Character Analysis: The Fisher King

The four main characters in The Fisher King all seemingly struggle with their own moral compass. Jack has lived with his inflated ego for so long he’s lost sense of what effect his snarky comments have on people as a radio host but when he sees that he may have been the cause of a massacre, he fills with guilt and eventually decides to help Perry in his quest to find the Holy Grail. In contrast, Perry often goes out of his way to help others in need. Although Perry is at poor social standing and has even lost his mind, he hasn’t lost his dignity or his ability to care for others. Anne, throughout the movie, consistently puts Jack before her, taking care of his needs before hers and always giving him a place to stay and a shoulder to lean on. …show more content…
Jack wouldn’t give a homeless man a few quarters the beginning of the movie. After Jack hears about the massacre, he realizes what kind of effect he has on people and reflects on all the ignorant things he’d said and probably done for so long without conscience. He rampantly hits the streets on a drunken guilt-fit where, on the verge of killing himself, he faces a couple of hoodlums who try to literally burn him until Perry heroically recues him and takes him to his humble abode. Jack realizes that Perry is a lunatic, but then later, also a victim of the massacre. Perry and his wife were there at the scene and Perry’s wife was fatally shot leaving Perry traumatized for, at the very least, the rest of the movie. Jack can’t help but feel not only in debt to Perry but that he was the cause of Perry’s trauma and hardships. Jack reluctantly decides to help Perry retrieve the Holy Grail and win over his crush Lydia, which, in Jacks’ mind, subconsciously or not, could be a step forward in helping redeem himself for all the mockery he’d done over the radio. At …show more content…
She says she thinks women are made in the image of god and men are made in the image of the devil and that marriage was created to bring the good and evil together. I find this reasoning so flawed not only because it doesn’t account for gay marriage but because it says that any one thing is inherently good or bad, but I think this is how she justifies her unhealthy relationship with Jack. This reasoning allows Jack to get away with many of the things he says/does, while placing her on a pedestal for putting up with him. Sure, she’s a strong woman and this is wonderful for Jack, but I think if she deserves better she should go out and get it. This kind of thinking prevents the both of them from growing morally as people. Not to mention at the beginning of the movie she basically raped him. Maybe he deserves better, maybe they’re both terrible for each other, maybe they deserve each