The Road to Perdition

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Throughout their journey Sullivan Sr. realizes more than ever that the life of a hitman is not the life he wanted for his son and Michael Jr. knew this. A man named Maguire was hired to kill Sullivan Sr.; he has a few close misses but doesn’t come close enough until the end of the film. Maguire is waiting when Michael Jr. and his father arrive at his Aunt Sarah’s house. Sullivan Sr. is shot and curled up on the floor in blood and agony when Michael Jr. enters the room. Michael Jr. sees Maguire standing by his father’s almost lifeless body. Michael Jr. pulls a gun on Maguire and has the intentions of shooting him but when it comes down to pulling the trigger, he cannot. Michael Jr. freezes and Sullivan Sr. takes that opportunity to shoot Maguire. Sullivan Sr. was eliminating Maguire as a threat but also at the same time saving Michael Jr. from ever having to live with killing a man even if he was protecting his father. The film ends with a quote from Michael Jr., “I saw then that my father's only fear was that his son would follow the same road. And that was the last time I ever held a gun.” (Mendes) You see that even after his father’s death, Michael Jr. remained obedient to his father.

Ultimately fathers and sons are connected. It doesn’t matter if you’re born into these relationships or they’re created the need for these relationships are something men will inevitably chase. This chase can lead a man down the road to perdition if they’re not careful. The relationships between Michael Sullivan Sr. and John Rooney; as well as, the relationship between Connor Rooney and John Rooney all lead to utter destruction. On the road to the literal town of Perdition, Michael Jr. and his father found each other. Michael Jr. and his father grew in their relationship but Michael Jr. also grew as a young man. A lot was learned and a lot was lost on their six week journey. Michael Jr. says, “. . . I lived a lifetime . . . , in those six weeks on the road in the winter of 1931.” (Mendes)

Works Cited

Bowman, James. "Road to Perdition." JamesBowman.net. EResources, 18 July 2002. Web. 13 Sept. 2016.

Shipley, Garrett. "Movie Analysis: Road to Perdition 8/10." Review. Web log post. De Blerg. N.p., 08 July 2011. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

Wartenburg, Thomas E. "The Road to Perdition." Editorial. Philosophy Now. Philosophy Now, 2002. Web. 14 Sept. 2016.

IMDb. "Quotes." IMDb. IMDb.com/ Amazon, 2002. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.

Road to Perdition. Dir. Sam Mendes. Perf. Tom Hanks, Jude Law, Daniel Craig, and Paul Newman. Twentieth Century Fox, 2002. DVD.

Sealy, Shirley. "Road to Perdition, The." Film Journal International. Prometheus Global Media, 4 Nov. 2004. Web. 16 Sept. 2016.