Character Map : Helmuuuuut!

Helmut´s Mask

In the beginning of the scene we can see a disorientated man, lost in New York City. During the first minutes you can observe that Helmut is a taxi driver that might not even had a costumer yet, so he is desperate to earn some money. But as the Character Map says, this is just a mask the character uses, because by the end of the “chapter” Helmut explain that he need the money, but money is not the important thing. At first I glance Helmut as the man whose target is to earn money, but the real thing is that he wants to belong to New York City. He has no family, so he ponders that New York City is his new family, which is why he needs to fit on it.

But the greatest misconception we have about Helmut is that he was a happy foreign clown, because that is what he is so hard trying to project . Helmut seems to be running from something before America, he does not want to resemble a sad and aggressive person that feels completely lost and alone in this new country, in this new life. 

Helmut´s Fear

We only get to see a part of Helmut’s life, a not fundamental moment of his life. Helmut seems to be afraid of not fitting into New York City  and the feeling you get when you are lost. 
Another fear that seems to be a noise maker is the fact that he is afraid of being alone. We know this because he shows sorrow when Yoyo asks him about his family, and he answers no. When Yoyo picks up Angela we can observe a certain nostalgic feeling in Helmut, as if he was missing something great. 

Helmut´s Strongest Traits

He is a very confident person, he does not care what others think about his former profession. Helmut used to be a clown in eastern Germany and both Yoyo and Angela diminish him because of his job, but Helmut admits he used to be a clown with great pride, and shows how great he is at making people laugh. He said that he was free to leave his hometown in order to come and start a whole new life, those kind of decisions take courage and self-confidence. He seems to me humble, gentle, and kind. 

Helmut´s Most Admired Traits

He admires the explosiveness that Angela displays all through the scene. Helmut admires her beauty and her strength, both are admirable traits in anyone. He continuously praises Angela's beauty, even when she might not seem to beautiful to everyone's eye. His real appreciation for Angela's beauty is her personality. Angela is the kind of girl that feels free to do whatever she wants. Angela wants to demonstrate herself that she can put up a fight to anyone. This is what Helmut admires the most, the fighter inside Angela, a person that is able to put up a fight against the big scary city. 
He admires family and the feeling of belonging, and how family members protect each other. We can see him gazing at how Yoyo and Angela interact. 

Helmut´s Trouble Traits

He is an upbeat person in his pursue of fitting into a new style, a new world, New York City, but he is so naive and ignorant  that he does not realize the danger that surrounds him. At the end of the scene, Helmut is proud of himself that he puts his clown nose on and gets distracted, taking the wrong turns that would get him back to New York downtown.
He does not seem to be willing to leave the past behind, although he appears to be doing it by becoming a taxi driver and not a clown, his past is buried in a little trunk inside the car, a huge sign that he is not being able to forget who he was before. 

Helmut´s Dark Side

We do not really get to see much of his personality, but we can infer that his dark side has something to do with him being alone, we do not know why he is alone in this huge new town, he seems to be upset when Yoyo asks him about his family, by the tone of his voice and his gestures we can to the understanding hat nothing good will come out of this subject. 
When Yoyo picks Angela up, Helmut realizes that Yoyo protects Angela because they are somewhat related; this is what Helmut envies, family and companionship. 


Helmut clashes with the mocking personality of Yoyo. When Yoyo mocks Helmut´s name, we can see him as upset. But then the dark side of Helmut emerge when he mocks now about Yoyo's name. Helmut used to be a clown, or maybe he is a clown ho now drives a cab; anyway Helmut knows the difference between making someone laugh and mocking at someone. This is the side of Yoyo's personality he disliked; but Helmut wants to fit in the New York City so he will not  criticize Yoyo's behavior.