Jesse Pinkman Character Analysis

Humanities 103 October 20th , 2012 Character Analysis The character that I chose to analyze is Jesse Pinkman from the show Breaking Bad. Breaking Bad is considered to be one of the best shows of all times. The show alone won about 14 different awards and has been nominated for a variety of different categories and awards. Not to mention all the awards and nominations its actors, and director has received. The show has outstanding acting and quality production value. Breaking Bad is a story about a chemistry teacher Walter White who gets lung cancer and breaks bad to make money for his family before he passes away.

He decides start making and distributing methamphetamine after having seen the amount of money it is able to bring in. Walter encounters Jesse while on a ride along with his brother-in-law who works as DEA agent, and that is when he gets idea to work with him. Jesse is Walter’s former student who is already involved in the drug scene, they start off together as a team when Walter makes a deal with Jesse not to turn him to the DEA, after having recognized him at the scene of a meth lab running away. The show takes them deeper into the hands of drug cartel as it goes on, and they go through a lot of absurd situations together.

Jesse is a 25 year old man who is long estranged with his family . At a first glance you know nothing about Jesse besides the fact that he is what society would classify him as a low life. His occupation in the beginning is a meth cook, running a lab in a small house in house like conditions with his elementary school friend. As unappealing as his life might look to a viewer he is a very likable character, even in the beginning. We might conclude that Jesse is a high school drop out who has no further education is not very motivated to change anything about that.

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As a viever I did not see Jesse as one of the main characters for a long time in the first season. His role seemed to be somewhat unimportant in a way. Perhaps it is because of his lifestyle, and you are automatically assume he will be cut out because he is not very successful as a drug dealer that Walt expects him to be. But as the story develops and goes on Jesse actually becomes one of my most favored actors and characters. He is easy to be sympathetic to and in a strange way very relatable. You learn more and more about his character and his life, and values.

At a much further part of the show a lot of his personal issues and life is uncovered. He comes from an upper-middle class family with parents with very high expectations. Getting a glimpse of his parents’ behavior with Jesse’s younger brother makes you realize that the reason why he is the way he is, is simply out of rebellion. Jesse was not a successful student at school, presumably because he was already using drugs even in his teen years. He was kicked out of his house by his parents because of his rebellious behavior. Jesse then moves into his aunt’s house who has cancer, and he becomes her primary care giver.

After his aunt passes away Jesse remains living in her home. As a person Jesse is relatable and believable, because in our society today we see more and more high school drop outs. Thinking back to high school I can see a lot of potential Jesses there. They have type of dialogue, clothing style, and behavioral problems. I remember seeing guys like that at parties and I knew I had to stay away, and keep my distance because they were either intimidating, or I simply did not want to associate myself with people like that. But men like are shaped because of rejection and unacceptance.

As we get know Jesse we see a lot of good in him. Even though he is not close to his parents he has a good relationship with his younger brother, and is protective of him. Jesse takes the blame of having marijuana in his parents’ home after he tries to take shelter there again, but ends up getting kicked out again for fault of not his own. Jesse in general is very protective over children and feels the need to keep them away from his own ways and lifestyle. He is very angered and upset whenever the story involved any kind of harm to a child.

Even though Jesse acknowledges that he is a criminal, he has a very hard time dealing with any deaths involved and participating in murder. You could tell that he feels remorse and regret when a situation calls for murder and he is the one to have dealt with it. He doesn’t want to be involved in any criminal activities and wants to get his life straight. Taking that into consideration the viewer sees him as less of a villain, and desires for him to succeed and get better. When Jesse is faced with a stressful situation or one that involves a quick decision, he becomes very aggressive, and anxious.

Having been forced into the bigger picture of the drug dealing world by Walter he is often reluctant and unreliable. He is often not taken serious due to his drug addiction, and doesn’t have much value to the antagonists of the show. However Jesse does transform from the person he was when he just entered that world to a more fully-grown man as the show develops. Walter’s and his ordeals teach him a lot of lessons and responsibilities in the business. But no matter the situation he never turns his back on Walter and persists to protect Walter from any potential risk to his life.

There comes a point for Jesse where his value is being tested, and he proves himself valuable and loyal. Jesse cleans up his act and becomes sober, but still acts out on occasion. He is later placed under supervision of Mike, who is the go-to guy for sticky situations. Since Jesse has never had a good father figure, Mike becomes that to him, and Jesse begins to look up to him in a way. I think that Jesse was good asset in the show because he made it more believable as a story of the ordinary life. Aaror Paul is the actor who portrays Jesse and he does a wonderful job playing his character, and has even gotten awards for it.

Like I have previously said, Jesse is a very common type of a person we might see in out society today, and the acting by Aaron makes it easy to refer to those type of people. His transformation story is very touchy and convincing, and he might even develop emotional attachment to his character, leaving you wanting him to prevail his problems. The show unveils his potential as a person and shows all the good ethics in him, which perhaps was a “call to action” stunt to the viewers to reconsider opinions about stereotypes.

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