Summary
In the movie Leave no Trace, the protagonist is a veteran with PTSD living with his teen daughter in the woods, hiding away from civilization. They’ve adapted to this way of living and have gone unnoticed for a long time, until one day, a passerby spots the daughter from a distance and reports his sighting to the authorities. A search team is sent to locate these suspicious people and head straight to the father and daughter’s makeshift home. Though they tried to run, they were eventually caught and taken into a rehabilitation institution.
The daughter is confused but complies with hopes of seeing her father again, but the father is defeated and refuses to go along with the program. After a while, the father and daughter are put together again and let go. Except now, they must live in a home provided to them by the organization and must abide by some rules and meet some requirements to maintain this new style of living. The daughter quickly adjusts and complies, but again, the father wants no part in this. After a while, he packs their belongings, leaving the home abruptly to head back into the wilderness.
This happens a few more times throughout the movie, where the daughter is completely fine with living their new lifestyle and in a new location as long as she’s with her father. But the father refuses to have help from any outside sources, or make connections with anyone other than his daughter. The dilemma is that the two keep getting lucky and help comes to them when they need it, but the father rejects it and instantly reverts to their old ways of living, which are not ideal the safety and development of the both. However, the other factor that plays into this cycle is the fathers trauma which makes him extremely untrusting.
- I would follow my conscience: I would say this is what he did in the movie. Because of his PTSD, he was untrusting and couldn’t bring himself to accept anyone’s “help”. He was determined to go back to the woods because that was home to him, even if it meant letting go of his daughter.
- I don’t know what I would do: If Will had become truly lost and had no idea of what to do, I believe he would have given the lead to his daughter, Tom is the only person Will trusts and he never wanted them to split up. He also shows how much faith he has in her abilities in the beginning of the movie when they were living alone, and even frequently praises her after they’ve been relocated.
- I would do whatever would improve my own situation: If he didn’t want to stick with the program, he would have figured out a way to face the world and become a contributing member of society again. He would get a job that provides a steady and reliable income to support himself and his daughter. This would improve his situation by having the chance to get a roof over his head, provide security for his daughter, and even remove the outlaw title from his name.
- I Would Do What God or the Scriptures Say Is Right: If he was a religious guy, I think he would believe that they were given new opportunities for a reason, and God gave them a fresh start to better their life. So he would have kept going with the program or stuck with the people they found in the small community (after he hurt his leg) because “God saved him”.
- I Would Do Whatever Made Me Happy: He would keep living in the woods with his daughter and never go back into regular civilization.
- I would follow the advice of an authority figure: The authority figures are the people in the program who provided him the new home because he could only maintain the house if he abided by their rules. They wanted him to stay put and do the tasks he was given, plus enroll the daughter into a school, so this is what he would have done.
- I would do what’s best for everyone: Going along with the program and adapting to their new life would be best for everyone, including himself. The daughter would get a proper education and have the chance to make friends like a regular teen. He would get the mental help he needs, along with other rehabilitative resources to heal. And no one would complain about them illegally living on private property or doing wrong (selling drugs for money).
My Own Decision
It’s complicated to put myself in the father’s shoes as I don’t know what it’s like to live with PTSD, so taking this into account- I believe I wouldn’t know what to do and I would rely on my loved one. It’s easy to feel lost when your life suddenly takes a complete turn. However, another factor in this is the daughter’s age. If I were with “my (young) daughter”, I wouldn’t want to put all that responsibility on her and I would feel I need to be the one to protect her, not the other way around. So, I would most likely eventually do what’s best for everyone and follow the program, getting the resources I need to heal even if it’s difficult, because I know that I’ll become someone capable of providing my daughter a fulfilling and healthy life.
