Drive: "There's No Good Sharks?"

Ryan Gosling's character in Drive, the driver, has only one goal; to escape the bad expectations set upon him as a criminal and become a hero. When the driver meets Irene and Benicio, he sees a opportunity to become a good person by helping them. Throughout the film, the driver encounters multiple people and events that bring back the violent criminal side of him. One example would be wear the driver brutally murders the hit man after him when he and Irene are in the elevator. Earlier on the film, Benicio and the driver are watching cartoons. The driver asks Benicio whether or not a shark featured in the cartoon is a "good guy." Benicio responds by saying he isn't, and that there are no good sharks. At first glance, this scene seems pointless, but in actuality is a metaphor for the driver's character struggle in the film. The driver is a "shark", or a bad guy, and is trying his best to become a real human being and a real hero. By asking whether or not the shark is a good guy, it is almost like he is asking Benicio if he thinks of him as a good guy.