The protagonists of French New Wave films are often anti-authoritarian.

They are usually young,

marginalized from society, and alienated individuals. Considering this, Francois Truffauts, The 400
Blows, with its protagonist, Antoine Doinel, reflects this characteristic of the French New Wave through
the oppression in his school and, ultimately, his desire to escape this oppression. Furthermore, The 400
Blows is also typically French New Wave in its use of naturalism and emotionally centered symbolism.

To begin with, Antoine is a boy who is oppressed by his school instead of being liberated by it - and, on
several occasion, portrays anti-authoritarian behavior towards it. Interestingly enough, while the bas-relief
writing sculpted into the structure of Antoines school reads Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, as the
film progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that these three qualities are, more or less, devoid not only
from Antoines life, but that of other children in the film as well. For instance, as Monsieur Feuille
teaches French to Antoines class, he dictates a poem, expecting every student to note it down word for
word, keeping silent throughout the whole process. Whatever poetic or edifying qualities this poem may
have seems to be more or less lost in the oppressive, perfunctory method through which it is taught.
Instead of being allowed to participate in the activity, Antoine is forced to clean his poetic graffiti off
the classroom wall. In a later sequence, instead of commending Antoines homage to Balzac in an essay
assignment, his teacher labels him as a plagiarist and sends him off for punishment. While plagiarism is,
of course, a serious offense, the viewer of Antoines world, we know his intentions were good. Naturally,
in such an environment, the only place left for Antoine and his fellow classmates to find freedom is
the outside world where they are not governed by the oppressive, authoritarian forces of his education.

On a different note, the French New Wave also uses a unique blend of naturalism and symbolism, often
emphasized through editing. For instance, the first time Antoine is shown at home, Truffaut not only
showcases the disjointed nature of Antoines life as formed by the oppressive adult world around him, he
also portrays this in a naturalistic way editing very little - with rich symbolism. Alone at home, Antoine
carries out various actions as the camera follows him along with limited cuts between. By not cutting the
sequence into several scenes, Truffaut allows for a certain naturalistic flow to the entire sequence a
characteristic of French New Wave editing. Furthermore, carrying out his actions very naturalistically,
Antoine takes the opportunity to steal some cash from his parents he, of course, knows the secret spot.
Getting his hands dirty in the process of lighting a fire, he wipes them clean on a curtain. While such
actions are barely noticeable and slight in nature, they begin to not only reveal who Antoine really is, but
also the unscrupulous - yet forgivable - adolescent that once existed in all of us. Additionally, from these
actions alone, Truffaut begins to establish the steadily growing divide between Antoine and the adult
world. Moving into his parents room, he sits at his mothers vanity table. In front of him are multiple
mirrors reflecting several sides of face. Constantins score once again begins as if to cue in an important
moment. The rich symbolism inherent in this shot suggests that Antoine is a boy whose identity seems to
be fragmented as opposed to being one complete whole. Whether he realizes it or not, he as most
adolescents would be is confused about who is he and what his life means in the midst of crisis; a crisis
that adults of his world only seem to exacerbate. With this sequence and its use of naturalism and
symbolism - Truffaut illustrates several characteristics of the French New Wave.