What did you make of the murder in the end? Why did the film end that way?
I'd like to know the meaning of the death.
Home
: American Beauty
: Study Guide
American Beauty Study Guide
American Beauty study guide contains a biography of Sam Mendes, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
The film opens with a grainy shot of Jane Burnham lying on a bed, complaining about her father. Off screen, a boy (presumably the camera operator) asks her whether she wants him to kill her father, and she sits up, looks directly into the camera, and says "yes". The shot changes, and we are flying over a town while a man - Lester Burnham - tells us that he will be dead in less than a year. We then witness a typical morning at the Burnham house: Lester masturbates in the shower; Carolyn cuts some roses from her garden; Jane researches breast augmentation surgery on line; on the drive to work and school, Lester huddles in the backseat while his wife and daughter ride in the front. At work, Lester learns that an efficiency expert, Brad Dupree…
Read the full American Beauty Summary
- American Beauty Summary
- About American Beauty
- Character List
- Glossary of Terms
- Major Themes
- Summary and Analysis of Scene 1 ("The High Point of My Day") through Scene 4 ("The Gym")
- Summary and Analysis of Scene 5 ("Spectacular") through Scene 8 ("My Personal Hero")
- Summary and Analysis of Scene 9 ("I Love Root Beer") through Scene 12 ("I Want to Look Good Naked")
- Summary and Analysis of Scene 13 ("Mom's Mad") through Scene 16 ("The Most Beautiful Thing")
- Summary and Analysis of Scene 17 ("Pass the Asparagus") through Scene 20 ("Massive Psychological Damage")
- Summary and Analysis of Scene 21 ("The Day You Die") through Scene 24 ("Our Marriage is Just for Show")
- Summary and Analysis of Scene 25 ("You Couldn't Be Ordinary if You Tried") through Scene 27 ("My Stupid Little Life")
- Cast List
- Mendes' influence on American Beauty
- Related Links on American Beauty
- Suggested Essay Questions
- Test Yourself! - Quiz 1
- Test Yourself! - Quiz 2
- Test Yourself! - Quiz 3
- Test Yourself! - Quiz 4
- Author of ClassicNote and Sources
American Beauty Essays and Related Content
- American Beauty: Major Themes
- American Beauty: Essays
- American Beauty: Questions
- American Beauty: Purchase the Novel and Related Material
- Sam Mendes: Biography
Why did Carolyn carry a gun into the house? If she is intending to kill her husband why do think she intended to do so? Why did Colonel Fitts kill Lester? Is there any beauty in what Carolyn and Fitts intended to do? Did Lester deserve to die? Is there any beauty in his death?
Lester Burnham’s antagonists are the two figures who seek to end his life at the climax----Carolyn and Colonel Fitts, but they also represent the much broader “forces of antagonism”. Try to analyze one of them.
