My Thoughts About the Movie 'Bridge to Terabithia'

Bridge to Terabithia is a modern fantasy book written by Katherin Paterson and was released as a Disney film in 2007. This story circling around two children—Jess and Leslie—who have made a great connection with each other. The story started when Jess wants to prove something for himself and for the people around him—especially his father, so he joined in a race and wanted to be the fastest among his classmates, but Leslie, their new transferee, win over him. So, he doesn't like Leslie at first, but they eventually end up becoming friends.

Moreover, their bonding got strong when they see a creek and called it as their own—Terabithia, where they are free to run their imagination—and when they encounter Janice Avery, the bully, they tried to get revenge but eventually learn that enemies should be treated with dignity.

However, their fate got twisted when Jess heard that Leslie is now gone. He cannot accept and process the terrible news but eventually learned the truth and decided to remember her by honoring their memories and how much he learned from Leslie. Then, he build a bridge to Terabithia to let his sister get into their fantasy world safely and to show that he still values Terabithia.

The author of the book has a great way to show to her readers that tragedy, joy, love, and grief happens no matter what is your age—even you are old or young. Terabithia is the magical and imaginary land created by Jess and Leslie.

In the book, Terabithia only exists in their minds. Unlike, other fantasylands that are described in fascinating details, the readers cannot actually see the land, but only the two main characters are able to perceive it. Moreover, the bridge can be explained as literal and metaphorical. Jess literally build the bridge, but the goal of it can be seen metaphorically as something that connects them from their imagination and an escape from their realities, it also signifies their solid friendship.

Moreover, the author used two different writing techniques to let readers feel the story and slowly peel the layers of the plot of the story. First is symbolism—the author used bridge to represent the whole meaning of the story. It symbolizes how Jess and Leslie are connected to each other and how it links them to their imagination away from their realities. Next one is foreshadowing. At the beginning of the story, Jes told Leslie that the creek are not safe for them, but Leslie still insists. Then, at the end of the story, Leslie died because he tried to crossed the creek using the rope.

Furthermore, Bridge to Terabithia is a great way to help adults learn that children are also able to feel different kind of emotions and are needy of their support when they're exploring what they really want and their presence is really important when a child is transitioning into adolescence.