American Beauty: Characters

American Beauty: Characters

1. Lester Burnham

   • Stuck in the American Dream
   • Externally- Happy its an 'image'
   • Internally- Unhappy his true feelings
   • Lives with a wife who hates him
   • Immoral- fancies his daughters friend

2. Carolyn Burnham

   • Instant dislike- High maintenance and spoilt
   • Insecure when her appearance is spoken about
   • OCD and Materialistic- Her lust for the 'image'
   • Dependant on Lester although appears otherwise

3. Jane Burnham

   • Appears to be damaged- No parental figure
   • Artificiality- She doesn't want to be fake.
   • Bad relationship with her parents
   • Hard to sympathise with her- She shows no emotion

4. Ricky Fitts

   • Dislike him- He's a drug dealer
   • Obsessive- Autistic? Socially Awkward?
   • Relatively difficult to sympathise- He shows no emotion
   • Can sympathise with him when we hear about his childhood

5. Frank Fitts

   • Based on Alan Ball's Father
   • Over-compensates on the 'tough' image
   • Fell sympathetic for him- He's forced to hide his feelings
   • Insecure- Feels the world is against him

6. Barbra Fitts

   • Victimised by her husband
   • Lack of individuality
   • Sympathise with her because of her mental state

7. Angela Hayes

   • Naïve and false shows her immaturity
   • Image to 'fit in' with others in her society
   • Scared of being a normal person
   • An epitome of celebrity culture