Preview

ERIN BROKOVICH

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3464 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
ERIN BROKOVICH
Movie Assignment: Erin Brockovich
Introduction
Erin Brockovich is a true American hero who’s icon status and “stick-to-it-iveness” only fuels her determination to expose injustice and lend her voice to those who do not have one.
Erin Brockovich is a single mother, unemployed, struggling to make ends meet in a world not particularly kind to single moms. After a car accident leads her to seek legal redress, she meets lawyer Ed Masry on a referral. When he loses her lawsuit, she shows up at his office, demanding a job, barely hiding her desperation. Intimidated, Ed gives her one. By pursuing her own curiosity she brings on a difficult and huge case about PG&E.
PG&E’s desire to increase its profits was so big that they didn’t even care about their neighbors’ health or security.
In a world where heroes are often in short supply, the story of Erin Brockovich is an inspirational reminder of the power of the human spirit. Her passion, tenacity and steadfast desire to fight for the rights of the underdog defied the odds. Her victory made even more sweet by the fact that while helping others, she in turn helped herself.
This story is not just a triumph of the little guy over the big nasty corporation, it's the journey of one woman down the path of self-discovery as well. If only the world had more “Erin Brockoviches” in it, perhaps there would be more honesty in it.
Profile of an extraordinary woman
“She brought a small town to its feet and a huge corporation to its knees.”
After watching the movie I realized that Erin's public self was pretty much the same as her private self: she treated Ed, her boss in the same manner as she treated George, her boyfriend. Erin didn't take crap from anybody but at times she did let her aggressions take over. Most of the time these hostilities would lead her in contempt, but in the long run usually worked out for the best. It was a good way to get her point across at times but from my perspective she could have approached some

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Everyone has a hero either it’s your mom, dad, or great great grandpa. How about American heroes like Rosa Parks or Nelson Mandela? Chesley Sullenberger or Sully for short was the first man ever to land a plane in water with saving 155 people due to a bird strike in its engines. Sully was born January 23, 1951 with a family of three. His mother and father named Pauline Hanna and Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, and older sister Mary Sullenberger Wilson. In June 17, 1989 he married a woman named Lorrie. Now Chesley Sullenberger is a pilot who is brave. He isn’t the type of hero who is not a self centered, but motivating…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Heroes are able to recover from a defeat where a normal man would stop trying and give in to his dark feelings. One example of this is, Tristan Segers he was a normal military soldier until his vehicle was blown up along with one of his legs. “After nearly two years of surgeries and rehabilitation in Texas, Segers, a handsome 28-year-old, moved back to Snohomish County last week.”(SB, Pg. 58). This shows Tristan Segers ability to recover as well as his tenacity. He took all that pain and he…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”…

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Wells’ fearlessness and sincerity to confront issues of social injustices regarding race and gender has made her an exceptional figure in the black community as well as to all women. Wells witnessed the oppression thousands of African Americans suffered through as they encountered discrimination or fear from mob violence. Taught through her parents to never give up on fighting for changes for a better future, Ida used her words and voice to make society conscious of what is occurring in the U.S. She uncovers how struggling life was for African Americans transitioning into life as a freed man and inequalities that continually undermine their citizenship. Ida’s leadership in her anti-lynching campaign made it an international crime and visible for everyone to learn of the horrors that went on in silence. Further from racial discrepancies she faced, Ida also pushed for the progression of women. Her personal experiences that helped shape her noble character has earned her honorable reputation in racial equality and woman…

    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nellie Bly Paper

    • 2663 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “I said I could and I would. And I did.” In one line Nellie Bly captures her entire…

    • 2663 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Psyc. 230

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Erin initially appeared to cope with her parents' divorce well. Later, she exhibited problems with school and in her friendships. Her response to risk is an example of:…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Janet Ainsworth

    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Ainsworth, Janet. “‘You have the right to remain silent…’ but only if you ask for it just so: the role of linguistic ideology in American police interrogation law.” The International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law, vol. 15, no. 1, 2008, pg. 1-21.…

    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imagine yourself waking up every morning and realizing that you have to literally avoid death from the moment you wake up till the time you are supposedly safe at home. Imagine that you’re told by many people, who you love, that you’re a sin and that you will burn in hell. Imagine that everyday the people you thought cared for you turn you away and threaten you if you don't change, for some people that is something they can never even begin to understand, but now imagine it happening to someone for their entire life. Laverne Cox, a transgender woman and actress, gives a powerful speech during ‘Creating Change 2014’ (an organization that brings awareness to the LGBT community) she talks about the violent injustices and police discrimination against the lives of transgender women of color as a way to spread awareness of the inequalities of transgender within the LGBT community to those who feel the T in LGBT isn't as important. Throughout her speech she appeals to the viewer's empathy to those in pain through personal anecdotes and asyndeton sentences.…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Clara Barton's Courage

    • 2224 Words
    • 9 Pages

    “My business is staunching blood, and feeding fainting men.", Clara Barton once wrote according to the Clara Barton Birthplace museum, 2010. One of the most important humanitarians and courageous people that has ever lived is Clara Barton. Barton posses the qualities and fits the definition of courageous through her actions as she encounters life of helping to aid soldiers in very extreme surroundings, donating munificently to the war, and trying to help a cause when she had nothing left, showing selflessness. Shows perseverance as she kept going while soldiers stopped for the night, she put much effort to unite Red Cross and the US, and she kept striving when she was told it was unladylike. Barton asserted a hard working ethic by working in many wars, working nights that had much to do, and accomplishing the assignment from Lincoln. Clara Barton was a courageous person from having the traits of selflessness, perseverance, and a hard working ethic. Thus presenting the qualifications and the definition of courage herself.…

    • 2224 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    "It won't help much to be prepared to face Jane Elliott. This elderly woman will tear down any shield. Even we, the spectators in BLUE EYED, can't get rid of this feeling of uneasiness, embarrassment, anxiety and utterly helpless hatred when she starts keeping people down, humiliating them, deriding them, incapacitating them. No doubt about this: for three quarters of the time in this documentation Jane Elliott is the meanest, the lowest, the most detestful, the most hypocritical human being hell has ever spit back on earth. But she should be an example for all of us." - Stuttgarter Zeitung…

    • 970 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ida B. Wells

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages

    When Wells had returned to Memphis she had immediately hired an attorney to sue the railroad. Wells had won her case and this was the first of many struggles she had experienced. From that incident she had begun to work fearlessly to overturn injustices (Baker). Wells had then written an article of her experience and this had sparked her career as a journalist (“Memorial Foundation”).…

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Sojourner Truth once declared, at the Women’s Rights Convention in 1851, “If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these together ought to be able to turn it back and get it right side up again” (“Sojourner Truth” Encyclopedia). This statement brought a wave of protest from the men in the crowd and left most women with renewed hope for receiving equal rights. Sojourner Truth was a woman’s rights activist and African American abolitionist, on top of being a freed slave. Sojourner Truth had the “worst of both worlds” being that she was African American, and also a woman. She spoke at a countless amount of conventions, largely inspired by Lucrietta Mott. Rather than using weapons, Truth would use her incredible talent of speech to get her points across. Truth was an extremely opinionated woman who would not give up on an issue until she thought the result was satisfactory. Without Sojourner Truth’s hard work and dedication to the issues that she cared about, America would not be shaped today how it is (“Sojourner Truth” Encyclopedia).…

    • 2247 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ellen Norton

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Ellen's first problem is she crossed the line with student and teacher guidelines, she befriended Abbey, and gave out personal information which also crossed the guidelines, and continued to do so, even when Ellen knew there was a problem.…

    • 567 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sojourner Truth incorporates equality flawlessly into her speech about women’s rights. She expounds the inequitable rules and racism in her society and actively rebels against it. She leaves the audience with a sense of motivation and makes it clear that it is our responsibility to push for a change in the laws and demystify the perception of equality in the world. Today, we use her speech as a tool to challenge others with the same message and insight them to finally make the world equal for…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For instance, “The girl who got shot for going to school,” is an article written by Mishal Husain from BBC. The article informs its readers about a young Pakistani girl, named Malala, “whose life changed forever at age 15 by a Taliban bullet.” Malala’s dream was simply to be granted a fair education. Yet not all agreed with her wish, and in account of her unpopular opinion, her entire life was put at risk. While some believed her bravery put her life on the line, Malala’s courageous actions made history. In addition, Malala survived the wrath of her opponents, which supports the reasoning that those who speak up do triumph in raising awareness. In her effective venture to cease injustice, many individuals became informed of the global issue of forbearance of education for girls. Malala not only raised the profile of the issue—she also inspired others to communicate and fight the problem as well. Malala’s remarkable story illustrates that when knowledge is used to speak up, much good can transpire. Moreover, the idea that speaking up can raise awareness is reflected through the story of Emmett Till. Emmett till was a black 14-year-old boy who was accused of whistling at a white woman and was then abducted and killed. Recently, The New York Times released an article written by Richard Pérez-Peña that tells of a woman linked to Emmett Till, who “has broken her silence and acknowledged that the most incendiary parts of the story she and others told about Emmett… were false.” Some may insist that taking a stand will cost a life, but in this scenario, hate crimes and a loss of life were the outcomes of keeping silent. If a press release confronting the false statements was made at the time of Emmett’s existence, he might still be alive today.…

    • 1195 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays