Grace and Nature

The Tree of Life was one of those films that I had difficulty wrapping my head around. I was completely fine until the dinosaurs appeared, and I kept asking myself "what the hell is going on" until the main storyline came back. After thinking about it and letting this particularly strange part of the movie settle in my mind for a little while, I actually think it's one of the most important parts. The director wanted to audience to realize that we are all part of the creation story, and that the struggle between grace and nature happens inside all of us.

Nature versus grace was a main point in the story, with Mrs. O'Brien saying at the beginning of the movie "The nuns taught us there are two ways of life - the way of nature and the way of grace. You have to choose which one to follow". To me it seemed like Mr. O'Brien represented the way of nature,  and his wife represented the way of grace. You can definitely see this distinction through how they treat their sons. They take completely different approaches. Mr. O'Brien uses discipline to teach his sons (especially with Jack) lessons that he thinks they need to learn. Mrs. O'Brien's approach comes majorly comes through in the scene where Mr. O'Brien has to go away on business. She is more forgiving and thinks that love and being gentle and nurturing is more powerful than being authoritative and strict.