What Is Walt Kowalskis Definition of Honor - Essay Example

Task What Is Walt Kowalski’s Definition of Honor? Honor takes a number of definitions depending on the situation in which it comes under scrutiny. However, the general definition of honor doctors that an individual remains righteous in his character and behavior, as well as, acting in the most noble and moral manner in order to assist other persons to gain recognition and respect. As such, honor is an intangible and immaterial subject that one cannot give or transfer to others. Honor is the doctrine through which one receives justification for ones action or major choices made through his or her pursuit of life. The concept of true honor dictates that one does something that is right at all times and this should be an action that has no residue of guilt or regret after executive exercise. Honor dictates being just and righteous within the society, and as such gaining value and respect for the actions and decisions taken either for the community or for oneself. Walt Kowalski takes a diverse approach in his definition of honor. According to him, a person can gain honor through a number of different channels. for instance, some people define honor through their capability to protect what they love or what they believe in. this is a common concept appearing in a diverse collection of novels and movies, with the most recognized being the Gran Torino Movie, as well as, the novel Shawshank Redemption. These two pieces of action highlight an honorable act despite taking the grotesque option of dying instead of choosing life. This is majorly because most people prefer to be alive and continue with their lives rather than die just in order to be honorable and respected within the society. The choice of death is usually a tall order especially considering as a natural human instinct, it is a difficult choice to die rather than to kill. A formidable evidence for this concept is the desire of most people to live long and grow white hairs yet they still fear death even if it comes because of old age. This is why most communities and societies consider it an act of honor when one decides to die instead of living in order to protect what they believe in. this elevates the willpower to die much higher in a path considered to demand more courage, determination, strong will, as well as, confidence. As such, in both societies, the heroes take the center stage through their uncommon choice of death rather than life in order to protect those they love and what they believed in Walt Kowalski is the protagonist in the Gran Torino movie whereby he is a war veteran from the Korean War, as well as, a retired autoworker. Walt killed a considerable handful of soldiers during the war because he believed he was a faithful soldier, as well as, a good citizen. He was staying true to his oath to protect his country at all cost. Much as he killed in order to protect the country from external adversaries, this was a foul choice of honor as he lived with regret and guilt owing to every life he took while at war, considering how sinful as well as horrifying these acts of bestiality were. He confesses to a priest while drinking at the bar over the horrendous escapades he undertook while at the war, images and pictures that would haunt him for the rest of his life, denying him peace and satisfaction. Kowalski confesses that he spent three years in war fighting for Korea whereby he hacked seventeen year olds to death using shovels, as well as, stabbed others using bayonets. this was because he was following an order to kill by the army bosses, as well as, being confined in a narrow option of kill or be killed, whereby he was to kill in order to save others or save himself. These actions haunted him for the rest of his life, though according to his fellow soldiers and the country at large, he had acted in an honorable way, that of protecting the country from its enemies. Walt is however, a very unhappy man despite all the honor and respect he draws from his fellow soldiers as well as fellow citizens. This is because he kills in order to protect what he loves as well as what he believes in. This creates a deep guilt within him in his inner soul. Walt believes that killing as was in his situation was not an ultimate honorable act because he managed to only save or free others from impending death because it turns back to haunt the inner moral and soul of the killer. When drawing to the end of the Gran Torino, Walt chooses to redefine his perception of honor by choosing to spare the gang of boys from death, which was the ultimate option considering he was taking revenge for sue. On the contrary, he chooses to die in order to protect Sue and their family. This is a little controversial and impossible to understand considering how good he is at killing yet he opts for the dull opposite, which was death. He believes that the more people he kills, the more guilt he has to bear upon his conscience. As such, he considered it a better option to die so that he would not continue living with guilt. He felt death was the right option for him as it brought peace and calmness to his soul, as well as, saved and protected those he loved. Death equally freed him from the guilt he was carrying in his soul all the years for taking many lives. The concept of death and honor is very different in the Shawshank Redemption as characterized by Andy and Red. Andy, who is the protagonist of the story, believes that death is not an option that would bring about honor to an individual. For instance, he went to jail out of being framed for multiple deaths of his wife and daughter. In the prison, his friend preferred to kill, not for honor, but merely to inflict pain and punishments against those they were no happy with, or disliked. For instance, at one point in time Andy got a severe beating in prison from the gang that nearly left him for dead. Unlike Walt who prefers to die in order to protect what he believes as well as what he loves, Andy chooses to live by digging out a hole in the prison whereby he used to escape. However, other characters in the play, such as Norton who chooses to die in order to escape paying for his crimes, once revealed of their crimes and murders by Andy. Work Cited Darabont, Frank. The Shawshank Redemption: The Shooting Script. London: Nick Hern Books, Limited, 1996. Print. John, McBrewer, Miller Frederic and Vandome Agnes. Gran Torino (Film). Saarbrucken: Alphascript Publishing, 2010. Print. Read More