Small
rolled characters are able to exemplify a trait or two of the main character,
especially on you may not be able to catch at first. In the movie Wall-E, the cockroach is seen as
a character that cannot die. Disney took
the ideology that cockroaches never die and turned it into its main purpose
throughout the movie. While the rest of
the entire planet, or what we can see, is deserted, of course a cockroach would
be alive, nothing else would be logical except for maybe a cat, but after 700
years I would assume they would run out of their seven lives. The cockroach then finds a home in a Twinkie
that too has the ideology that never goes bad.
The
cockroach finds himself in many odd, life-threatening situations. To begin with, he is a cockroach living with
a robot in the middle of some city that has turned into garbage piles is not
the healthiest home. Also, the cockroach
follows Wall-E wherever he goes, and as we know, Wall-E is not exactly the most
put together or coordinated robot to exist.
Wall-E happens to roll over him multiple times and even EVE shoots at
him, thinking that he would be blown into oblivion, but he still remains completely
in tact. While Wall-E and EVE are away,
the cockroach is patiently waiting for their arrival. He has survived sand storms, rocket launches,
and lack of nutrition even without the help, or not help, of Wall-E.
Wall-E,
like the cockroach, is eternal, or what it seems like in the timeline we are
given. He is the only lone survivor of
all the Wall-E’s that have been created due to his collection of deceased
Wall-E’s spare parts. Unlike the
cockroach, Wall-E does have a lifespan but one that depends on the sun in order
to recharge his battery. The first
accident Wall-E inquires is when he falls from the ceiling after being thrown
up into it by EVE. This is a slow
introduction to his defects to show that he is quickly fixed. At the end of the movie, Wall-E is completely
destroyed and has to be rebuilt by EVE.
Unlike the cockroach, Wall-E cannot pop himself out of the shell and
return to normal, he relies on other robots to fix him and to give him parts.
Both
Wall-E and the cockroach have adapted to a life threatening surrounding and
robots. Wall-E and EVE are the
threatening aspect in the cockroach’s life, shooting and rolling him over while
the cockroach acts like a dog to Wall-E and does not pose any threats on to him
or EVE. EVE, on the other hand, is a
threat to both Wall-E and the cockroach.
Since she is a higher technology, she is able to hurt Wall-E in a way he
is no used to, while she is indestructible.
Even though she hurts both of them, EVE is also able to fix what she has
broken each time, but she herself is never harmed or hurt. These characters continue to be hurt and
fixed but continuously survive no matter where they are placed.
I like the connection you've made with the cockroach and lasting forever. I think the roach is a character often forgotten about even though it can hold great symbolism. The roach is the only truly living thing left on the earth, and the fact that it is alive and its species has maintained after 700 years is remarkable. Perhaps Wall-e could have presented the roach to the captain long before he obtained the plant because it was clearly still finding a way to survive. Additionally, roaches are seen by humans as disgusting creatures, and the fact that it is the only thing left on earth symbolizes the real mess that the humans have left behind.
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