- it was an ordinary farm， ordinary day.

The children's bright smile was Benjamin′s enjoyment. Seven children of different personalities， eager for new things， cheerful and lively， quiet and introverted……They ran and chased in the fields， some read and wrote in the hall， some bent over the chair to watch their father working. He enjoyed the innocent and bright smile of children.

Some special objects are symbols of Benjamin′s desire for safe life， such as rocking chair， Polaris necklace， which appear repeatedly in the film. The rocking chair symbolized relaxation. At the beginning of the film， he was making a rocking chair at home. He tried but failed many times. Later， when he swapped for hostages in the enemy camps， he saw one rocking chair in the corner of the hall， he hastened forward to study its structure. The chair is a sybol of relaxing life， Benjamins act of sitting on it and analysing its structure embodies his eagerness for peaceful life， no matter he is in or out of the war.

In Benjamin′s opinion， Polaris was a symbol of eternity and hope. He told the children that it was their mother. “Whenever we look up at the sky with hope， we will see the stars， and our hope will never be shattered. ” I think actually it is Benjamin who becomes the Polaris， the kids are similar to the little stars spreading around. He is reliable， and is ever-luminous to tell the others the direction to the north.

3. Benjamin expressed his view of avoiding the war in the debate

In South Carolina Parliament， when many people enthusiastically expressed their support for the independent army against the British colonists， Benjamin stood up and voiced his opposition. There began the dialogue：

“We plead with them， we tried！”

“Well ， then， we try again and again if necessary to avoid a war ！”

When others ridiculed him， he said：“The war will be fought， not on the frontier， but among us，among our home.”“I have seven children， I am a parent. I have not got the luxury of principles！”

In this debate， Benjamin directly expressed his opposition to the war and made it clear that he would not take part in the battle， nor participate in the vote to send others to the battlefield.

When many people around him marched forward to fight， he retreated. Even when his eldest son was captured， his first reaction was to compromise and plead. As for the question of "what nation is that" in the debate， as other people， Benjamin did not understand thoroughly. Up to this time， it can even be said that Benjamin did not have the concept of "nation"， let alone the concept of patriotism.

StageⅡ  Wokeness： Fought for his family

At this stage， Benjamin understood that only by protecting the country from foreign enemies could his family be safe： Family and country are inseparable.

1.The riots changed his living environment

Britain did not treat people of this land well despite of their great contributions in the Anglo-French war. The local people began to rise up against the British colonists.

The movie provides us with an overlook of the town. With the application of match cut technique， the film made a comparison of the same view of coast in different period. Everything seemed familiar， the houses， the mansion， and the sea remained the same; but local people substituted British flag for American flag， and The dense merchant ships on the shore became aggressive warships. The darkened sky and the thick clouds was implying that something negative is going to happen.

2.The British invaders destroyed his home

As the British Red Army moved， the war got closer to his home， his family was in crisis. Dead soldiers were everywhere in the once vibrant fields， workers were forced into the British army， and houses and granaries were burned. His eldest son was arrested and then the second was shot.

Through montage technique， the film fully shows the death tragedy of his second son Thomas. When his eldest son was arrested， Benjamin came forward to plead. At that moment， Thomas rushed to his brother. The gun fired. Then， images flashed one by one in the pattern of slow motion： Thomas slowly fell to his knees; Benjamin rushed to his son in despair; the elder sister was frozen with fear; and the eldest son， whose face was distorted with pain……

3.He pick up the gun to protect the family

When Thomas felled to the ground， the church belled happened to ring. The bell not only declared death， but also awakened Benjamin. He began to wonder： forbearance and compromise could not protect the children. He had to give up fantasies and "do something". He opened the storage box for guns， axes and machetes， and took two little boys to rescue his eldest son. In this battle， he killed 20 British soldiers and saved his son. Benjamin started a real revolt.

In this stage， Benjamin understood that only by protecting the country from foreign enemies could his family be safe. Family and the country can't be separated.

Stage Ⅲ  Maturity： fought for the country

As time went on， his creed of patriotism further matured. While leading the militia to victory again and again， Benjamin saw more and more innocent people and children lose their lives. He realized that there is no such thing as safe home without without an independent country.

1. His responsibility to the militia increased

As a result of soldiers participation in the militia， many of their families were threatened and even killed. Benjamin asked the soldiers to choose whether to leave or not. Most of them chose to stay. At this time， Benjamin and the militia soldiers had the ideology of giving up their families for the country.

2. The family disaster strenthened his determination

At the moment when his newly married daughter-in-law and all the villagers at his hometown were burned to death in the church， Benjamin completely gave up his fantasy： without national security， beauty and hope could not exist.

Benjamin almost collapsed the moment his eldest son Gabriel was killed by Tavington. But when he saw the tattered American flag in his son's pocket， he snapped out of despair. Maybe， he might die of war， his family might lose protection， but the survivors could build a new country where the surviving children and other families were protected. In the movie， with tears and firm eyes， he held the flag and ran to catch up with the team. I was deeply shocked by the scene. If we say he mainly fought for his family in the previous story， then from then on， he was really fighting for the country. At this point， the hero's Patriotism had matured.

Conclusion

From the above elaboration， we can clearly see the changing process of the protagonist's psychology. In the face of British oppression， in the beginning， when many people around him rose up， he just did not want his loved ones involved. But as he suffered setbacks， he came to realize the reality： where there is no country， there is no home. So the best way to protect the family is to protect the country.

I think the theme is not just patriotism， but also to make people learn how ordinary people can be heroes： No one is born a backbone of his country， anyone can be the backbone by combining their own destiny with that of an entire country. Even in peaceful world today， if we can make outstanding contributions to the country， all of us can be heroes.

References：

[1]梁啟超.时势造就的英雄[J].人民周刊，2017，0（13）.

[2]黄瑞新.没有无缘无故的爱---民爱国如何成为可能[J].传承（学术理版），2009，（7）：62-63.

[3]Baidu encyclopedia：The Patriot（2000）

[4]陈晶晶. The Reflection on the Patriot . Jilin University

Author's introduction：Xiao Zhiyue，Born December 2002 College of foreign languages， Northeastern University

（College of foreign languages， Northeastern University    Shenyang， Liaoning 110819）