What role does forgiveness play in Smoke Signals? 

In the movie Smoke Signals, Victor was a character that carried a lot of hurt and anger with him. The anger Victor felt came from the way Victor was treated by his father. Victor’s father, Arnold, ran out on his family and Victor was devastated. When Arnold died, Victor did not want to go into the trailer and get his father’s belonging. Victor was so angry that he couldn’t allow himself to obtain his father’s possessions and ashes, until he forgave his father. Arnold did not have to be alive for Victor to forgive him. Victor forgiving his father was more for Victor and not his father. It was for Victor to heal from the past wounds and move forward and grow. That is what forgiveness is all about. It is about not allowing oneself to be the victim anymore.

Forgiveness is an essential part of life. It is important in family, friends, love and even in strangers.  For example, when someone cuts you off on the road, holding the frustration, revenge and anger in won’t be good for yourself. It will result in negative energy that stays with you. That negative energy can sometimes be displaced on an innocent friend, family member or loved one. Forgiving someone does not mean that you condone what they did, but rather accepting the situation, moving forward and allowing yourself to heal.  It is possible to forgive another person and not talk to them. For example, in a relationship if your significant other has an affair, just because you forgave that person does not mean that you still have to stay with that person. You can forgive them and let them go, because it is not for them. It is for you. It is simply accepting the situation for what it is, being able to put it behind you.

Not being able to forgive someone is a personal battle. There is no way to make peace with yourself until you forgive. Even in major situations like murder. Some might say that in a murder situation, it is ok to not forgive. I think that especially in a major situation like that it is important to forgive.

Forgiveness is part of a healing process.  There are extreme cases in which some people might not be able to forgive an individual for what they have done or even when an individual cannot forgive themselves for their actions.  For those that cannot find the strength to forgive others, healing has not been able to take place.  In Victor’s case, the anger and resentment he felt towards his father was something Victor held onto for so long, even after his father’s passing.  Victor’s issues with his father could have been seen as the source of his attitude and mistreatment towards people, especially Thomas.  Victor was holding on to the hurt he felt from his father leaving and channeled the energy into violence and negative energy.  The victims of his rage never deserved what the way Victor treated them, but that was Victors way of not dealing with the bigger issue he was dealing with; abandonment.

When Victor forgave his father it helped him to realize how he was treating Thomas. He apologized to Thomas about the car accident, and then he apologized for all of the accidents from the past. I think that when you bring yourself to come to forgive, it changes you. When Victor gave Thomas half the ashes, he proved that he was a better person at that moment then he was before they took the trip. That is a major reason why it is important to give yourself the peace of mind and freedom of no burden and stress. It is necessary to free yourself of the little weight that sits on your shoulders from tension that is held in. It is good to move forward. Change is constant and very crucial element in the process of healing through forgiveness. By Victor forgiving his father was able to free himself from the control of his father.

It is not easy to forgive someone. It is a process and it has to be worked at even after making the change. There has to be a commitment to staying dedicated. For Thomas, it seemed like it was easy for him to forgive. There were many times when Thomas could have held a grudge for example when Victor beat him up or the many times when he was treated as an outcast. However, Thomas had the spirit of a child.  That kind of spirit is very unique and definitely contributed Thomas being able to forgive people better than most.

Forgiveness was a significant role in Smoke Signals. It showed that the importance of forgiveness. It showed what not being able to forgive someone does to a person. In the movie, Arnold accidentally started the fire. He never could forgive himself from what he did. He held onto that tough situation and letting it eat at him all the while. Arnold turned to alcohol and he tried to run away from the issue. It eventually killed him. That was an extreme situation of what can happen if you don’t give yourself the opportunity to heal and forgive. On the other hand, the movie explains through Victor forgiving his father the relief of what forgiveness can do. Forgiveness played a huge role in Smoke Signals.