Farewell to the king

A detailed Summary of Farewell to the king

When I first watched Farewell to the King, I simply thought that it was just the story of how an American GI, through a series of unusual circumstances, became the king of Borneo and then was forced to lead his tribe into a war that he no longer wanted any part of. Upon further analysis, it became evident that this was really the story of Nigel Fairborn who comes into the story with a strong sense of British superiority, loyalty to the King of England and the desire to be a successful military leader. As the story unfolds, Nigel becomes less aware of his superiority, is torn between his loyalty to England and his new found loyalty to King Learoyd, and the reality that he is no longer able to lead.

It is evident that Nigel's character represents an attitude of British superiority. It is not by accident that the only soldier that accompanies him to Borneo is his radio operator named Tinker, a black man from Africa. In two scenes the viewer's attention is directed to the racial difference. The first time is when the two of them are brought before King Learoyd. When Nigel discovers that the tribe's king is white, he makes the comment that he is as white as we are. As he says it, he turns

Furthermore, Nigel's desire to organize and lead the tribes against the Japanese soon shifted. Nigel, although he received the credit for the success of the mission, explains in the very beginning of the story that he was sent to lead, but it was really King Learoyd that truly led. If it were not for Learoyd's presence, Nigel's mission would have certainly failed. It was even alluded to in the scene where Learoyd and Nigel were arguing about why the tribes should get involved in the war. Learoyd commented that Nigel should feel lucky, for they could sell his head to the Japanese and be done with it. This is exactly what the tribe wanted to do when Learoyd was first discovered. This showed Nigel that regardless of his desire to lead, his mission's success if any, would have to be in Learoyd's hands. Once he got to know Learoyd and his power over his people, not to mention Nigel's lack of combat experienced, the transformation from leader to follower was a natural regression. It is also a natural assumption that once Nigel's loyalty shifted to Learoyd, he was also bound by his decisions. Ultimately, as predicted by Nigel's Commanding Officer, Nigel was forced in the end to betray King Learoyd. When this betrayal is looked at more closely, it is clear that it was done out of Nigel's desire to protect King Learoyd, his people's way of life, and their freedom. After all, the British were planning to chase Learoyd down to either make sure he was dead or captured and returned to the United States. My analysis shows that even though Nigel had a strong sense of British superiority, loyalty to the King of England and the desire to be a successful military leader, King Learoyd's strength, compassion, and leadership changed his perceptions. King Learoyd taught Nigel that life was more important than man and that all

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Approximate Word count = 1232
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Movies