American History X Detailed Summary
Detailed Summary
The story begins with a black and white flashback of the moment when Derek commits the murder of the two young Afro-American's. Danny wakes up to see one of the men standing by the front door but can't see whether he is armed or not. He goes to tell his brother Derek who is in bed with Stacy, his girlfriend. Derek takes a semi-automatic pistol and sees two blacks and one in the car ready for a getaway. Derek plunges out of the front door and shoots the first Afro-American several times and spots the other trying to run away. He takes aim and fires again mortally wounding the second. The car driver speeds off with Derek firing several shots at the car, emptying the magazine. In slow motion he goes back to the wounded man to finish him off and there the flashback finishes.
Back in the present, we are now in the office of the headmaster of Danny's school, Dr Robert Sweeney and his tutor Mr Murray who are discussing an essay set by Mr Murray on civil rights. Danny has done his essay on 'Mein Kampf' - Hitler's ideological book that he had written while in prison in the 1920s. Mr Murray is appalled and believes Danny is like his brother - lost and unable to turn back. Dr Sweeney refuses to give up on Danny and dismisses Mr Murray's attempt to have Danny excluded from school. Dr Sweeney calls Danny in and tells him that 'Mein Kampf' is 'rubbish' and throws it into the bin threatening to expel him. Sweeney decides that he himself will be Danny's history teacher and the lessons called 'American History X'. He sets Danny an essay to be handed in the next morning in which he should analyse and interpret all the events leading to Derek's incarceration and Danny's own views of life in contemporary America. If he doesn't submit the essay Danny will be thrown out of school. Danny decides to go home and think about the essay but while in the male toilets a white teenager is being attacked by a black gang led by 'Little Henry'. Danny comes out of the cubicle and is
The story begins with a black and white flashback of the moment when Derek commits the murder of the two young Afro-American's. Danny wakes up to see one of the men standing by the front door but can't see whether he is armed or not. He goes to tell his brother Derek who is in bed with Stacy, his girlfriend. Derek takes a semi-automatic pistol and sees two blacks and one in the car ready for a getaway. Derek plunges out of the front door and shoots the first Afro-American several times and spots the other trying to run away. He takes aim and fires again mortally wounding the second. The car driver speeds off with Derek firing several shots at the car, emptying the magazine. In slow motion he goes back to the wounded man to finish him off and there the flashback finishes.
Back in the present, we are now in the office of the headmaster of Danny's school, Dr Robert Sweeney and his tutor Mr Murray who are discussing an essay set by Mr Murray on civil rights. Danny has done his essay on 'Mein Kampf' - Hitler's ideological book that he had written while in prison in the 1920s. Mr Murray is appalled and believes Danny is like his brother - lost and unable to turn back. Dr Sweeney refuses to give up on Danny and dismisses Mr Murray's attempt to have Danny excluded from school. Dr Sweeney calls Danny in and tells him that 'Mein Kampf' is 'rubbish' and throws it into the bin threatening to expel him. Sweeney decides that he himself will be Danny's history teacher and the lessons called 'American History X'. He sets Danny an essay to be handed in the next morning in which he should analyse and interpret all the events leading to Derek's incarceration and Danny's own views of life in contemporary America. If he doesn't submit the essay Danny will be thrown out of school. Danny decides to go home and think about the essay but while in the male toilets a white teenager is being attacked by a black gang led by 'Little Henry'. Danny comes out of the cubicle and is