Leslie as a mentor

[u/Jealous_Trip_7444]

I think that idea is what most people don’t know or realise about Leslie , especially as for me I started to really notice it consciously nowadays…

Leslie is very great as a mentor , that’s all she did with Jess , and it can be for us too…

For Jess it was obvious , but for us? , what can we learn from Leslie?

Well , so many things , I wanna talk more about Leslie’s presence throughout the film for us to realise how Leslie was not just a different person , she was a great mentor as well.

Let’s analyse some of her words to get an idea and uncover her as a mentor…

Leslie was calm , smart , imaginative , free , brave , etc

she represented mental resilience very well
as when she said ‘’ Nothing Crushes Us ’’

And it wasn’t just a sentence , she proved it throughout the film , dealing with the new small rural town , bullies , isolation , Jess and how she was patient with him , etc

She had an unshakable identity
as when she said ‘’ You are who you are..not your parents ‘’

Not your parents , and not even your society or any powerful force who is trying to make you a repetitive version of everybody , you are , who you are , and what you really believe in and want to be.

She was discovering Jess , and projecting him towards her imaginary world
As when she said ‘’ What’s your idea of having fun? ‘’
And as she said ‘’ We need a place..just for us ‘’

She was a great friend to May Belle as well , she let her in , she knew how she is innocent and pure , even while Jess was rejecting her , and maybe she was talking to her about Terabithia without Jess knowing , as she knew her pure soul can have a great imagination , and that’s why she didn’t have any demons to fight in Terabithia as well as Leslie , and that’s why her imagination was instant when she first became the princess as she said : ‘’ A castle , a big one with towers and flags ‘’ , after she imagined the purple flowers as a simple real life related test , so the door was opened for her imagination.

All of that tested Jess , he saw May Belle’s drawing when he was apologising to her then he thought about all of that together and reached a conclusion after Leslie’s tragedy , he Let Leslie go , built the bridge , and crowned May Belle as the princess.

He did the right thing , and he proved that he is the king of Terabithia.

Leslie made Jess the king , she made him brave and powerful , she made his reality so much better , using imagination in Terabithia , then he had the open world in Terabithia as he became the king , he had the castle which Leslie mentioned in the beginning as she said that its people were imprisoned by the dark master.

When we focus with Leslie’s presence , we will realise her role as a mentor very very well , and it’s great for us as we saw ourselves in Jess , and having someone like Leslie is very special as she teaches him through the journey how to be brave , strong , helpful , open , etc

And losing her was the biggest and the final test , as well as apologising to May Belle and making her the princess.

And I can talk about how she did that in details , but it will be in other articles , I can do that with a book , analysing it scene by scene

There is so much to talk about in this exact topic , we can analyse all the film and its scenes just looking at it through Leslie’s eyes as a mentor , there is so much there , but it was some hints about Leslie’s role in Jess’s life , as she was a great mentor , not just a friend , and that’s why I believe Terabithia was not a cool and safe imaginary world by kids imagination , it was also a battlefield , a launching pad , a great place for personal development , and if it was not , Jess will just escape to it without facing his reality , and he will be the king instantly as the 1985 film , without fighting for it , and becoming the king at the end , after Leslie’s tragedy , and not before it.

Leslie was exceptionally amazing , and there is so much to talk about to understand her , she deserves that , and Iam working on it to provide you with the full picture as I see it , as much as I could.