Mr. Forrester Mr. Crawford Comparing and Contrasting

¶ … Mr. Forrester Mr. Crawford

Comparing and contrasting the character of Mr. Forrester and Mr. Crawford in Finding Forrester

The 2000 film directed by Gus Van Sant entitled Finding Forrester could be described as a classic 'fish out of water' story. The main protagonist Jamal is an intelligent, young African-American adolescent who is offered the opportunity to attend a prestigious private preparatory school on a scholarship because of the strength of his SAT scores. Jamal has been concealing his academic interests from his friends because he is afraid it will make him seen stuck up or 'white.' However, he reads widely and writes a great deal on his own. Through a series of improbable events, he comes to be privately mentored by Mr. Forrester, a reclusive writer who wrote one great book and then stopped writing entirely.

Jamal's encounter with Forrester is rather unexpected, beginning when he sneaks into Forrester's house on a dare. However, the two form a real, genuine friendship. This is in stark contrast to his relationship with Jamal has with Mr. Crawford, his English teacher at his prep school. Crawford regards Jamal's presence as alien. Crawford clearly sees Jamal's admittance to the school as the product of affirmative action, not evidence of the young boy's brilliance and commitment to learning. Unlike Forrester, Mr. Crawford cannot see past Jamal's skin color.

Because Crawford regards Jamal as unworthy of attending the school, the English teacher is harsh and judgmental of Jamal's literary efforts in an unproductive fashion. He wants to tear Jamal's ego down but not rebuild it anew. He criticizes and looks for faults in Jamal, rather than attempts to help Jamal improve himself as a writer. In contrast, Mr. Forester acts as a true mentor to Jamal, even though he can be very harsh in terms of his criticism of the young boy's work. He gives Jamal advice on what to read and how to write so Jamal can evolve as a person.

The contrast between the two men's attitudes can be seen in Forrester's first reaction to Jamal's transgression of intruding into his apartment. When Forrester surprises Jamal, the boy leaves his backpack by accident in the apartment. Forrester returns it, but only after making critical notes in the margins of Jamal's writings. Although Forrester is understandably upset by Jamal's action, he is also able to look past his anger and social anxiety and recognize the young man's talent. Jamal asks for Forrester's assistance in becoming a better writer, and Forrester complies, although not before asking Jamal to write a composition on why Jamal should stay out of other people's homes.

This action shows that Forrester is a true teacher. Even when Jamal makes a mistake, whether it is trespassing or in his prose, Mr. Forrester is willing to correct Jamal in a productive fashion, rather than judge him. In contrast, Mr. Crawford distrusts Jamal because Jamal is African-American, poor, and unlike the other students at the school. He is constantly waiting for Jamal to make a mistake in his writing or a disciplinary infraction because of a desire to be proven 'right' about the poor character of the young man, not out of a desire to teach Jamal. This can be seen when Jamal uses some of Forester's unwritten work in his submission to a writing contest. When it is discovered that some of the words in the essay are from an essay published by Forrester, Crawford accuses Jamal of plagiarizing and attempts to get Jamal thrown out of the school.

The school disciplinary board's decision to override Crawford's plea to get Jamal expelled only further enrages the teacher. Even after Mr. Forrester steps forward to defend Jamal against charges of plagiarizing, Crawford initially refuses to yield or believe the boy that he wrote his own essay for a literary contest. Forester, for all of his crotchety nature and social anxiety, is willing to put Jamal's needs above his own ego, in contrast to Crawford.

It is true that Forrester, like Crawford, can be abrasive and pig-headed. But unlike Crawford, Forester is capable of changing his mind. At first Forrester refuses to defend Jamal when Jamal uses his work without his permission, reminding Jamal of his promise not to come forward about their relationship or share his private writings with anyone. But after realizing that Jamal could lose his entire future because of the plagiarism charge, and the importance of the writing contest, Forester puts his desire for privacy and his narcissism aside. He is able to sacrifice his pride for a higher cause, namely to save Jamal.