Cara’s Blog

Although it didn’t have the best actors or duologue, The Best Years Of Our Lives incorporated many themes that we’ve discussed in class. One problem that the characters had to face was difficulty with employment. Al had a job waiting for him when he returned, but was not willing to return to work right away. Homer too didn’t want to return to the workforce right away and knew he would have trouble finding work without his hands. Fred didn’t want to go back to work for the old ice cream parlor where he was employed before the war and the company who bought it out was unwilling to give him much of a job due to his lack of experience with clerical or leadership work.

The characters all had difficulties returning to their families. Fred was bothered that his new wife identified him as a soldier. When he first put on civilian clothes she said he didn’t look like himself without his uniform on. Al felt somewhat isolated from his children because when he returned they had grown up. Homer was bothered by this families awkwardness about his hooks. His little sister staring and the guilt his father felt from cleaning his pipe were just a few things that bothered Homer.