Robert-Witness and Mosquito Coast

The scene in Witness where Samuel and his grandfather are talking about Book's gun is extremely important. While sitting on the bed his grandfather tells him about how one should never take the life of another. He is playing a patriarchal role, since Samuel's father is dead, and showing Samuel right from wrong. However, since Samuel has witnessed what violence can do he no longer sees things the way that his grandfather does. He agrees that he would never take the life of anyone unless they were a "bad man." He surpasses the knowledge of his grandfather because he has seen this sort of violence while his grandfather probably hasn't.

The first lines in Mosquito Coast are Charlie speaking about his father, "I grew up with the belief that the world belonged to him, and that everything he said was true." He has much respect for Allie, his father, and never argues with what he has to say. As the movie progresses, however, it's obvious that Charlie's trust in Allie wavers as his claims and actions become more outrageous. The scene in which Charlie's view of his father is forever changed is when they use the ice machine to kill three men who have come, unwelcome, into Allie's jungle town. The climax of this is scene is the ultimate explosion of the machine which destroys both Allie's prized invention as well as the village. Charlie looks at his father, as the fire eats up "Fat Boy," the ice machine, and no longer sees the father he had while they're were in America. In this scene Allie looks maniacal yelling out in anguish as his invention burns in the distance.