What is the significance of this line from We Need to Talk About Kevin?
At the end of "We Need to Talk About Kevin" (2011), Kevin's mother tells him she wants to know why he did what he did.
He responds:
I used to think I knew. Now I'm not so sure.
What is the purpose of this line? It feels like it is meant to have some broader significance to the story beyond its surface value.
The scene can be seen here starting at about 8:45
Best Answer
This line from Kevin sums up the clear lack of a motive for Kevin’s actions throughout the film (and the book). The book and film is based around the nature/nurture debate - did Kevin grow into a murderer or was he a psycho from the get go? Ultimately it is left to the reader to decide.
It would be a relief to get some kind of resolution at the end of the film but no resolution is allowed. We (the viewer) will have to live with the horror, confusion and unanswered questions the same way Eva does and those affected by his terrible actions.
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What is the meaning behind We Need to Talk About Kevin?
Nature refers to how they were born, while nurture refers to how they were raised. "We Need to Talk About Kevin" leans into that debate, showcasing a resentful mother, a passive father, and a child with an untreated mental illness. Of course, that mental illness is presumed by viewers.What happened to Kevin in We Need to Talk About Kevin?
Eva sold the family home to pay for legal expenses, but in order to be near Claverack Juvenile Correctional Facility where Kevin is incarcerated, she lives in the same town and is shunned by the community. She regularly visits Kevin in prison, where they have a cold relationship.What was Kevin diagnosed with in We Need to Talk About Kevin?
In the clinical psychological setting, common traits are diagnosed as Antisocial Personality Disorder. Symptoms include grandiosity, lack of remorse or guilt, need for stimulation, impulsivity and poor behavioral controls. The illness is diagnosed using a test called The Psychopathic Personality Inventory.We Need To Diagnose Kevin - A Psychological Analysis
More answers regarding what is the significance of this line from We Need to Talk About Kevin?
Answer 2
I think his answer has to do with the change in his mother, earlier in the movie when she is visiting him they talk about the scar on his arm and he says it's the only honest thing you ever did.
He seemed to always be trying to get a reaction out of her. He knew that she resented him she even said it to him as a child I could be in France right now instead she is with him.
I always felt like he was trying to get her to admit that she hated him and her resentment towards him cause him to resent her to the point he wanted to make him suffer. But after he murders all those people and even when she is suffering the way he wanted, she still came to see him all the time.
He gave her the chance for her to truly show her hatred towards him but she didn't and I think that's what made him question his reason for doing it. Also I think it was his last test to see if she would finally say it but instead she hugs him.
Answer 3
Kevin hated his middleclass privilege, his mothers bourgeoisie attitude, the tedium of having whatever wants. He wanted a hard life. But at the end the film he bears the physical and mental scars of his time in juvenile prison and is facing the prospect of being moved into adult prison - he is afraid but this is the closest he can come to saying he regrets his actions.
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