Stand by Me

Stand by Me

Stand By Me is a movie based on a novel by Stephen King. It tells the story of four preteens, who during a boring summer day, embark on a journey to find the body of a dead twelve year old, who has been missing by news accounts, but known to them, to be lying in the woods near a river bank. The story is told as an historical narrative about the lives and relationships of the four main characters in this movie, Gordy, Chris, Teddy, and Vern. In this essay, I will discuss how communication, and self-concept, affects the characters, and their interactions.

Gordy La Chance, who is the narrator of this story, can best be described as an introvert. He is living in the shadow of his recently deceased brother, and is having a difficult time expressing his feelings about his brother’s passing. His presenting self is secure, quiet, and agreeable. He tends to see the best in people. Inwardly, or his perceived self, he thinks he is “weird”, or different, much caused by his parent’s, and the obsession of the townspeople with his deceased brother. One example of this is when he goes into the local store, and the shopkeeper kept talking about his brother, and how successful his brother was. He has been put in the shadow of his brother, and feels that he will never amount to anything. His relationship with his parents has suffered due to his brother’s passing, and he feels as if he is invisible. The only person that Gordy opens up to is Chris, and he does this often, both characters soul searching, encouraging each other to succeed in the future.

Chris Chambers, Gordy’s best friend in the group, can best be described as an extrovert. He comes from what Gordy describes as a “bad family”, and believes himself to be bad too. His self-fulfilling prophecy would be to turn out as bad as everyone in town believes that he will. Gordy sees the good in him, and pushes him to be more than Chris perceives he is capable of being. Chris is the group leader. The others in the group value his opinion, and he is the protector. He sticks up for the rest of the boys, and they look up to him. One example of this is when Ace, an older, bullying local, steals Gordy’s hat. He verbally attacks the older bully, on behalf of Gordy. His presenting self is confident, independent, and tough. Inwardly, or his perceived self, is incapable, and destined to become nothing, primarily caused by the locals, and his family continually reminding him that he comes from a family of trouble, so he must trouble too.

Teddy DuChamp can best be described as an antagonist. His father abused him, and was eventually put into an asylum, this leaving Teddy with a stigma of being the son of a “looney”. This brought about his self-fulfilling prophecy of craziness. He has a problem with self-control, to the point where it could cause him serious harm. One example of this is when he begins arguing with the keeper of a junkyard, and instead of backing down during the altercation, he continues to fight, without realizing that he could be endangering himself. He spends most of his time insulting others, probably as a way of increasing his self-importance, or at least to appear confident. His presenting self would appear confident, and assured, while his perceived self is insecure and feeling like he is being judged by the actions of his father.

Vern Tessio can best be described as a neurotic. Initially, he introduces the others to the idea of traveling to see the dead body by the river, and just after that, becomes the thorn in the other’s sides. Not much is told about his upbringing. He seems to spend much of his time trying to impress the others in the group, until he finds himself in any sort of danger, then he