Loretta Polk
Mrs. Lorna Ivey
English Comp. I
3, March 2014
Maximus’ Death
Gladiator is a movie about a beloved General of Rome named Maximus. He is informed by the aging emperor, Marcus Aurelius, that he would like Maximus to be his heir. However, the emperor’s son Commodus overhears this and becomes furious. Commodus wanted the position himself; he killed his father before he could inform the empire of his decision about Maximus. Commodus became the new emperor and orders Maximus’s and his family to be put to death. Maximus escapes to find his home destroyed and his wife and son burnt to death. Maximus’s loss causes him to lose the will to continue living and gets him captured and put into the Gladiator games. His only desire now is to rise to the top so that he might be able to look into the eyes of the man who killed his family and obtain his revenge (Terry). The emperor, Commodus, has become so sinister that he even threatens to kill Lucius, his sister Lucilla’s son; believing that him and his sister can have what he call a “pure blood child” together. Commodus hears that the people of Rome see Maximus as the savior of Rome. This makes Commodus furious and leads him to conjure up a plan to kill Maximus. Commodus decides to fight Maximus in the Roman Coliseum and kill him in front of all of Rome. He cheats and punctures Maximus’s lung with a hidden shank before the fight is started.
Commodus wears white, Royal Armor, while Maximus wears gladiator armor with an encrusted chest plate. During the course of the epic battle they both become exhausted and end up losing their swords. The audience roars in excitement, waiting to see will happen next. Commodus attempts to retrieve a sword from his General Quintus. When Quintus refuses to give him his sword, Commodus tries to demand a sword from one of the soldiers that are positioned in a circle around him and Maximus. Quintus orders them all to sheath their swords. Commodus pulls a hidden blade, while Maximus fights back using hand to hand combat. Maximus finally manages to stab Commodus in the throat with his own blade. With blood on Commodus’s face, he begins to fall to his knees starring Maximus in the eyes. As Maximus looks back at him, he pulls the blade from Commodus’s neck. Commodus falls to the ground and dies.
Commodus lays upon the arena floor, which has red flowers scattered across it by the audience prior to the battle. The audience goes silent as Maximus begins to stumble back in a daze of weakness. The wound that was giving to him by Commodus before the battle has caused too much blood loss. His punctured lung has made it harder for him to breath throughout the fight. In the audience we see Lucilla looking down toward Maximus; she wears golden, royal attire and beautiful gold, dangling ear rings with pearls in them. Emotions begin to sore, as you see tears of joy and sadness come to her eyes. She is happy her brother, Commodus, is dead. Although she is sad that Maximus is dying as well. The audience still looks down in awe and silence. Maximus begins to slowly stumble away from Commodus’s body. Lucius arises from his seat, wearing black, royal attire trimmed in a silver beaded design. Maximus is his hero and he can see that Maximus is dying. They all watch as Maximus fades into a daydream like state.
An old brick wall, with crumbled pieces missing from most of the bricks, appears to Maximus. Along the wall grass grows so tall it limps over from its own weight. He can see a tall, wooden door built into the wall with two rusted, circular door handles. He approaches the door as a beautiful, heavenly song begins to grow loader. With blood on his hand, Maximus reaches out to push the doors open. Inside he sees the path to his home lined with tall cedar trees blowing in the wind. Maximus manages to slightly smile as he takes in such a beautiful site. “Maximus,” Quintus calls out. Maximus stumbles back into reality. “Maximus,” Quintus says once again, trying to get Maximus’s attention. “Quintus, free my men,” Maximus finally manages to say as he stumbles with blood on the back of his leg. Maximus continues, “Senator Gracchus is to be reinstated. There was a dream that was Rome, it shall be realized. These are the wishes of Marcus Aurelius.” Quintus turns to some of his soldiers still standing in a circle and orders them to free the prisoners. Two of the soldiers leave the circle to do as they were commanded.
Maximus begins to fade back into his daydream like state. This time walking through a field of wheat. Running his fingers over the blades of wheat as he walks. The music continues to play as he looks into the distance ahead of him. Ahead he sees his deceased wife and son, waiting for him on a path. He falls backwards, and hits the ground hard as Lucilla, who now in the arena with him, runs toward him. Everyone still stands in silence and Lucius slowly approaches from behind. Lucilla kneels down and says, “Maximus!” their eyes meet. “Lucius is safe,” says Maximus as Lucilla nods in agreement with tears falling from her eyes. Maximus looks at her in silence trying to be strong. Lucilla can see that he is dying and says, “Go to them.” Maximus looks at her in amazement that she knows he has seen his family. Then Maximus, feeling relieved, fades away to his death.
As if floating across the ground, he drifts back to seeing his wife and son. They are waiting for him along the path. His son has his hand over his brow, looking for his father. Unable to hear anything but the beautiful music, his wife whispers in his son’s ear. Smiling, she signals him to go to his father. She gently pushes their son towards his father. She stands smiling, placing her hand above her brow. His son runs along the path towards him. Still walking through the field of wheat, at distance from them, Maximus slowly approaches them. Still kneeled over Maximus’s body, Lucilla runs her fingers over his eyes to close them. Lucius stands behind them as he watches his mother place her hand to her head, crying. Proximo and the other gladiators begin to approach from behind as Lucilla arises. She looks around toward the men and says, “Is Rome worth one good man’s life? We believed it once. Make us believe it again.” Proximo begins to approach Maximus’s body as Lucilla continues to speak even louder. “He was a soldier of Rome. Honor him,” she demands. Proximo ask, “Who will help me carry him?” Juba, Lucius, Quintus, and other Gladiators approach to help lift Maximus’ body off the ground. Lucilla watches as they carry Maximus out of the arena. They walk past the Roman soldiers who are now aligned at the exit of the arena. They leave the arena with Commodus’ body still lying upon the arena floor.
An amazing story, with an amazing ending. A story of a General who became a slave, a slave who became a Gladiator, and a Gladiator who died defying an evil emperor. Maximus’s death was a very emotional event, filled with sorrow and sadness due to his death. Yet there is a since of happiness for him being reunited with his family in the afterlife. There is also a since of piece now that Commodus is dead. This all makes the heart race with emotions. The story of Maximus in the movie Gladiator is an amazing story. A story full of adventure, action, and drama. A story that will tug at your heart strings. Even though I revealed the ending, I would still recommend you to watch it. It is just one of those movies that everyone should see at least once. Work Cited

Terry, Chris. Gladiator IMDB. n.d. .