5 Hidden Truths Behind Tyler Perry's Acrimony

1. Was it really about the test?

Young Melinda displayed how much she wanted to pass her test, which young Robert offered to assist her. But, I think, it wasn't really about the test. It was about her sisters. First, Melinda described the relationship she had with her mother as "close," which gave me the impression, at least, that she got some sort of meaning out of that relationship. Relationships give meaning to life, and the value we put on our lives and those of others is as a result of the meaning we get from the relationship(s) we have. This relationship she had with her mother, I believe, didn't give her any sense of worth, not to talk of the worth of others. If it did, she wouldn't be trying so hard to be like her sisters. Just look at the way she was mean, at least for a while, towards young Robert when he brought back her papers. The reason, I suspect, she behaved that way was because of the test. You see, the definition(worth) she found in her relationship with her mother didn't truly define her, that's why, I think, she was competing with her sisters for theirs. She thought that she wasn't as smart as her sisters. Many people are like young Melinda: they've found some sort of meaning in life which doesn't give them any unique sense of worth as an individual. Hence, they're always chasing after something or someone that would bring it to them. Meanwhile, you'll never find your uniqueness when chasing somebody's. Young Melinda's relationship with her mother was her only source of meaning, thus, when she died, it made her life utterly meaningless. If what gives meaning to your life is something (or someone) that you know wouldn't last, then it's high time you reexamine it.