Writing About

Hayden Hatcher

Professor Dilbeck

ENGL 1100/ Comp 1

25 November 2013

Prompt 2

Through the trials of love, people tend to emerge stronger and more confident in who they are; in a sense, they tend to find their true selves. This is no different for Napoleon Dynamite’s awkward couple Kip and LaFawnduh and Sixteen Candle’s dream couple Sam and Jake. Through each one of these surprise match ups, the characters experience a growth in character and personality that would have been unobtainable in any other circumstance. They change into these self-confident, generally happy people when compared to their former insecure, hopeless selves. Through the fires and flames of relationships both of the couples, Kip and LaFawnduh, and Sam and Jake, emerge as better people. The change appears as an improvement in mood, confidence, and social standing.

           Kip Dynamite is this reclusive, pale, socially-awkward shut-in who does nothing but eat chips and “chat with hot babes on the internet” all day. He is 32 and jobless, so he still lives with his 18 year old brother, Napoleon Dynamite (who is also a pale socially awkward recluse), and his grandma. Oddly enough, their grandma seems to be the only one with any sort of social life. At least this was the life of Kip Dynamite, until LaFawnduh came around. Admittedly, chatting with hot babes online is what leads Kip to LaFawnduh, so there was some payoff in his reclusiveness; however, Kip experiences a 360 degree turnaround in personality at the joining of these two polar opposites. LaFawnduh is this urban, African American, assumedly self-supporting woman from Detroit, about as far away from Kip as you can get. However, all differences aside, they work. It can all be accredited towards the old homage “opposites attract”, it also has to do with the change in character Kip undergoes. LaFawnduh gives Kip a complete makeover in appearance and self-image. Originally, Kip wore these salmon colored polo shirts that he tucked into his too-short khaki shorts and wore these oversized glasses. After his transformation, he is rocking a denim jacket with the large denim shorts and a doo rag. He also lost the glasses, and is now sporting a large gold chain and a gold grille on his teeth. He has, in the modern sense of the word, become “gangster.” With this change of wardrobe comes this overall sense of felicity. Kip is at peace with himself, and it’s because, as his Uncle Rico would put it, he found his “soul mate.” Before LaFawnduh, Kip always seemed uneasy and anxious, but now he is easygoing and content with life. He is, in the most basic sense of the word, happy because of this dramatic change in his life.

           Sam and Jake do not undergo as dramatic of a change as Kip; however, there are some notable differences near the end of the movie, Sixteen Candles. By the end of it, they are both the same people, for all intents and purposes; yet, they do seem to be much more elated than usual. Earlier in the movie, Sam was a fairly cantankerous young adult who was always complaining about something. These complaints originate from her usual disdain for her appearance and her parents, like any ordinary teenage girl. Jake is your stereotypical dreamy apathetic teenage boy who is secretly a very nice guy. Originally, their social status in their school separates them and forbids their joining; however, after a few moments spent delving into their inner selves, they realize what they truly want, and decide its worth fighting for. Therefore, despite the social pressures applied by the hierarchy of the school systems, they elect to start a relationship. This resolution makes them much happier and carefree than before, and you instantaneously see an increase in their overall mood.

In both relationships of these separate movies it is evident that there is also a boost in confidence. Yet, the increase in confidence only happens in one character in each movie. In the case of Napoleon Dynamite, it occurs in Kip; however, in the case of Sixteen Candles, it occurs in Sam. Kip started off as an insecure man who was all talk, he would say things like, “I'm training to become a cage fighter,” and other ridiculous things like that. These are all obvious lies and half-truths, evident in the way he said them and the fact that he never followed through with any of them. His entire being seems to change after he meets LaFawnduh, however. He is no longer this insecure lie; he is now this self-assured man who is confident in his actions and choices. He no longer feels the need to prove himself to others or pretend to be something he is not, he now knows his true self and is content with what he sees. LaFawnduh made him into a better, more confident man who knows what he wants, and how he plans on obtaining it.

Sam was very unsure of herself early on in the film, like most teenage girls finally coming into their own. She thought herself unworthy of a man like Jake, and only dreamt of being in a relationship with him, never conceiving it as a possible reality. They were on two different levels of the hierarchy of high school; it could never work in her mind. Yet, with the conclusion of the movie, it did end up working, and it was clear to all that she is no longer troubled by these uncertainties. She is now totally insouciant and blithe; she knows that everything has worked out in the end, and that everything will be fine in her life. This reassurance that has been bestowed upon her grants the confidence she needs to be happy and successful in her life, and Jake Ryan helped her achieve it.

One thing that these relationships did for these couples is increase their standings in their respective social classes. Jake being at the top of his and Sam’s, brought Sam to the top with him by dating her, something normally unheard of. LaFawnduh, saved Kip from his lonely reclusive self, and made him a “somebody” in the world by going out with him and taking him to Detroit. Both Kip and Sam were brought into these other worlds, formerly thought to be unobtainable, but now firmly in their grasp. These new social standings open them up to a myriad of new opportunities and experiences; it offers them a chance to be someone else, someone better. The new positions they hold is one of the main causes in their increase in mood and confidence, because they finally feel like they matter to someone else, and they now feel like they belong in the world. This can potentially cause them to actually go on and do something with their life, instead of wasting away like Uncle Rico or even like Kip did for most of his life. This will help them from becoming stuck in the past and help them move forward to a brighter future with their soul mates. Their new social standings in their respective lifestyles and age group are the biggest factors in their newfound happiness and confidence.

In the end, both couples emerged stronger and overall better people. They all shared an increase in mood and confidence brought on by the immense change in their lives. This change was, of course, their new relationship status with their soul mates. By entering their new relationships, they entered into a whole new social class in the hierarchy of their worlds, and this brought on and caused the improvements in themselves. Jake helped Sam find her happiness and helped her escape the typical life of a disgruntled teen, and LaFawnduh aided Kip in moving on with his life and out of his grandma’s house. Through the trials that seem to occur in every relationship, both of the couples, Kip and LaFawnduh, and Sam and Jake, emerge as better people. The change appears as an improvement in mood, confidence, and social standing.

Works Cited

Napoleon Dynamite. Dir. Jared Hess. Perf. Jon Heder, Efran Ramirez, Jon Gries. Fox Searchlight, 2004. DVD.

Sixteen Candles. Dir. John Hughes. Perf. Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael-Hall. Universal Pictures, 1984. DVD.