Simon Birch

Conner Savage
Ms. Janson
Period 2
4/23/15
Simon Birch Essay

In the movie Simon Birch, the main character is Simon. The narrator of the movie is Simon's best friend Joe Wentworth. Simon is a very special person. For example he has the ability to inspire or annoy the people around him. He also has a special sense that God has a plan for him and he would not be alive if no plan existed. When Simon was born some called him a miracle baby because he was the smallest baby ever born in that hospital. His biological parents wanted very little to do with him. With this almost hatred from his parents, Simon falls in love with Joe's mother Rebecca. She is the one who truly cared for him and loved him. Now because of his size Simon is very good at helping little kids. This is so because the kids trust someone of their own size. In the movie there were two kinds of feeling about Simon. One was that he was inspirational, the narrator. Or annoying, the Priest. There are many reasons why people found him inspirational. For example Simon helped the narrator find out who his father was, since his mom died prior to telling him. Also it was Simon’s faith in God that people were always baffled about. In the movie there were two kinds of feelings about Simon. One was that he is inspirational. The other was that he was annoying. There are many reasons why people found him inspirational. For example Simon helps Joe find out who his father is, since his mother died prior to telling him. Next was his faith in God. People were always shocked when they saw how much pure faith Simon had. For those who did not like Simon found him easy to pick on or rude. For instance Reverend Russell did not like Simon because he always question what the Reverend said about God in his sermons. Also Simon would constantly talked right back after the Reverend would talk during his sermon. In addition to the Reverend Miss Leavey, the Sunday school teacher was not too fond of Simon. She would be annoyed at Simon if he was being disruptive in class or if the class was picking on him when she was out of the room. Finally, there were the baseball teams Simon's team would face. The kids and their parents were the most rude and hostile towards Simon when he would go up to bat. This was ever so present the day Simon hit the baseball that killed Joe's mother. Finally Simon always thought that God had plan for him. Though we, the audience, never get to hear Simon’s explanation of why he thought God had a plan for him we get a glimpse from Joe. The idea is that Simon would not be alive if God did not have a plan for him. In the end of the movie Simon fulfills God's plan for him by saving a young kid from drowning. Simon has, in my opinion, a very unique faith. That of which he was grateful for each day. He was also positive and as I had perviously mentioned the thought of God having a plan for him. Simon kept with the traditions of Church, going to mass every Sunday, loving God, and being an overall good person. Tradition wise he kept going to Church, though the priest and Sunday school teacher were not Simon’s biggest fans. Furthermore he exhibited his faith in countless scenes outside of Church and the main realm of God by doing good. For me, as with many people, I do not know what God's plan or purpose for me is, but what I do know is the gifts he gave to me. Some of the gifts that I and others see are: loyalty, ability to listen, kindness, situational humility, and solidarity. With these gifts I am starting to get an idea of what God's plan is for me. I do believe that as I get older more and more parts of God's plan for me will become clear to me and I will be able to answer this question better. But for now all I can say is I am not done following God’s plan.