Common Themes In Footloose

Many different themes reoccur through the play, three of which are; trust, belief and being your self. Examples of these can be found within each of the main characters and are shown in many different ways. The idea of trust and learning to trust is one of the bigger themes to Footloose. We see each of the main characters struggling with trust at some point in the story line until they eventually do trust one another and themselves. Two major times when people learned to trust one another in the play were when Ren and Ariel then Ren and Shaw learned to trust one another. In each instance not only did the theme of trust come to light but also the message of the play. When Ariel started to trust Ren she was able to let go of the expectations …show more content…
Belief comes into play many times in many different ways, both Shaw and Ren have very different beliefs and that is what makes them great opposition for one another but both of them believe that what they are doing is the right thing. Shaw has a strong belief in god and the way that justice is dealt, we see him looking to god for answers or preaching to the masses about gods will. Much of the town also follows what Shaw has to say about gods will this causes most of the adults to side with Shaw’s belief. A similar thing is happening with the kids in the town, Ren holds the belief that what he is doing is right and he believes in himself. The kids of the town agree that believing in themselves rather than following a law that they think is silly is the right thing to do. Both groups are blinded by their beliefs and that is what holds them back from achieving personal freedom and freedom of the town. People are not seeing things from each others points of view, stopping them from understanding why each group believes what it does. This misunderstanding further divides the two groups of people and makes it harder for them to break free of the bonds holding everyone in a state of