Analyzing Evil: Daniel Plainview From There Will Be Blood

hello everyone and welcome to episode 31 of analysis of

evil

featuring our chosen patron for the month of june

daniel

plainview

from there there

will

be

blood

daniel

day lewis as daniel

plainview

delivers a stellar performance that leaves us with an emotionally and psychologically complex character whose return ends The course of this film is a fascinating study in the detrimental aspects of one's personality that can have serious consequences when ambitions are left unchecked. To get an accurate picture of who Daniel is, this video

will

start with an overview of his traits and abilities. Before we move on to discuss the many nuances of his personality that have an effect on his goals in life and the unfortunate circumstances that we see unfold throughout the film and that ultimately lead Daniel to a self-made ruin, there is much to cover here, so without further ado.

Now let's start now, one of the best scenes to give us a starting point in the analysis. Daniel Plainview actually takes place halfway through the movie and that is the iconic scene where he gives a speech to his fake brother about the competence that resides within him. We will refer to it several times throughout this video. We will begin by covering the components of this speech that are the basis of Daniel's personality and the man he has become. I have a competition in me. I don't want anyone else to succeed. I hate most people. There are times when I look at people and don't see anything worthwhile.

I want to make enough money so I can get away from everyone. I see the worst in people. I don't need to look beyond seeing them to get everything I need. I have accumulated my hatred over the years, little by little, having you here gives me a second breath in life. I can't keep doing this alone with these people now that I've given you a refresher on this speech, there's nothing better. A place to start by observing his skills and traits than the introductory scene of the film. This introductory scene shows us two of Daniel's most important traits from the beginning, supported by his intrinsic desire to compete and succeed, being his determination and His determination is that many individuals who find themselves at the bottom of a mine shaft with a broken leg miles from civilization, after some effort to free themselves, they would abandon all hope and accept their fate, except for a man toiling in a self-excavated mine shaft. because who knows how long someone doesn't give up hope easily, especially considering this broken leg is a direct result of his discovery of a vein of silver, although this event may have had an impact on his sense of self-preservation, whether he whether he discovered it or not.

This silver probably would not have made much difference to Daniel, as a man who was willing to crawl for miles across a desolate desert is no stranger to adversity and whose will to survive overcomes any fear that may have arisen at the time. he felt it. his leg breaks at the same time as his views on people and his ability to extract what he needs from them in the scene where he and his son hold a sort of town hall meeting, we get to see another crucial aspect of daniel, his silver tongue, although it gets Nowhere here can we see Daniel employ tactics in his speech that are common tools used in the art of persuasion.

He first establishes who he is, what he represents and what he has achieved. Here he talks about what his company has accomplished and the current success he has. After his efforts, he then mentions the potential of the situation being discussed, in this case the opportunity to obtain great wealth through the extraction of oil beneath this community and then immediately presents a problem and the obstacles that may stand in the way of this opportunity that is Here identified as speculators and resellers who seek only to make profits for themselves and not for the people who hired them.

When presented with a question about a solution to this problem, you return to your own qualifications indicating your experience and practical approach to your business and your ability to quickly and efficiently start producing for this community, while also highlighting errors. and setbacks that are prone to his competition splashing mention of his values ​​and his moral standing by highlighting himself as a family man, someone ordinary, a man who is Just like the people he talks to, a This method of persuasion and negotiation can often be found in both business and politics, and the way Daniel highlights his own achievements without openly boasting about them and at the same time undermining his competition shows us that he has a firm grasp of the art of conversation and the ability to empathize with the people you are trying to persuade, appearing to them as a man whose intentions are pure and who is on their side, unlike the sordid entities that are your competition, your posture and your gestures They also influence. as he reflects a calm confidence and the way he moves and speaks is reassuring and firm, but not so much as to be intimidating, which contributes to the image he tries to project as a competent and capable businessman with an eye on helping. to the people who associate.

With him, the next scene reflects more or less the same, but since it is a more personal conversation, it adds another component to this negotiation: a careful insistence on the important things in a person's life, a small reminder of why is participating in this negotiation. Firstly here, he reminds the couple he is talking to about his children. A small detour in the conversation that helps them refocus on their priorities instead of any discrepancies they find in the proposal that Daniel has presented to them. These traits are the tools. daniel uses to realize his ambitions and the use of the resources available to him and the understanding he has of other people's desires and morals and how to convert them to serve his own ends is frequently employed by daniel, as he often we see invoking the family. values ​​and a belief in God to back up the claims he presents to his potential business partners;

However, this image of a benevolent business partner is nothing more than a carefully crafted façade. There is no doubt that with a booming business comes booming communities, but the profits Daniel provides to the people he does business with are not. more than an afterthought, and we see this notion in the scene where Paul Sunday confronts him with information about a potential untapped oil reserve beneath his family's ranch. Here he is much more concise and vague and this conversation. reflects the businessman, in reality he is a much more conventional person whose concerns lie with his own profits and not with the prosperity of the people with whom he deals.

This is further expanded when he arrives at the Sunday ranch where he declares to his son his intentions to lower the price. Sunday family, all of these things seem to indicate that he is a manipulator and he certainly employs manipulation as one of his tactics, but I think it is more accurate to characterize him as a cunning and smooth salesman who has hard work credentials and reputation to back up any of the falsehoods. Promises He Makes to People Now that we have covered these crucial skills and traits, let's move on to his personality, a few things are evident from the way he carries himself, among them that he is undoubtedly a very envious person.

Narcissist with an overt superiority complex and a fragile ego. I'm sure this is due to the fact that people's view of him is one of inferiority and distaste for even the people he envies, along with his view of himself as a hard-working, well-informed, and self-educated person. A man who does not need to bow down to anyone who crosses his path, Daniel is a man who feels that he has the right to every situation and, although he boasts outwardly when he presents his arguments to potential business partners It's part of the game he plays. He truly truly believes that he is the man he tells everyone he is and no one can tell him otherwise.

These high opinions of his own abilities, coupled with his negative view of almost everyone around him, make Daniel susceptible to even the slightest slight. real or perceived and what influences these highly damaging personality traits is the intense rage that he harbors within himself, which causes him to hold grudges against those who harm him in some way, hatred towards these individuals stored in his memory to be used at a later date. and his behavior towards these people is riddled with resentment and sarcastic hostility that can turn into violence when pushed too far. We get many examples of this throughout the film and first see it during his negotiations with the Sundays.

Here Daniel is on the losing side. of a deal he has deemed fruitful and becomes frantic, the veneer of a calm and collected businessman slowly fades as his nefarious intent is presented and he becomes much more abrupt and dismissive in his speech patterns, which we can See now is your impatience and panic mixed with rage as you see an opportunity to further your success slipping through your fingers, this is just a shadow of what is to come and your rage manifests itself to an increasing extent as the story progresses. movie from this point on, although Daniel's rage is almost always greater. accompanied by the resentment and sarcastic hostility that I mentioned before, which while linked to his anger is more linked to a superiority complex, take, for example, the moment when Daniel rejects Eli's request that Daniel introduce him and bless the well, now the reason daniel did it.

Obviously, this is because he doesn't like Eli, but there's more to it than that Eli is somewhat equal to Daniel, but his motivations contrast and conflict with Daniels'. This makes it natural for the two to clash, but it annoys Daniel. This moment is that Eli, someone Daniel believes is ridiculous and beneath him, deigns to tell Daniel what to do and this is something Daniel can't stand from anyone, much less this young man obsessed with delusional superstition. Later in this scene we get another moment of spite. from daniel when he shows disdain for abel sunday, who daniel learned, hits her daughter through her son and makes sure to call him out in front of his daughter showing his own power and stating that he will be the one to take care of of mary.

Now from now on we see his rivalry and animosity towards Eli again in the scene where he asks Daniel for the money he owes him, here he abuses Eli for trying again to tell Daniel what to do, this is the same thing that happens with Tilford as in Upon their first meeting, Daniel perceives that Tilford is trying to tell him how to run his family, now he might have been doing so to some extent, but not to the extent that Daniel believes and the reaction Daniel has here is more than a little excessive, especially for what is essentially a misunderstanding, earlier I mentioned that Daniel is able to empathize with the people he is negotiating with and that is only partially true, since if Daniel is able to feign empathy in order to conduct business, he has almost none when he meets. is about and he is much more concerned with his own feelings than the feelings of others, his relationships suffer as a result of this and daniel finds himself without real friends outside of his own son and for a time his supposed brother, but as we know Both relationships end up falling apart, the one with his fake brother is understandable considering he had been cheating on and using him throughout the course of their relationship, however that is no excuse for the way Daniel ended this relationship and while he is completely justified in being angry .

With this man, that does not give him a reason to murder him. As for his son, the return of their relationship occurs because Daniel's narcissism gives him the distinction of being a narcissistic father. We see that Daniel clearly feels affection for his son and also for Happy Sunday, but As we see towards the end of the film, the love he has for his son quickly evaporates when his son expresses his independence and desire to follow his own path, directly challenging the notion that the people Daniel is involved with and who They have benefited from his Success owes Daniel a debt of loyalty and gratitude and any family included that falters in this debt is not worthy of his time or energy.

One component of a superiority complex is Daniel's disdain and discomfort toward religion. We see this several times throughout the film and it is clear. that daniel is a non-believer when it comes to something spiritual, which is not bad in any way, but in daniel's case the reasoning for his non-belief goes deeper than theological or philosophical differences. I believe the reason for his atheism is the fact that Daniel is a self-made man and because of the life of determination and self-sufficiency he has led thus far, he does not believe that any type of deity was present to help him along the way. and does not take ownership of his success. and good luck to any god, but rather to his own hard work and determination, we can only speculate onWhat Daniel's life was like before he met him in the opening scene of the movie, but I think it's safe to say that despite all the hardships he probably experienced in his life, he found no comfort in turning to God and found no results when he turned. to prayer, causing him to discard any notion of God or a higher power, replacing it with absolute faith in his own will to survive and succeed in all his goals.

These traits seem to indicate that Daniel suffers from an antisocial personality disorder, specifically sociopathy or a narcissistic personality disorder. However, he does not have all the symptoms of either, but he displays many of the behaviors that are present in a person with narcissistic personality disorder. that the symptoms that are prevalent within a sociopath and those symptoms are his exaggerated sense of self-importance and his exaggerated talents, as we see when he claims that he is the only person capable of doing certain jobs and how effective he is at completing them, his preoccupation with fantasies . of his success as when he enters a trance state when finding oil in Little Boston, where we see that he is so hypnotized by the gold he sees springing from the earth that for what seems like an entire day he stares at this source of wealth like a predator totally indifferent to the pitiful state of his son who lies deaf and broken right behind him, then we have the way he monopolizes conversations and belittles people he considers inferior to him, his expectation of unconditional fulfillment of his own expectations as he expects from eli his son and potential business partners the way he takes advantage of others to get what he wants his inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others, as we see during his conversation with his son towards the end of the film, the envy he claims to have for others, his dependence on alcohol has significant interpersonal problems that make him feel easily despised and he has secret feelings of shame, as we can see when he is asked about his son, as well as feelings of vulnerability that come from of his inherent loneliness that stems from his dependence on his son. relationship with both his son and his fake brother, I hesitate to say that Daniel suffers from a narcissistic personality disorder and the reason is that people with this disorder are not capable of feeling true guilt or remorse, but as we see sometimes in the movie Daniel is definitely particularly after he kills his false brother when he admits to abandoning his son in the church of the third revelation and when he remembers the relationship he had with his son that has since been lost due to his own actions.

Three moments hit Daniel similarly: the murder and loss of his false brother, coupled with the absence of his son from his life at the time, crushes Daniel in more ways than one in the lead-up to this moment. notice early in the day. that this man is not really his brother and all day long he doesn't know what to make of this revelation. On one hand, you have a man who cheated on him, but on the other, there is the fact that this man is Daniel's only friend in the world. and this conflict is tearing daniel apart as the day progresses this problem is finally resolved with something daniel frequently turns to for solutions alcohol a mix of drunkenness and rage engulfs daniel and only after burying this man's body and reading his real brother's diary he feels the magnitude of what he has been subjected to and what he has done hits him, the immense pain we see here occurs in part because daniel is mourning the loss of a brother he never knew and is very distraught at how completely he was deceived and lulled into a place of love and companionship that was nothing more than a sham, a momentary solution to the overwhelming hatred he felt for almost everyone around him, yet this pain also comes from the fact that that he is selfish and now that he has murdered his only friend, he feels completely. alone and is wracked with despair and guilt over what he has done, realizing in this moment that even though this man had cheated on him, he still valued the relationship they had.

I think the reason Daniel felt so attached to a brother figure, even a false one, can be understood by By looking at three things he said during his competition speech, in that speech he tells Henry that if Daniel has certain traits, must be in Henry too, then tells him that Henry, by joining him in his endeavors, gave him a second wind in life and then leaves. He went on to say that he can't continue doing what he is doing alone now that Daniel has many associates that he can trust, but what Daniel sees in this brother is someone who could be like him, someone who understands him and can support him. him in a way that others who do not share the same traits can find this person was truly a second wind for daniel and although in reality this fake henry did not naturally contain the same traits as daniel, he still formed a bond with him and that bond It was one of the few things outside of his own ambitions that Daniel truly valued, since having abandoned his son he had already felt guilty for sending him away and after Henry's death, his guilt over the murder amplifies the guilt he feels. for abandoning his son. son and although Daniel is trying to force his confession in the church and convince himself that he feels no remorse for his actions, we can see the pain that appears on his face as he screams that he abandoned his son after his son's return .

Daniel is very practical and loving with him, keeping him close to him as he realizes that he is the only thing in his life that has real meaning and is someone who can still become the partner he has always wanted now with all this going on. I think it's fair to say that Daniel has a borderline case of narcissistic personality disorder, as he certainly displays many characteristics of this disorder, but the small amount of guilt and remorse he shows prevents him from having this disorder completely. He could be wrong. So if anyone has anything else to add to this overview, please let me know in the comments.

Now all of these traits within Daniel fuel the most detrimental aspect of his entire personality, his immense greed and desire to surpass everyone around him, which is the cause of all the misfortune that occurs in his life and what ultimately leads him to To commit acts of

evil

, the consequences of this greed are presented to us in every endeavor Daniel undertakes, as the good that comes from his greed is always tempered by a tragic event that spoils it. His success, whether personal or impersonal, we see when he rushes to extract the silver from his mind that causes him to break his leg when the poor construction of his first derrick results in the death of another man his negligent business practices that caused The death of another man and then shortly after his son's deafening and in his later years the shattered relationship he develops with his son after his ambitions have come true, the way this greed affects Daniel is comparable to behavior of an addict where he experiences highs and lows in the excitement and ecstasy he feels after his greedy desires come true and intense lows in the highly negative consequences these desires cause in the destruction of those around him, his own person or people who loves and with this addiction.

A fatal flaw arrives in Daniel that puts him in a perpetual cycle of euphoria and misery. His inability to understand that his greed is the direct cause of all the misfortunes he experiences during his years as an oilman. Every drop of alcohol that enhances his emotions every moment. of remembering past events or understanding the reality of his unfortunate circumstances is shown to us in the way his features contort into a sad and sorrowful countenance, his demons haunt every memory that passes through his head, but with this pain does not come fulfillment. that it is he who is the cause of his misfortune and not what he perceives as bad circumstances or the people he believes undermine his efforts;

It is this inability to accept the reality of his situation that makes Daniel increasingly reliant on alcohol to the point that after his son returns to him, his alcoholism has spilled over into his public life and he proceeds to berate and humiliate Tilford. in a display of liquor-fueled spite. When we meet Daniel in 1927, we have a man whose successes have brought him great fortune, but this isolation has barely given Daniel the happiness he so sought and has instead reduced him to a depraved and emotionally volatile alcoholic. . His meeting with his son shows us what unbridled greed can bring.

We see the eyes of a madman behind which the selfishness we have is hidden. what can be expected from a narcissist like Daniel and even here with his son opening her heart to him telling him that she loves him and that she wants to maintain his relationship with him is a way to save the terrible conditions in which Daniel is has put. in front of his eyes and still faces him with his characteristic resentment and anger, two years later, in his castle of his own creation, his solemn prison filled with painful memories and drunken stupors, we find a Daniel who got even deeper into the hole it is in.

He created for himself a bedraggled mess of a man passed out in his own filth on the floor of his bowling alley and now we see Daniel Plainview's truth that he is like so many addicts, a slave not only to his greed but to his own destructive narcissism. a man who is so consumed with himself that his efforts have taken him to a point higher than where he started but much lower at the same time joy has been sapped from daniel's life and all he has left is a hunched convulsing body Filled with nothing but guilt over alcohol and broken memories, there is nothing left in Daniel that can break the man he has become and at this point he is far beyond any kind of redemption, completely consumed by all the negatives. that is within his personality and now with Eli Sunday presenting himself towards Daniel once again the cruelest aspect of this hateful personality his resentment resurfaces this resentment is the only joy that Daniel has left and the euphoria that we see Daniel experience during His mental torture of Eli is probably the best he has felt in a long time and this joy is of course accompanied by his anger that has grown and grown during his years of isolation and alcoholism, exploding in this moment as he loses himself in his worst impulses. and advances like a madman on a cowardly and defenseless eli.

There seems to be a moment right after. He's left Eli unaware as Daniel considers what he's about to do and whether he should continue, but this flash of hesitation is quickly overridden by every ounce of pent-up emotion Daniel has acquired over the past 18 years, all of which is unleashed. about Eli. He comments to his butler at the end of this altercation that it is over and that, in every sense of the word, what is left for Daniel in this world that he created for himself, neither family nor friends nor anyone who can compete with Daniel, you have achieved everything you wanted. he did it, he won and everything he became is his reward.

This is who Daniel Plainview is. He is a man who had within him an admirable amount of self-determination and willpower backed by the desire to succeed in life and make something of himself. However, these traits would mean nothing if held within a narcissistic man whose focus was solely in tune with his own greed and ambition to be first among his competitors, a victorious warrior standing atop a pile of defeated enemies in his madness. effort to build your own world. Everything he loved would crumble by his own hand, leading Daniel towards self-destruction, reducing him to nothing more than a hollow being filled with addiction, resentment and sadness, a spiteful, greedy, misanthropic and narcissistic murderer.

Daniel Plainview was a malignant tumor that fed on the lives of not only those around him but also his own soul, reducing him to the pitiful state in which we find him at the end of the film and in this ending he alone is to blame for everything. terrible thing that Daniel has done or that has been done. To him it is the direct result of a man whose intentions and ambitions were sabotaged from the beginning by nothing more than his own evil. Thank you all for tuning into this evil analysis episode and I hope you enjoyed his thoughts.

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