“Are you talking to me”, one line that will be famous for years to come and a line that made me enjoy the movie Taxi Driver. Yes at times the movie was drawn out, but when Professor Healey pointed out the significance of the cinematography, I realized how much of a genius Martin Scorsese is. I also realized how similar Travis Bickle is similar and yet different to “The Metal Children” protagonist Tobin Falmouth. I am glad that this is the topic of the blog to compare such mysterious characters, each one a puzzle that I still can not figure out.
I will start with Tobin because at times he frustrated me throughout the play. I read the play without being able to put it down, and the character Tobin left me with so many opinions of him. He frustrated me firstly because of how he just stood around at times and let people say all these opinions of him and let his controversial book get out of hand. I could not take how he had little opinion of himself, occasionally weeping because he thought he was failure. I do not know how it happened but out of nowhere, my frustration just turned into sympathy for this character. I could not stop feeling bad for him, for all he had to go through, for his longing to be reunited with his wife who left him. I felt such pity for him and I wanted Adam Rapp to hopefully have some great ending for Tobin to exchange for all the sadness he went through but sadly he did not.
I think that Tobin had his ups and downs. He challenged the authorities in a way that I think was surprising to those who had an opinion of the book. He responded in a way that did not glorify the teens trying to get pregnant; in fact, he was not too passionate about what was going on in the surroundings. I think that it was a responsible way of stating his thoughts on the book, he did not try to be a supreme hero and fight those who sprayed graffiti quoting his book. I thought that it was a problem when he slept with Vera, to me that attached him to the situation. He became part of the situation I think and that was not what he should of done. He did not try to be a savior and was very complacent in my opinion.
Travis as I think back is more of an opposite to Tobin. Travis was lonely, in the same way Tobin was. Scorsese emphasized this fact showing how he contrasted how different Travis was from society through his dress and personality. Travis did not frustrate me like Tobin did, but I still sympathized with him. I think Travis truly is an innocent guy, he did not know that watching an inappropriate movie with Betsy was wrong. He was innocent and I sympathized him from the beginning as he felt that he had no sense of direction. I think that Tobin could be portrayed in the same way, a man feeling no sense of direction, lacking motivation. I just feel that Travis tried to be a savior, to give him some motivation while Tobin wrote. Travis wanted to do something that was big something that would make him a savior to society.
Travis had more passion then Tobin, he took initiative. Even though it was illegal motives, Travis wanted New York to be cleaned and he was willing to do it. He had passion and wanted things to be taken care of, if Palantine did not do it he would. To be honest I would not even consider Tobin as someone who went against established authority. He wrote a book not purposely going against society but as a catharsis for the loss of his wife. He went to talk to the school because he was asked to. I think Vera showed more passion and went against established authority more than Tobin because she campaigned to promote his book.
Travis I think went against authority more openly. He bought guns which I know is illegal. I do not even know if I can fully come to a conclusion as to whether or not Travis is a hero. He did risk his life in a bloody shooting but it was illegal so I do not know if I can decide if he is a hero or not. His intentions are definitely heroic and more open than Tobin. He has more restraint than Tobin and I wonder if Tobin encountered Iris, what would he do. Would he show restraint as Travis did and try to save her or would he sleep with her?
In the end, these characters are alike in the way that they share the same themes. Travis and Tobin in the end of the production have themes of isolation, socially aloof, and have socially disparity within their societies. All this is a result from having unique minds of their own that are different from most of society that they chose to express. In the end they will always be a mystery to me as characters.
