School Ties

A detailed Summary of School Ties

School Ties, a movie released in 1992, is set in the 1940's - 1950's in America. It's based around a protestant based school called St Matthews, and throughout the movie several events occur which raise the theme of religious hatred.

The main characters involved in the film are the year twelve senior boys and the families of David Green and Charlie Dillon. Also the members of the school that stand out are, the French teacher Mr Cleary, the history teacher Mr Jerish and the headmaster. The alumni, although not having a very major part in the movie, play an essential role in the movie.

The boys at St Mathews share very close bonds, they go to school with each other, they live with each other, and they play football together. The relationships that develop are a direct result of the amount of time, which they spend together. Also the families of the boys are all from the upper class, prestigious families which mix in the same social gatherings and have strong relationships as well.

During the movie the head master lets it be known the boys of the school community "are of the highest prestige in the country." As they are the ones who will lead the country and be the important and influential members of the community. Howeve

Charlie, who is driven by the pressure to achieve, do well for his family and follow in his ancestor's footsteps, decides to cheat in a test. He obviously lacks the qualities that the school values so highly. Because of the external pressure laid upon him he breaks his oath and his word, and cheats on his test. He takes the cheap and gutless alternative and blames it on David the Jew - well knowing that the people would vote against David. The school captain Rip Van Kelt, who was roommates with Dillon for many years, is under pressure to uphold the tradition of the school, and does not dob in Dillon when he sees him cheating. He breaks the school values it's honour code. Even though they are supposed to be the "elite" of the nation, they still ridicule other religions, such as the Jews. When Greene's family holds the traditional "family values" very highly. For example not doing any physical activities on the Rosh Hashanah. This plays a significant role in how David acts in the circumstances placed upon him at the school. He was brought up in a family which honors their traditions very highly.

has a huge amount of pressure to deal with.

On the other hand, many things pressure David Greene. He is Jewish, and is attending an anti-Jewish school. If his mates find out then he will be disrespected and treated differently. He is on a football scholarship and his life is based around this. He wants to focus on his football scholarship at the school hoping it will lead to an acceptance into a university. His long time honored tradition, Rosh Hashanah (I think it was) was thrown out the

Some common words found in the essay are:
David Jew, Rosh Hashanah, David Greene, St Mathews, Van Kelt, Charlie Dillon, Greene Jewish, St Matthews, David Jewish, Jews Greene's, honor family, david jew, vote david, honor family traditions, david greene, throughout movie, school values, upper class, school's traditions, charlie dillon, rosh hashanah,

Approximate Word count = 1075
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Movies