Outline:

Introduction:

• American Beauty compiles of sexuality and violence
• It is a true representation of everyday life.

2^nd paragraph

• Lester has a miserable and monotonous life.
• His daughter does not respect him
• His wife has an affair with another man

3^rd paragraph

• Jane hates her father so much and even wants to kill him
• She falls in love with Ricky who has a similar family background as hers
• Ricky’s father often hits him for some minor incidents since he “cares” about him
• As both of them do not want to live with their families anymore, they leave their families and insist on living under a new life

4^th paragraph

• Lester feels sad at first, however, he thinks differently after several incidents
• Before he can apologize to his wife and daughter, Ricky’s father, who thinks that he has an affair with his son, kills him
• Before the moment of death, Lester remembers many happy fragments with his wife and daughter.
• He finds that life is beautiful and begins to understand the reality of living. However, it is already too late

5^th paragraph

• The narrator successfully portrays the reality of the theme “beauty” in the film
• Many people think that having an appealing appearance and body are criterion of “beauty”
• Although Angela is pretty, she is not happy at all. Others hate her, as she is so proud. She gets no friend
• Lester has a chance to have an affair with Angela, but he is not happy due to his broken family
• Indeed, “beauty” can simply be found everywhere
• If we treasure all things around, life can be beautiful.

6^th paragraph

• Parents should put more time on their children rather than just cater for their works
• Using violence is not a panacea of teaching children
• Parents should try to understand their children instead of hitting and blaming them blindly. They should listen to them

Conclusion:

• American Beauty successfully portrays the reality of “beauty”
• We should treasure what we have rather than counting what are missing