Indiana Jones approaches finding truth throughout the movie different to that of his father. In the first scene of the movie, Indy is seen trying to play hero as he steals the Cross of Coronado from grave robbers since he believed this special artifact should be in a museum. After stealing this he runs straight home to his father who instead of giving time to Indy, continues his religious research. The grave robbers tell the police that Indy is the thief therefore Indy must return the Cross of Coronado to the grave robbers. , Indy is on the boat that holds the Cross of Coronado and wins it back in a big storm. He then donates the Cross of Coronado to his friend’s museum, Marcus Brody. Indy’s perseverance is driven by his reason and logic in this instant. He truly believes that since the Cross of Coronado is an ancient artifact, it should belong to society thus be put in a museum for everyone to own/see. He fights the grave robbers for this because his reasoning and logic allows him to become emotional about finding the truth, in case which is the Cross of Coronado. Later on in the book, Indiana Jones is told his father disappeared therefore his emotion forces him to go on a quest to find his father. His emotion coupled with logic and reason leads him to his father’s location. Indy’s logic is shown as he reads his father’s diary which helps Indy guide himself to his father. His emotion is clearly illuminated when he invades the Nazi rally to capture his father instead of devising a plan that would provide more safety for both he and his father. Towards the very end of the movie, Indiana Jones must combine faith and emotion to save his father. This is exhibited when Walter Donovan shoots his father, therefore forcing Indy to retrieve the Holy Grail in order to save his father. Once of the obstacles that Indy must overcome in order to reach the Holy Grail is walking on an invisible bridge, which tests his faith. After he saves his father, Indy again shows his reason and logic as instead of reaching for the Holy Grail and risking his own life, he lets the Holy Grail go and saves himself along with his father and Marcus Brody. Indiana Jones exhibits reason, logic, and faith when achieving and attaining “truth” which in the movie is the Cross of Coronado and the Holy Grail.
Indy’s father on the other hand, is a firm believer in faith therefore uses faith and emotion to achieve the “truth” in relation to him. In the beginning of the movie, Dr. Jones Sr.’s faith is demonstrated when Indy come to show his father the Cross of Coronado and his father will not speak to Indy because he is drawing religious figures and symbols in his diary which is his main source of knowledge for the rest of the movie. This scene where Dr. Jones Sr. is drawing religious symbols in his diary shows his devotion to faith and scholarly personality. Once Indy searches for his father, the diary serves as the most important tool because it contains a map with which Indy finds his father and then also contains the three secrets to finding the Holy Grail. Dr. Jones Sr.’s primary reason for finding the Holy Grail was based on his religious faith. The intelligence of Indy’s father is solely based on his religious faith which is then communicated in his diary. Another major way of knowing that Indy’s father uses is language, may it be images, symbols, and words, which is shown in his diary. He combines his faith and language to create a diary with the answers that Indiana Jones needs to find his father and the Holy Grail. The emotion of Dr. Jones Sr. enters the movie when he is held hostage by the Nazi’s. His hatred of the Nazi’s makes him want to find the Holy Grail faster before the Nazi’s. He couples his emotion with faith in order to guide his son to finding the Holy Grail and saving his life.
The differing ways in accumulating the “truth” for Indiana Jones and his father exhibit the idea that one can come to the same conclusion while taking different paths. Dr. Jones Sr. took the conventional path to finding the Holy Grail while Indiana Jones took the new innovative way of thinking to find the Holy Grail in addition to his father’s guidance.
