Micah Nelson
Jeff McNeil
10/29/12
ENGL 1101
Gun Crazy
“In my experience, there is only one motivation, and that is desire. No reason or principle
contain it or stand against it.” –Jane Smiley. The movie “Gun Crazy” is wrought with desire.
Bart and Laurie desire a whole plethora of things besides just each other, and this becomes a
motivator for some illegal actions and even some foul play. As humans we are forced to make
decisions involving desire every single day such as whether or not to eat the piece of cake that
we desire, whether or not we should go to a party that we desire to attend, or writing a paper that
we have no desire to write. It is a hard fought battle that can alter anyone’s life in positive or
negative ways depending on the choice that is made. Ramifications for the actions that the
desires cause people to take are always present, such as in the movie Gun Crazy.
Bart has loved guns ever since he was a young boy but killing any living thing is out of
the question for him. This brings out the mysterious nature of desire and how Bart does not know
why he desires guns but in his own words he… “Just loves to shoot”. The thought of target
practice is not the first thing that comes to mind when the topic of guns comes up. As stated in
the quote desire is an untamed beast of sorts, because it is not contained by reason or principle.
Guns bring up the thought of death or hunting, both things that Bart hates. Metaphorically
speaking it was almost like a bald man having a deep desire for a comb. His deep dark desire for
guns eventually got him into trouble with the law when he robbed a gun store; it ended up badly.
When Bart first spotted Laurie at the gun show, he fell head over heels in love with her.
In my opinion, his love was not fully for Laurie but more so for her ability to wield a firearm so
skillfully. As quickly as they fell in love they got married in a very impulsive manner. Laurie
tells Bart that she is no good but he is so star struck by her gun handling that he doesn’t care.
This shows how Bart’s love for guns led to his love for Laurie. Without such a deep desire for
guns, he might not have fallen so deeply in love with her. This chain of love from one thing to
another eventually leads to Bart’s downfall.
Very soon after the two love birds were married, they blew all of their money. Laurie
brought up the idea of stealing money which Bart knew was wrong. His chain effect love
however soon brought him to love what Laurie loved because he truly began to love Laurie. A
life on the run was never what Bart would have believed he would be living due to his love for
guns, but the chain of his desires brought him to that point. The ramifications for his actions
were loneliness and in the long run complete sadness. What Bart desired was guns, but then he
based his whole life off of that desire and it ended up killing him. Not only does Bart get killed
by guns but his gun takes away the only thing left in the world that he loves and that is Laurie.
Bart is not the only character that experiences an unquenched desire. Laurie reaches the
epitome of the definition in the movie “Gun Crazy”. Her desire is truly for robbing banks and
being a bad girl, and ironically her desire for Bart fights against the desire to rob banks but in the
end of this suspenseful tale, this evil and uncontrollable beast that is Laurie’s desire takes both
her and Bart six feet under. Just like a fat man desires more food regardless of the consequences,
Laurie desired more illegal money. She said she would try hard to be good for Bart when she
“fell in love” with him but the motivation of living the glamorous life with her illegal cash was
much stronger than living a life of love with Bart. There are some points in the movie where it
seems like she doesn’t even genuinely love Bart, she is just using him to get money. Now I aint
sayin she a gold digga…but splitting up for three months with half the cash seemed a bit hasty
and she didn’t even flinch or shed a tear at the thought of it. Bart being the main character shows
Laurie as the little devil atop his shoulder whispering the wrong things in his ear.
With every little shoulder devil comes a shoulder angel. Bart’s family and friends had a
deep desire for Bart to be a good boy. The most evil that Bart had ever experienced was when he
robbed the gun from the store and got caught. The beginning court scene where everyone who
knows Bart was pleading that he was innocent shows how much they thought of Bart and had
the desire for him to do good things. Under the influence of the judge, his sister, and his friends,
Bart turns out to be what he calls, “A fairly honest guy”. He joins the military doing honest work
after a boarding school experience and quite literally becomes a straight shooter. As far as
everyone was concerned a fine young man had been raised the right way in the American
system. It all went downhill when Bart met Laurie and gained a shoulder devil.
Desire is shown to be an untamed and untamable beast in this film. Bart doesn’t know
why he desires but he just does. Every choice Bart makes, makes his situation worse; even
though his hesitation suggests that he knows right from wrong. Bart knows his desire for guns is
unhealthy; but he lets it take him over and it leads to his banishment from society and his demise.