The Theme of "Mud"

            What is “Mud” really about? The answer to this question ought to give us the theme of the movie.

            In the first place, why is Mud called Mud, and why is the movie named after him? Tom Blankenship, the one person besides Juniper who has known him since he was a boy, says he didn’t have a daddy and nobody knows if he had a mama. He seems to have come into existence when Juniper saved him from snake bite by rushing him to the hospital. This happened when he was the age Ellis and Neckbone are now.

            We have two clues. One is the common expression, “or my name is mud.” The other is the muddy pit that Ellis falls into at the bottom of which are writhing, black snakes. Mud has a snake tattooed on his body. He has murdered the man who impregnated Juniper and then pushed her down the stairs, causing her to miscarry and possibly taking away her ability to have another baby. He says the man deserved to die. He himself isn’t a violent man, nor is he a snake. He’s neither treacherous nor cunning. He’s a creature of instinct, a survivor. In the human social world, he is a stupid, worthless creature like the snakes. Still, he makes a connection with Ellis. He saves his life by rushing him to the clinic; he sneaks into his bedroom to say goodbye—this puts the boy in danger when a vigilante posse opens fire on Mud; Mud throws Ellis to the floor and saves his life again.

            How does Ellis get himself into the middle of all this? How does his life become so entangled with Mud’s? (What happens when you fall into a viper’s pit?) It starts when he and Neckbone meet Mud on the island and Mud asks them to get him some food. He is hungry. Neckbone wants to be rid of the problem. Ellis says he’ll do it because “it’s the right thing to do.” There’s an interesting contrast between Ellis and Neckbone. Neckbone is always the one to bring up the topic of sex, while Ellis is circumspect in this area; Neckbone frequently uses the word “shit,” while Ellis never swears.

            Ellis is a dutiful boy, trying to be on time for his job of helping his father deliver packages of frozen catfish. His father is the kind of man who says, “Life is hard. That’s why I make you work hard.” Further, Ellis’ parents teach him to be law-abiding; they instruct him to return the outboard motor he and Neckbone have stolen (which turns out to be impossible). In contrast to Mud’s boyhood story, Ellis is being raised to be a man of worth.

            I think the theme of the movie, the idea that unifies it, the emotional center that anybody in the audience can identify with, is based on the fact of Mud’s existence. Mud puts Ellis’ life and his budding integrity in danger, yet they become friends.  The viewer asks: what does it take to be a person of worth?

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