Tools of Characterization

Characterization in Die Hard

Clothing

We've got a little something to say about John McClane's ill-fated tank top in our "Symbols, Imagery, Allegory" section, so you can click on over there to see more. Other examples of the way in which Die Hard uses clothing to clue us in on characters include:

• Hans Gruber's suave-as-heck suit. He's got a wool overcoat to go with.
• Gruber and Takagi discuss designer suits on their elevator ride.
• Eddie-the-fake-security guard's cowboy boots clue us in to the fact that he's down-home Texan.
• Theo's got on a rather cozy-looking sweater to match his, um, cozy personality.
• Sergeant Al Powell's uniform reminds us that he's a regular Joe kind of cop, whereas Chief Robertson's tweed blazer means he's a suit—not a man of the streets.

It's not that Die Hard uses clothing as a system of complex symbolism. But subtle details about a character's dress—even the minor characters—can clue you in to what kind of person you're dealing with and help you distinguish that person from everyone else.

Dialogue

Hans Gruber speaks in a composed tone with erudite, polished diction. John McClane? Not so much. He's a wisecracking one-liner machine. While Gruber hardly ever swears, McClane drops curse words like they're going out of style.

Take, for example, their famous dialogue over the radio, in which Gruber and McClane discuss cowboy westerns and old Hollywood flicks:

Gruber: I assume you are our mysterious party crasher. You are most troublesome for a security guard.

McClane: [Makes a buzzer noise] Sorry, Hans, wrong guess. Would you like to go for double jeopardy where the scores can really change?

Gruber: Who are you then?

McClane: Just a fly in the ointment, Hans. A monkey in the wrench. A pain in the ass.

Gruber: Mr. Mystery Guest, are you still there?

McClane: Yeah, I'm still here. Unless you want to open the front door for me.

Gruber: I'm afraid not. But you have me at a loss. You know my name, but who are you? Just another American who saw too many movies as a child? Another orphan of a bankrupt culture who thinks he's John Wayne, Rambo, Marshall Dillon?

McClane: I was always partial to Roy Rogers, actually. I really liked those sequined shirts.

Gruber: Do you really think you have a chance against us, Mr. Cowboy?

McClane: Yippee-ki-yay, m***********. 

For a more thorough analysis of this dialogue, you can check out John McClane's character analysis, but for now, let us just point out that these two talk like exact opposites. Hans is polished, refined even, in his diction and syntax. Plus, even while he's insulting McClane, he still calls him "Mister." How very polite.

McClane, however, calls Gruber a "m***********" and litters his dialogue with slangy colloquialisms. So not only are these two on opposite sides of the movie's central conflict, they're also on opposite sides of the cultural spectrum. Gruber's high culture bumps up against McClane's low culture.

Actions

Since it's an action movie and all, Die Hard is built on a pretty standard good-versus-evil structure. The good guys do good things; the bad guys do bad things. Here's the long and short of it:

Good Guys:

• John McClane spends the entire movie trying to save innocent people from getting shot or blown up by a bunch of money-grubbing criminals.
• Sergeant Al Powell stands by John McClane, and his loyalty helps McClane persevere. Plus, he gets rid of Karl to protect McClane and his wife.
• Takagi won't betray his company by giving Gruber the password to the vault.
• Holly protects her people and decks the smarmy, opportunistic reporter for putting her children in danger.
• Argyle handles Theo with a little limousine magic.

Bad Guys:

• Hans Gruber leads a team of trained criminals in a massive heist scheme, endangering (and killing) innocent people in the process.
• Karl tries to kill John on multiple occasions, including aiming a machine gun at him and his wife.
• All the other Gruber groupies shoot at, threaten, or otherwise harm innocent people, including our hero.

Less-Bad Guys:

• The police chief doubts McClane, and generally makes terrible decisions that do nobody any good.
• FBI agents Johnson and Johnson endanger civilians—and John McClane—when they shoot at the Nakatomi Plaza roof from their helicopter.
• Harry Ellis provokes Hans to kill him through sheer ego.