Stand by Me: Expectations

In the film Stand By Me there are many expectations. Gordie and Chris have high expectations for each other. Gordie’s parents have expectations for him. The town has expectations for the boys. The boys also have expectations for themselves as a group.

Gordie’s parents have expectations for Gordie. They want him to be like his old brother, Denny who just pasted away. They want Gordie to hang out with people like Denny’s friends and not the friends that he has now. They also want him to become a ball player and not a writer, even though ball playing was Denny’s thing and Gordie loves to make up stories and write them.

Chris and Gordie are best friends and have been since they were really young. Out of all the boys they seem to be the closest. Chris takes Gordie under his wing and is like a father figure to him. He tells him he is a great story teller and one day he will become a writer. Chris also tells Gordie that he can’t be held back by his friends and he needs to take college courses in high school. Chris has these expectations for Gordie because no one else does or cares. Gordie has expectations for Chris. He tells Chris that he is good enough to take college courses in high school and he should not let anyone tell him different.

The townspeople all think the boys are trouble, and they expect them not to do well in life. They don’t think they will do anything with their lives. They compare the younger boys to the older boys in the town. The junkyard man is a good example of this. He tells Teddy that his father is loony and he will probably end up the same. He also yells at the other boys and says bad stuff about them.

The boys in the group have expectations for the group. When Vern over hears his older brother talking about the missing boys dead body, he expects the other boys in the group to come with him on a hunt for the dead body.