Joker Essay Questions

How does Arthur Fleck decide on the name "Joker"?

Arthur decides to call himself "Joker" because that is what Murray Franklin calls him in introducing his clip on his show. Franklin mocks Fleck's stand-up comedy routine (a routine which he flubs by inappropriately laughing and stumbling over his words) and asks the audience "who is this Joker?" When Arthur is invited on to Franklin's show, he asks him to introduce him as "Joker," not Arthur Fleck, a reference to this mockery and a way of perversely getting back at Murray for disparaging him.

Why does Randall give Arthur the handgun?

Randall gives Arthur the handgun to protect himself after he was beaten up by a group of teenage thugs for being dressed up as a clown. Randall recognizes that Arthur is strange, but feels bad for him and wants to make sure that he is safe. This is complicated, however, by the fact that Randall is not a very nice guy, and often bullies the other people he works with. In this moment, Randall is being completely irresponsible by providing his mentally unhinged coworker with a gun that he should not have.

Is Joker responsible (directly or indirectly) for the death of Bruce Wayne's parents and the shaping of his life and plans (i.e. becoming the Batman). If so, how?

Ultimately, Joker is indirectly responsible for the death of Bruce's parents. After he murders the three Wayne Enterprises employees on the subway, he inspires a violent movement of people who have become disillusioned with the government and the city's elite. Because of his actions, massive violent riots begin in the city. As Bruce and his parents walk out of the movie theater, Bruce's parents are killed by one of those resistance members who was inspired by this chaos. Thus, the film suggests that Joker's transformation into a psychopathic vigilante is what indirectly causes Bruce Wayne's tragic loss of his parents.

What is the shocking reversal we learn about Arthur and Sophie's relationship?

When Arthur first runs into Sophie on the elevator in his building, she seems unexpectedly open to his social awkwardness and oddness. They embark on a relationship, and she even goes to his terrible stand-up comedy show, laughing in the audience when nobody else does. They go on a date, and she expresses her respect for the subway shooter, suggesting that his act was a heroic one in the class war in Gotham. Later, however, Arthur goes to Sophie's apartment and she seems surprised and scared to see him, barely knowing who he is. In this moment, we realize that their entire relationship was a delusion, a product of Arthur's unstable mind. While we thought that Arthur had an ally, someone who could help him at his most desperate, this moment reveals that Arthur is more alone than ever, having never even had a relationship with Sophie.

Does the film try and make Arthur sympathetic?

The film gives a complex perspective on Arthur. He is positioned as the protagonist, the person whose perspective we get, but he ultimately ends up becoming a horrible villain, senselessly killing people and promoting chaos in the already crime-riddled Gotham. From one angle, he is presented as a villain, yet Todd Phillips, in examining how his life circumstances contribute to his transformation into "Joker," asks the viewer to consider Arthur's perspective, his desperation and vulnerability. For all of his evil, Arthur is also a victim of society. He is severely mentally ill, was abused as a child, and cannot hold a job. His disenfranchisement is not simply a result of his own mistakes, but structural. While the film ultimately shows that these factors turn Arthur into a horrible and reprehensible person, it seeks to illuminate the fact that villains are made, not born.