Charlie Babbitt In Lorraine Hansberry's The Rain Man

Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), is the perfect image of the 1980s' yuppie, as a used

car dealer with major money problems and has only a girlfriend, Susanna. Because

having learned that except for a few rosebushes and a vintage 1949 Buick Roadmaster his

recently deceased father has left him, virtually all of his fortune goes to his autistic

brother Raymond (Dustin Hoffman). A brother he didn't even know he had, Charlie

decides to kidnap Raymond from the Cincinnati facility where he lives, take him to

California, and demand half the inheritance in exchange for his brother's return.

Raymond is a person with autism who has some very interesting traits and

behaviors that really must have been difficult for people
to portray, being in the early

1980's. A time when the medical world really didn't know much about what autism was.

We mentioned in class just how far advances have gone in understanding the condition.

The things to focus on during the movie; communication skills, social skills and stereo

typical behaviors- really seem too easy to write about. Raymond does so many things

that could be described.

Now, Charlie isn't the greatest communicator himself; at least as far as listening

goes. He is used to talking people down, and if that doesn't do the trick, he starts to yell.

This, however, just doesn't work with Raymond, who lives in a world of his own, unable

to express emotion in any other way, falls into a nervous tic when feeling threatened. So

for the first time in his life, Charlie has to learn to accept another human being for what

he is, and work "with" his bewildering methods of communication rather than against

them. Raymond has a way of not saying anything when it comes to matters that Charlie

feels are important. He simply retreats into his mind, focusing on exactly what he

normally would be doing if Charlie hadn't taken him. Raymond's lack of communication

frustrates Charlie into his yelling fits, which upsets Raymond.

Along with Raymond's poor communication skills is his inability to really

socialize with anyone. Raymond does not comprehend the meaning of holding a fluent

conversation with another person. He simply says what he needs to in order to get what it

is he needs for that particular moment. Usually something that has to fit his scheduling.

This is very evident when Charlie tries to get a response from him when a questions is

asked.
Or even when Raymond is touched by a person that he is not familiar with. He

goes into one of his fits, not understanding the scene that he may be putting on in front of

other people. It is seemingly the only way that he can make Charlie understand his

feelings or emotions. Because of the fact he cannot express them the way "normal"

people do.
Not all autistic people are so-called "savants" like Raymond, (i.e. possess genial

mathematic or other abilities within the shell separating them from the outside world).

So don't go rushing off with them to Vegas for an exercise in "counting cards," at least

not before you've verified that they can memorize entire phone books (at least up to the

letter "G"), count the toothpicks in a pile on the floor with one glimpse of an eye and

determine the square root of a four- or five-digit number within a matter of seconds

without so much as looking at an electronic calculator. These were just a few of the

noticeable stereo typical behaviors that Raymond encompasses. Raymond also had an

impeccable need to follow a schedule that consisted of things like watching Jeopardy at

5:00 o'clock and going to bed at a certain time. Another was his need to wear
only

underwear that was bought at the Kmart from where he lived. His whole day was ruined

or otherwise went into hiss tics when the schedule was broken. Which, surely would

have caused more damage to a real person with autism than it did with him.