At the beginning of the movie, Benjamin is trying to figure out what to do with his life — how to find his purpose and give his life meaning. In one scene, Mrs. Robinson confesses to Benjamin that she was studying art in college but had to give up her dreams due to her unplanned pregnancy. We don’t much about Elaine except that she says something at the end to her mother to indicate that Elaine doesn’t want to be like her.

Rather than spending time to reflect on what’s important to them and finding their way for creative expression, these characters chose to make these life-changing decisions:

— Mrs. Robinson had a baby and got married instead of pursuing her art. Her unhappiness led her to another relationship decision to have the affair with Benjamin, which caused her marriage to end in divorce.

— Benjamin decided to have the affair with Mrs. Robinson rather than figure out his life. He obviously wanted to be a scuba diver, but his parents expected him to follow his dad’s footsteps. He then made another relationship change to turn his affection to Elaine. He moved to be near her at Berkeley. He became obsessed by Elaine and stole her away from her husband at the altar.

— We didn’t really learn what Elaine liked. Maybe she didn’t know herself. Why else would she tell 2 men that “maybe” she’d marry them…..and then marry one, only to leave him at the altar for another?

In the final scene when Benjamin and Elaine are on the bus, they don’t look at each other. They don’t even look happy. Instead, they are filled with the Sounds of Silence:

“…And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence….
Silence like a cancer grows….”

Karen