Maybe I'm too dumb or something, but what did The Stranger mean with this?
example: I walk in the jungle, I see a tiger, and I'm afraid, 'cause he can kill me. What does that have to do with what I know about myself inside? I'm just trying to understand Eastwood's wisdoms, that's all :)
Yes, but you know the tiger can kill you
shareHa, I have this film on right now and I clicked onto the board to see what people had said about it. At the EXACT moment I saw your post here, Eastwood said that very line on my TV. Freaky!
shareI'll give you an example. A person who is dishonest is always afraid that someone is going to try and rip him off. Why? Because it is in his nature to rip others off, so he's always afraid that someone will steal from them.
In the same way that the people of the town double crossed and murdered the previous sheriff, they lived in fear of being double crossed and possibly killed themselves....and The Stranger, and the three bandits, really brought that fear right to the surface.
If people know that they've done something wrong, they'll fear that they'll eventually be punished for it.
sharePeople fear having evil inflicted upon them because they realize the power they have to inflict evil upon others. In the case of Lago, where alot of wrongdoings have been done by many against many, the townspeople are afraid because they know they've victimized their peers; why shouldn't they be victimized by people just like themselves?
LOL that analogy cracked me up! The Clint-isms do require deep thought.
shareI appreciate the attempts above to describe the quoted saying, but I don't think it is necessarily about the history of Lagos. I think the context was that some were saying they were afraid of confronting the Bridges gang. But it is true it is also about fear in general.
I think the statement means "we" (meaning the people of Lagos, but really to at least some extent all of us) fear conflict, and here is meant to really fear, to be afraid of, not merely concerned about, the conflict because we fear our ability to face it with courage, and that we will fail as a result. What he was talking about was that the people in question saw themselves as unable to face the challenge of the conflict because they felt themselves inside to be essentially cowards.
Now this does move to the general direction of the story of Lagos, in the sense that the people in town (other than Mrs. Belding and the midget) did go along with the former sheriff's murder not merely because of their venality and willingness to abide the theft of the gold. but also because they did not have the courage to stand up for a moral principle and face the consequences of doing so.
I think that is what he meant.
I think it's about people knowing how weak they are: not necessarily physically weak, but weak of character. As another classic Western explained:
"In a way, all of us has an El Guapo to face. For some, shyness might be their El Guapo. For others, a lack of education might be their El Guapo. For us, El Guapo is a big, dangerous man who wants to kill us. But as sure as my name is Lucky Day, the people of Santa Poco can conquer their own personal El Guapo, who also happens to be *the actual* El Guapo!"
It means on some level everyone knew who he was and they were afraid of him because they all stood by and watched him die. That is why he made life in the town a living hell for everyone, and he was obviously having fun while doing it.
shareIt means on some level everyone knew who he was and they were afraid of him because they all stood by and watched him die. That is why he made life in the town a living hell for everyone, and he was obviously having fun while doing it.
Wide open to interpretation but I'd say its what people know they are capable of doing. What evils and depths they could easily sink too.