Rebel Without a Cause Essay Questions

What's the purpose of both Judy and Jim wearing red coats/jackets in the film?

We first see Judy in a red coat with red lipstick at the beginning of the film, and later Jim dons his iconic red windbreaker. The color red works to symbolize the connection between the two characters, who are separated by various circumstances until after the chickie-run sequence. The color red also represents the fiery anger that the two characters reserve for their parents, in particular their fathers. Jim and Judy bond over this connection in their first scene alone together, in which they both agree to escape together because their home lives are "zoos."

What is the meaning behind John's nickname (Plato)?

John's name is a reference to the Greek philosopher Plato, and immediately sets him apart from the other teenagers, who are known by common names like Jim, Judy, and Buzz. Plato the philosopher founded the Academy in Athens, the first school of higher learning in the Western world, and the film's Plato also seems bright, curious, imaginative, and sensitive to the world around him—all qualities of a worthy scholar. Plato's fate, murdered at the hands of uncaring police, suggests the potential fate of all boys whose sensitivity and brilliance makes them liable to be neglected and misunderstood.

Why does it bother Jim so deeply that his father is cleaning up after his mother?

Jim is enraged by his father's behavior towards his mother because he believes that he is diminishing himself as a man by being subservient to her. The act symbolizes Jim's father's more general deference to his mother on matters of family concern, such as their decision to relocate every time after Jim finds himself in a quarrel. Jim resents the fact that his father does not exert pressure on his mother's opinions, ceding his control of the household over to his mother and his grandmother, who Jim accuses of indulging in petty disputes and endless bickering.

Why is Buzz and Jim's final exchange by the cliff significant?

The moment Buzz and Jim share by the cliff is the only encounter they have with each other, away from the eyes and ears of the other teenagers. Given that they are alone, they are able to dispense with the insincere gestures and aggressive poses that they are forced to assume with one another under the pressure of the group. Buzz admits to Jim that he "likes" him, and takes a drag from Jim's cigarette before handing it back to them. The scene shows that the men are more than capable of affection and bonding with one another, but must participate in the violent rituals that the gang prescribes.

What are the implications of Jim, Judy, and Plato meeting together in the abandoned mansion?

Near the end of the film, Jim, Judy, and Plato all escape to an abandoned mansion near the planetarium, where together they form a mock version of the kind of functional family unit to which none of them seem to belong. In this proxy family, Jim is the father, Judy is the mother, and Plato is the child. By rehearsing the banal conversations of adults, they make fun of the rigid assumptions that fathers and mothers make when dealing with their children, and at the same time they create, through jokes, an ethic of understanding and care that should link families together. This ethical fantasy is shattered when Plato awakens to find that Jim and Judy have seemingly abandoned him.