Characters

Walt Kowalski

75 years old, descendant of Polish immigrants, war veteran
used to work in the automotive industry (Ford)
married to the late Dorothy, two sons, two grandchildren
spends his time on the porch sipping beer
suffers from lung cancer
at the same time represents:
$\rightarrow$ a person who has lost his status in society and who rejects modern America ( $\rightarrow$ angry white men)
$\rightarrow$ the soldiers who went to war for America and who suffer from traumatic experiences due to that
classic hero‘s journey: healing the backstorywound is the ultimate goal (Walt having killed a soldier in Korean War)
1. Ordinary World: Walt is living in a familiar world; however it threatens to fall apart (neighborhood has changed, industry closed down)
2. Call to Adventure: unfamiliar world of the Vang Lor family is introduced to Walt (antithesis to his world: celebration of birth vs. somber funeral of Walt‘s wife)
  $\rightarrow$ attempted theft of Gran Torino by Thao
3. Refusal of the Call: Walt scares away the gang that forces Thao to join them, upon receiving thankfulness by Vang Lors, Walt just wants to be left alone
4. Meeting with the Mentor: Father Janovich comes to visit and reminds him of the confession Walt‘s wife wanted him to convey
5. Crossing the First Threshold: Walt is being invited to the Vang Lor‘s house for a barbecue
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies: Vietnamese traditions and customs as test, Sue as ally, Hmong gang and Sue‘s grandmother as enemies
  $\rightarrow$ test: fixes broken washing machine, convinces Thao to ask out Youa, confrontations with Hmong gang
7. Approach: Walt accepts the role of being a father figure and mentor himself for Thao
8. Ordeal: Walt learns that he is terminally ill and decides that he wants to help Thao and that he wants to deal with his own past
9. Reward: reward in this case is negative; Sue is being raped and there is a shootout at the Vang Lors house both for which Walt holds himself accountable
10. The Road Back: crossing his own threshold after spending the evening at the Vang Lor‘s house, decides to have a final confrontation with his enemies, makes preparations, locking up Thao, self-revelation about Korean War
11. Resurrection Hero: finds a way to get Spider and his gang in jail and is resurrected as a hero by sacrificing his own life
12. Return with Elixir: Thao inherits Walt‘s car and his dog through which Walt continues to live, Thao driving in the Gran Torino and Walt‘s funeral function as confirmation of the success of the hero‘s journey

The Kowalski Family

two sons Mitch with wife Karen and Steve and their children Ashley and Josh
do not have a lot in common with Walt, however, this is in part Walt‘s fault as he confesses to Father Janovich
sons know Walt as an uncompassionate and easily irritable tyrant
the only time that Walt tries to reconciliate with Mitch is when he learns that he suffers from lung cancer, this attempt fails terribly
afterwards, Walt gives up trying to speak to his son
looks down on his sons as representatives of suburbian lifestyle
$\rightarrow$ mostly oriented towards their careers and consumption
$\rightarrow$ live a boring life according to Walt
Ashley as a contrasting figure to Sue
$\rightarrow$ very unsympathetic, Walt openly despises her
$\rightarrow$ disrespectful (is on the phone during the servce for Walt‘s dead wife)
$\rightarrow$ can‘t wait for Walt‘s death, wants to inherit the car and some furniture of his
$\rightarrow$ materialistic and shallow

Sue Vang Lor

20 years old, assimilated to US lifestyle
confident and feisty
believes that Walt can serve as a paternal substitute for herself and her brother Thao
doesn‘t feel intimidated by Walt‘s hostile character
feels that Walt is only putting on a show and that he is a rather good person at heart
ironic/sarcastic at times, provokes her attackers by using her rhetoric and intelligence
sense of humour, doesn‘t really care about Walt‘s racist side blows (being called "dragon lady") but wittily retorts them ("We only eat cats.")
functions as a mediator: introduces Walt to Thao, introduces Walt to Hmong traditions and history, comments on happenings in neighbourhood for a better understanding of the audience

Thao Vang Lor

identity crisis $\rightarrow$ finds himself stuck between two cultures
doesn‘t go to school anymore but doesn‘t have a job either $\rightarrow$ lives for the moment
can‘t live up to the expectations others impose on him (isn‘t the head of the family, doesn‘t want to join the gang)
insecure and shy
stands between his loving and worrying sister and his cousin who wants him to join a gang
too afraid to ask out a girl
wants to gain confidence by committing the crimes that the gang asks him to conduct
when Walt enters his life and fulfills the father-role that Thao desperately misses, he becomes more confident and even gets a job
is introduced to the manly ways by Walt and eventually asks out a girl
although he is constanly being mocked by his family, he loves them and defends them, he is even devasteted when his cousin‘s gang attacks them and plans to avenge them
even wants to kill his cousin in blind rage
finally arrives mentally in America through Walt‘s work with him (through his technical skills, might attend college, drives the Gran Torino)

The Vang Lors

Sue, Thao, their mother and their grandmother form the Vang Lor family
live a rather social life, often gather at their house with friends, neighbours or relatives in order to celebrate special holidays
mother is not assimilated, hardly speaks English, seems rather insecure
grandmother as some kind of "comic relief" $\rightarrow$ mirrors Walt sitting on her porch, scoulding in Hmong and attempting to spit on him show that their feelings towards each other are on a mutual level
father is not present in the movie

The Hmong Gang

five members, only Spider and Smokie are referred to with names
are aggressive counterparts to Walt
cruise around in their car, bully people
neighbourhood is afraid of them and no one would dare denounce them
only Walt‘s death gets them into jail
do not care about their own culture and family (Spider raping his own cousin)

Father Janovich

priest that holds the sermon at the funeral of Walt‘s wife
tries to bring Walt to make confessions
Walt deems him as unexperienced and simply not able to understand Walt
27 years old, which is why Walt doesn‘t think that Janovich can relate to older people‘s problems and worries
the knowledge from his training is not applicable to real-life situations according to Walt
what Janovich lacks in experience, he makes up for through his persistence
tackles every challenge he is being given (Hmong gang, Walt‘s stubbornness)
explains at the end that it was Walt who mediated insights on life and death

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