The Borrowed Ladder

English

Nolan Bartley

Mr. T

9/14/16

The Borrowed Ladder

        To be born inferior in a perfect world, that in itself is a life destined to have a cap on personal success. To be labeled as, “Invalid,” as a constant reminder of what you are mean to be and always will be. Forced to grow up in a world where others are born by vitro, man-made children. Then, forced to watch these perfect humans achieve things you could only dream of. In the world of GATTACA, it only took one person to reach beyond the fence he was put behind. Vincent Freeman broke the chain of command to become greater, he used what he referred to as a, “Borrowed ladder,” and he proved it is possible to determine your own fate by making life changing choices.

        Vincent was born as he called it out of, “Faith birth,” which means no interference from man-made machines, vials, or tubes. He was born and is, in all technical ways, inferior to his brother, to the kids at the school his mother wanted to put in, and inferior to those who work at GATTACA while he was just a janitor because of his lesser genes. Vincent refused to let this flaw stop his course of action of being one of the astronauts to go into space. He studied and memorized an entire textbook, he trained his body every day, and then he did the unthinkable. Vincent rebelled and found a salesman who sold his golden ticket. The golden ticket that would break the chains that bind and allow him to move up not only at GATTACA, but move up into space. The ticket he found was Jerome Morrow.

        Jerome Morrow, a vitro baby. Born perfect in every way, an athlete beyond athletes, a medal winning swimmer, and…a cripple. This man is Vincent’s, “Borrowed ladder,” his ticket into the big leagues, his last resort to achieve his goal of working at GATTACA and traveling into the stars. This concept Vincent used is to simply be Jerome Morrow, a walking one. This way he would be the perfect human to work at GATTACA, and Jerome accepted. As Jerome said, “I only lent you my body. You lent me your dream.” Jerome had nothing to lose. The mere relationship between Vincent and the real Jerome was enough to give Vincent the other, “Fifty percent,” required to achieve his personal end goal. A true friendship until the end, until death and even after. Jerome was never meant for, “Second best,” and by Vincent accomplishing what he sought out for years, it served Jerome the justice his name deserved. This again only reinforcing that Vincent’s choice to take this dangerous life allowed him to choose his own path, his own fate.

        There are many choices Vincent made through the film that were key factors in how his life was to be played out, starting as a kid. Vincent and his brother Anton played a game called, “Chicken.” They would swim out to sea as far as they could until one of them gave up. As expected, Vincent always lost. However, Vincent did win one time, and saved his brother from drowning as well. If Vincent did not prove to himself there that even inferior genes could outmatch perfection, then he may not have ever chased his dreams of going to space. If Vincent did not study vigorously to memorize the entire textbook he was reading, he would not have been knowledgeable enough to plot the course he was to take to his new planet, maybe to not even work at GATTACA. If Vincent did not train consistently to morph his body to show he could perform the physical tasks that the other vitro humans could, then he definitely would not have passed the physical exams required to go on the mission to the new planet. Most importantly, if Vincent had not formed the relationships he had, then he would have never been Jerome, killing his chances of ever working at GATTACA, or being anything more than inferior. If Vincent did not show Irene he loved her, then possibly Irene may have turned him in, which would have landed Vincent probably in jail. Even near the end of the film, if Vincent was not a role model to Dr. Lamar’s son then would he still have let Vincent onto the ship knowing that he was an invalid of society? It is because of the friendships created that Vincent was able to bring his ideas and goals to fruition, even if some were more important than others.

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