Characters Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell in the movie Chariots of Fire
Introduction
Chariots of Fire expresses the inspirational true story of two sportspersons of the UK, Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell. Contrasting the divine motives of one man against egocentric objectives of the other, their aggressive, personal rivalry ends up uniting them in a significant triumph, in the ‘24 Olympics. Liddell is recognized as the protagonist because of his attractive life as a missionary that showed his spiritual courage. This Olympic champion from Scotland survived and died for the testament of Jesus Christ. Conversely, Harold Abrahams is a Jewish scholar at Cambridge who runs for recognition and to avoid prejudice. This is due to the actuality that he wants to overcome anti-Semitism and class preconception, so he opts to compete against the flying Scotsman in the 100 meters race.
Plot summary
In a summer of games, crowning and awarding of new winners and stars with honours and gold medals takes place. Initially, the school’s champion in athletics, Liddell was training for the 100-metre sprint, but after learning that the qualifying heats for this event planned for a Sunday, he opted to withdraw from the race. Therefore, as a devout Christian, he declined to race on the Sabbath and substituted into the 400 metres race at the final moment. The story links the similar athletic involvements of Abrahams and Liddell while exposing their vastly diverse characters and responses to harsh conditions (Bale 23). The press roundly critiqued the Scotsman and termed his verdict unpatriotic, but Liddell dedicated his exercise to the 200 metres and the 400 metres, contests that would not necessitate him to disrupt the Sabbath. He attained a bronze award in the 200 and the 400 in a world-record stretch. When Liddell skips church prayers because of the race, Jenny, his sister scolds him and asserts that he does not respect his religion and God. Eric supports himself by saying that he desires to go back to China for missionary activities. He says that athletics gives him a sense of divine. Liddell disregarded the media’s successive hero adoration and soon resumed to China, where he was born, to carry on his family’s evangelist work. He later died there in ’45, in a Japanese detention site (Bale35).
On his part, Abraham’s determination to succeed in Paris was stimulated more by his wish to redeem his defeat in Belgium and by his rivalry with his two elder brothers than by his position as a Jew (Weatherby 193). One of his brothers had participated at the 1912 Stockholm Games; hence, he was determined to surpass this achievement. To attain his goal, Abraham appointed a private coach, the prominent Sam Mussabini and exercised with single-minded vigour. He even lobbied secretly to have himself released from the long-jump event in which he had formerly set a British best. This was due to the reality that he could focus on his running. According to Weatherby (197), the film also stumbles in showing Abrahams deteriorating in the 200 metres before finally succeeding in the 100 metres. He won the 100 first, and the 200-metre final performed after two days. Abraham incurred an injury that ended his sporty career. He later became a lawyer, radio anchor, and sports officer, working as chairman of the board. This information is offered at the end of the movie through a text that explains the athletes’ lives after active involvement in athletics (Weatherby 205).
Comparison between the two characters
In this film, all the competitions are but an introduction to a pair of rivalries. The movie boosts of two protagonists namely; Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell and their different duels are the 100M and 400M, respectively. The film does a significant work stimulating sympathy for these captivating casts. Importantly, Liddell had already defeated Abrahams in the race, but Liddell does not crave the prospect of triumph (Macartney 421) because, for him, it is all about the expedition. However, for Abrahams winning is a must and should not come second. This shows the drives that inspire the athletes to participate at the Olympic. They are serving diverse interests that stimulate their motives to win despite all the difficulties.
Christians are so used to observing their belief trashed at the movies that for a main film to present Christianity without criticizing the religious conviction seems, by contrast, to be a commendation. Therefore, Abrahams runs for personal pride, but the film does not judge him. Like Liddell, he is blamed of arrogance, but he signifies the challenges of minorities, for example, Jews and the Italian-Arab Mossabini (Macartney 431). Unlike Liddell, who attempts to match his missionary and physical activity duties, Abrahams dedicates everything to running; to the dismay of those who consider that a proper Englishman should demonstrate nothing, but reserved detachment.
Abrahams is portrayed as being arrogant. From his blank stare that resembles that of a rebel to his indifferent gait, Abrahams publicizes conceit with ease. This is shown in his way of providing challenges, while appealing to watch, speaks so much about his character- a man who will rest at nothing, but to win. Liddell, instead, is righteous and quiet (Knapp 313). He trusts in a stronger drive that God had made him run. He celebrates in the sensation of deep motivation that comes with running. This is due to the actuality that God‘s spirit established in his running. His pledge to this belief is put to trial when his race is organized for a Sunday. He puts his desires aside and declines to compete in the Sabbath day. He claims that this is in contradiction of his Christian opinions.
Another contrast that arises is when Abrahams sees Liddell on the trot; he passionately desires to be like him. This makes him hire the services of a proficient trainer so that he can be like Liddell and eventually defeat him in the Olympics (Knapp 318). This is a depiction that Liddell was a blessed athlete and used running to show gratitude to God for the blessing. Conversely, Abraham must just hire the services of trainer to be as successful as Liddell. This exposes his indecisive nature in desiring to be like somebody else. He is not innovative and borrows skills of others to match their expertise. Liddell, in contrast, is steered by his confidence in God into his intention. This makes him stick to his ideals regardless of the media hype and students expectations on him. This leads to a deduction that while Abrahams is indecisive, Liddell is unwavering in his principles (Knapp 321).
However, because Abrahams has devoted everything to race, the pursuit for Gold is his life. After the amazement of conquest wears off, he gets married to his darling and eases into the responsibility of elder statesman for British games. Eric, because he does not compete for his personal sake, but to satisfy God, has no problem making the shift back to whole-time missionary work. His training was but a stage in his life’s challenge, to the credit of God (Macartney 430). They decided to pursue other careers and interests that suit their livelihood ambitions. The film winds up by showing the courses of actions that Liddell and Abrahams achieved and their eventual deaths at different places serving their interests.
Conclusion
Chariots of Fire exposed different elements in characters of the casts and their desires in attaining their intentions. The movie is the true description of two Olympic racers, Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell, who exercise to run the 100-meter track, in the ‘24 Olympic Games. Abrahams is English, unspiritual Jew who is ambitious to prove himself by individual achievement and individual show. He gains admittance to Cambridge and separates himself as an outstanding athlete. His primary opposition for Olympic medal in the 100 meters is Eric Liddell, a past rugby star whose life ambition is to serve God as an evangelist to China, but who is programmed first to represent Scotland in the Olympic competitions. Character traits of individuals were used to establish the salient themes in the entire film. The entire film is coiled on the two personalities who display different characters and lifestyles. At the end of the movie, all the characters decide to follow their childhood desires. This expresses the indecisive nature of the two characters as they participated in athletes for short term reasons. Therefore, true contrasts and similarities are evident in regards to characters displayed in the film.
Works Cited
Bale, John. Running cultures. Racing in time & space. London: Routledge, 2004.
Print.
Knapp, Fritz. Eric Liddell: Humility. s.l.: Price World Publishing, 2012.
Internet resource.
Macartney, Clarence E. N. Chariots of Fire. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1994.
Print.
Weatherby, W J. Chariots of Fire: A True Story. New York: Dell/Quicksilver, 1981.
Print.
