On December 14, 1989, the movie Civil War based movie, “Glory,” was released to across-the-board rave reviews. Starring Andre Braugher as Private Thomas Searles and Denzel Washington as Private Silas Trip, the film gave audiences the chance to witness the close relationship between these two very different men. Starting out as men from different classes and beliefs who disliked one another, they supported each other and ended up developing a brotherly bond through the hard trials of war.
Together they put away their differences and together used their passion to fight bravely side by side in the war. Thomas and Trip were character foils in Glory. Thomas had grown up educated, a free man “as was [his] my father ?. While Trip wasn’t as fortunate, having run away at 12 to try escape from the harsh and cruel life as a slave. “I ain’t never looked back ?. Trip constantly mocked Thomas for being different compared to the normal uneducated black man.
The only logical reason Trip would keep making snide, rude comments towards Thomas, was because he was jealous. Trip was surprised that Thomas talked “as good as a white folk ?. Any man born into slavery would have dreamed to have the life that Thomas had, however some men could react negatively towards people like Thomas. These men would be enraged that they couldn’t live the life that Thomas lived, even questioning why they were born into slavery. Trip was under this category, trying to make Thomas feel miserable so he could release some of his own misery.
He knew that Thomas had grown up being friends with Robert Shaw; yet he still forced his crude words on how Robert will always see as Thomas “an ugly ass chimp ¦ in a blue suit ?; This was the first scene that Thomas fights back. Their relationship takes a drastic turn on the battle field; Trip is about to be killed when Thomas bravely jumps in to saves him. There were no words said between them at that moment however you could see the look in their eyes changed. Thomas had immediately gained Trip’s respect.
Then the night before they go off for their big battle the troop bonds by sharing their prayers even the regiment pressures trip into sharing his feelings. This is where he comes out and says “y’all’s the onliest family I got ? and Thomas nods his head. Nodding ones head is a common gesture of agreement. Thomas had accepted Trip as a brother and even forgiven him for all the awful things he had put him through. Going into their last battle, Thomas is standing in position and stumbles backwards. This is where you can see the biggest development between these two happen.
Trip puts his hand on Thomas’ shoulder as a sign of support. This is a big contrast from the beginning. During the beginning of training Thomas was hit by sergeant major Mulcahy, Trip could not help to joke “nigga forgot to duck ?. This line mocks poor Thomas who has already been shamed by the sergeant. Thomas and Trip are also one of the biggest examples of how actions speak louder than words. They fought a lot but in the end of the movie they died being friends that respected each other. They did not have to speak to show these words.
It was evident through their actions and the moral support the characters gave each other. Their relationship shows that there are even prejudice between people of the same race. It’s ironic how Trip and Thomas are both fighting for freedom and equality. They both yearn for a world where there isn’t segregation or a superior race. Yet they treat each other so disrespectfully because of how different they are. But they took the time to get to know each other; understand each other and through this they realized they are both just people, they learnt that anyone can become friends no matter what race or class they are.
