The Blind Side Character Review

The Blind Side

I have decided to write my paper on the character Michael Oher, from the movie The Blind Side. It is based on a true story of the offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL. Michael basically raised himself. He was taken from his mother at age seven because she was a frequent drug abuser. He was placed in several different foster homes but he always ran away. Because of Michael’s massive size, he was referred to as “Big Mike”. By the age of 17, he found himself sleeping on the couch at a friend’s house. His friend’s father recognized his athletic ability and decided to approach the coach at a local private Christian school to get Michael admitted and get him into the sports program. Regardless of Michael’s lack of educational history, he was enrolled. Shortly after, Michael was forced to leave the home he was staying at and had nowhere to go. This was about the time he met the Tuohy’s. Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy and their two children SJ and Collins will become a huge part of Michael’s life. The concepts I have chosen to apply to Michael’s story are nature vs. nurture and negative reinforcement. It was clear to Michael’s teachers that after the first day of classes, he didn’t seem to have the mental capacity he should at his age. They were clear that he had no idea of what they were trying to teach. In Michael’s previous records it showed that he was in the bottom percentile in all subjects except in protective instincts; he tested in the ninety-eighth percentile. After a few days of school, Michael’s science teacher picked up a piece of paper that he had thrown out and read it to the faculty during a break. It was a poem entitled “White Walls”, that talked about how he didn’t fit in at that school. This is an example of Michael’s ethnic identity because he went on to explain that there was “white” everywhere. The walls, the people, and atmosphere in the school were all white to him. It is also an example of his identity because he compares the school to his own self-image. He didn’t feel like he belonged there, like he was out of his element. No longer being in his comfort zone made Michael very uncomfortable, and it was difficult to adjust. When driving home one night after a Thanksgiving play, Mrs. Tuohy spotted Michael walking down the street. He was poorly dressed without a coat in the cold weather and this distraught her. When she approached him and asked where he was headed, he answered he was going to the gym. Mrs. Tuohy advised him that the gym was closed and asked if he had anywhere else to go. When Michael dropped his head, Mrs. Tuohy knew the answer. She took him home and set him up on the couch. The day after was Thanksgiving, and she told Michael if he didn’t have anywhere to go that he could stay there for the holiday. During dinner, Mrs. Tuohy advised Michael that she would take him shopping because the only wardrobe he had was an extra shirt in a plastic bag. Michael was very reluctant to open up to Mrs. Tuohy, so in an effort to learn something about him she asked that he at least tell her one thing about him. He looked at her with intense and informed her that he does not like being called “Big Mike”. By this statement it became clear that Michael had an issue with his body image. He was referred as massive, enormous, and fat throughout the film and this seemed to upset Michael very much. From that moment on, Mrs. Tuohy only called Michael by his real name. Michael became very close with the Tuohy’s in a short period of time. He had never been shown that much love and understanding in his entire life. The teachers at school were helping him improve his grades because of his science teacher proving that Michael actually is learning the material. She gave his test verbally and he scored surprisingly high considering his past education, which made the rest of the faculty want to help. He went out for spring football, which is where he told Mrs. Tuohy that he would protect the family. The Tuohy’s took Michael in by legally adopting him. He was officially part of the family and he couldn’t have been happier. Michael’s only experience in childhood and early adulthood has been negative. He was separated from his mother and brother at age seven because of her constant drug abuse. Although his mother was not loving, caring, or considerate Michael still ran from each foster home to find her. He longed for the nurturing relationship that most mothers’ have with their children since his father was never present. He was surrounded with danger, poverty, and drugs his life and knew nothing else. Regardless of his past, the Tuohy’s showed Michael real love and compassion. In the concept of nature vs. nurture, nurture wins in Michael’s case. Despite what life had to throw at Michael before the Tuohy’s became a part of it, he was able to live normally and become successful as an adult. In conclusion, the movie was very inspirational and heart warming. Michael had many colleges offer him full scholarships including Tennessee, North Carolina and the Mississippi. When he finally chose the University of Mississippi the NAACP questioned him because the Tuohy’s were boosters for Ole Miss. Both Mr. and Mrs. Tuohy were alumni’s from Ole Miss and this was suspicious to the NAACP. Eventually the questioning came to an end and he also graduated from the University of Mississippi, just like his family had. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL and continues to play football to this day.