A brief synopsis-
“America, 1911, the wild west is dying.” John Marston, the main character of the game, is a former outlaw trying to move on with his life with his family. Before the game begins, however, his wife and son are held hostage by the Bureau of Investigation, promising to reunite them and grant him amnesty for his past crimes if he brings his former gang members to justice. John sets off to find the three members of the gang he used to run with, traveling all across southern America and Mexico, meeting and getting involved with a host of characters along the way.
What are the theme(s)?-
I kept the synopsis more brief than usual for two reasons. The first is that the basics of the story are that simple, even though a lot more depth and complexity is woven in throughout the game. My second reason is because one theme I want to talk about requires me to spoil the ending to the game and I didn’t want to do that without giving fair warning to anyone who has not finished the main storyline and would rather do that before reading further. Consider this your warning, as I will assume anyone reading beyond this point has either finished the game or does not mind the end being given away.
As the title suggests, redemption is a major component in this game, but in some strange ways John’s idea of redemption after a life as an outlaw, is to settle down and live a simple life. He is forced to hunt down his former gang members by outside forces, and in a lot of ways doesn’t want to. The obvious reasons are that his family is being held captive, but also the relationship John had with his gang. John’s mother died during his birth, and his father died in a barfight early in his life, leaving John to grow up in an orphanage. He ran away from this life and joined a gang led by a man named Dutch, the same gang he would later be sent to hunt down. John describes his relationship with his gang as being like a family to him, with Dutch taking on a fatherly role for him. Dutch taught him how to read, hunt, shoot, and generally survive in the world. He claims that all the robberies, kidnappings, and raids he committed with his gang were in an attempt to better the world. In a Robin Hood type fashion, they stole from the rich and gave to the poor. It was only after being shot and abandoned by his gang during a robbery gone wrong that John decided to give up that way of life. He respects Dutch even after that point, and openly states that he owes him a lot for everything he did for him. John isn’t looking for redemption in the capture of his former gang, but in creating a life for his family that doesn’t require them to do what he had to.
After John finished his job for the bureau, his family was returned to him, but they were not planning on letting a potentially dangerous outlaw like him go free. After only just starting to get his farm and family back in order, a group of soldiers raided John’s farm. Knowing what they wanted, he sent his wife and son away, and fought them off as best he could alone, but was overwhelmed and killed. The story continues years later, following John’s son, Jack. Jack takes on the responsibility of redeeming his father in the only way he thinks is acceptable. Unlike his father, for Jack redemption can only be achieved through revenge. He tracks down the now retired agent who was responsible for putting his father through so much to get his family back only to turn around and kill him after he did what he wanted, and guns him down. The game ends on this scene with the words REDEMPTION smashing onto the screen.
How it can be used in education-
Redemption is a word that can mean many different things, especially when considering how one goes about achieving it. Asking students to define what they consider redemption compared to revenge could lead to some great discussions or paper topics, as there is a lot of grey area there depending on the situation. At what point, if any, do the two meet? Who achieved redemption in the story? John, who wanted to put his past behind him despite being betrayed, or Jack who kills the man who murdered his father despite doing what he asked? Then there are the questions of how the discussion changes depending on how the player chooses to go about capturing his former gang members, as it is up to the player to decide whether or not John kills or captures them alive.
Red Dead Redemption would be a great supplemental text for a unit going over morality and issues of killing and revenge. Redemption itself is hardly talked about much as a topic in itself, but could fit perfectly as a mini-unit within a larger one.
As with every interpretation of a text, this is just my own. I would love to hear your interpretations if you’ve had the chance to play this game, or your thoughts on it having just heard the little bit I described. Is there a way you would utilize this game that I overlooked, or a flaw in my examples? Do you have any suggestions for what you’d like to see written about next? I would really like to start a dialog down in the comments, so respond however you like.
