American History X - the question essays

American History X - the question essays Edward Norton is the star of the movie American History X. He plays the role of Derek Vinyard, an extreme white supremacist, who leads a sort of cult against all those who arent white. At the beginning of the movie he kills a few black men, who were trying to steal the truck that his father gave him before he died. This obviously landed him in prison where he resided throughout most of the movie. During that time in prison, his little brother, Danny, wanted to basically pick up his older brothers slack in their campaign against minorities. He ran around doing all kinds of racist things to people because he thought Derek was the greatest person fighting for the greatest cause in the world. As Danny continued to make enemies in school and around the neighborhood, his mother was constantly visiting Derek to let him know how much trouble his brother was causing and getting into. This really bothered him because he could do nothing about it. During Dereks stay in prison, he was fr equently visited by an old school of his named Dr. Bob Sweeney. Dr. Sweeney was a black man determined to set the Vinyard family straight from racism and violence. As times got tougher for Derek in prison, he finally started to listen and actually understand what it was that his old teacher was trying to tell him. While lying on a hospital bed after one of his most humiliating abuses, Derek cried as Sweeney asked him the question that would change all of their lives. Has anything youve ever done actually bettered your life? I would have to say that this question pretty much sums up the writers point. It definitely made an impact on Dereks life. Soon after that, he was released from prison, with the help of Dr. Sweeney. Part of his parole agreement was to readily try to reverse all the movements and uprisings that he had helped create in the beginning. His first goal was to change the hea...