8/10/2019 Young Mr Lincoln

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Fatima Saavedra

Young Mr. Lincoln

Young Mr. Lincoln sort of had the typical western film aspect. An outsider that is not part of society

gradually warms his way into “civilization.” In this film Lincoln is portrayed to be sort of a “class clown”;

however, this does not hinder his growing reputation.

The film opens up with two men giving speeches, one of which is Lincoln and the other is a typical

politician. Lincoln is shown to be awkward at giving speeches, but he is very modest and

straightforward-even if there are a couple jokes here and there. The scene eventually goes to a family

that has just moved from their home. The family needs to buy groceries, but they don’t have any

money. Lincoln is shown to be very compassionate and caring to the family, and he allows them to trade

what they need for a law book that they have. It’s inferred that this law book is what compels Lincoln to

become an attorney.

There is a scene where Lincoln is reading the book, and then a young woman, by the name of Ann,

comes by and chats with Lincoln. Ann tells him that he could be so much more than what he is, and that

he should go pursue his dream of becoming a lawyer. There is a fence that encloses the field that Lincoln

is in with Ann, and beyond it is a river. The fence in this scene seems to be signifying the confinements

of society. Lincoln goes over this fence, but Ann stays within the constraints of her society. Lincoln

throws a stone into the river and the camera cuts to catch the ripples, then the scene fades out and we

are shown that the seasons have changed, and it is then that we discover that Ann, Lincoln’s love

interest, has passed away. It is then that he decides to leave the choice of becoming a lawyer up to her.

He has a stick that he drops-depending on the way it drops is whether he will go to become a lawyer or

not. The stick drops towards where Ann’s grave is, and it is decided that he will go to try and become a

lawyer.

Throughout the movie there are many scenes that differentiate Lincoln as an outsider. Such a sceneappears again when Mary Todd invites him to go talk outside with her. We see Lincoln looking out to

nature (there is also a river that is visible in this scene) and there is a fence (the balcony fence) that

keeps him from returning to his “other world”-the world outside the fence. In this scene we eventually

zoom in to Lincoln and we see him as a tall, grim, and imposing. As the scene develops Lincoln gradually

becomes the sole concentration of the scene-possibly foreshadowing his rise (Mary Todd simply seems

to vanish). Another example of the fences that enclose society is at the end. In the end close to the

ending scene Lincoln is seen climbing up a hill to the right (and then to the left-as the scene progresses)

is a fence that separates him from society, the upward walk up the hill can signify his eventual climb to

presidency, and then the storm foreshadows his eventual assassination.

In the film Young Mr. Lincoln there are many instances where Lincoln is shown to be separated from the

regular society by fences, yet he unmistakably becomes part of society. He evolves from an uncivilized,

outside of the fences type of person to a highly respectable and well-known man.