A Portrait of Insanity: Analysis of Character Building in Taxi Driver
Abstract (300 words maximum)
This study analyzes the significance of character development in Taxi Driver (1976), written by Paul Schrader and directed by Martin Scorsese. The focus will be the protagonist, Travis Bickle, a mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran who works as a taxi driver in New York City. It will examine aspects of his character that have made the film remain relevant today by highlighting on themes of self-perception and mental illness. Paul Schrader includes several details of the daily life of Travis that warrant a discussion on and how antisocial behavior it is conceived. The writing calls for attention to the protagonist’s habits just as much as his way of thinking to create an understanding of the person behind the violence – and how they seem in daily life. Schrader uses these character traits to explain why Travis creates his own obstacles that keep him from simply existing with others in society. Many decisions and motivations behind Travis’s decisions are not easily understood or clearly stated. To this day, there are still debates on the true meaning of the ending and even the true genre of the film. Despite not giving the audience every answer to every question, Schrader certainly wants us to see mental trauma and all that goes with it.
A Portrait of Insanity: Analysis of Character Building in Taxi Driver
This study analyzes the significance of character development in Taxi Driver (1976), written by Paul Schrader and directed by Martin Scorsese. The focus will be the protagonist, Travis Bickle, a mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran who works as a taxi driver in New York City. It will examine aspects of his character that have made the film remain relevant today by highlighting on themes of self-perception and mental illness. Paul Schrader includes several details of the daily life of Travis that warrant a discussion on and how antisocial behavior it is conceived. The writing calls for attention to the protagonist’s habits just as much as his way of thinking to create an understanding of the person behind the violence – and how they seem in daily life. Schrader uses these character traits to explain why Travis creates his own obstacles that keep him from simply existing with others in society. Many decisions and motivations behind Travis’s decisions are not easily understood or clearly stated. To this day, there are still debates on the true meaning of the ending and even the true genre of the film. Despite not giving the audience every answer to every question, Schrader certainly wants us to see mental trauma and all that goes with it.