The Grand Gesture

Cyrano demonstrates a life filled with "grand gestures", proving to be a selfless and compassionate man. He says that he "wears his adornments upon his soul", meaning that he does not feel the need to impress society with flashy clothing or expensive possesions. He creates his image without thoughts of society's opinions and makes decisions with others always in mind. He has the incredible ability to honestly stop thinking about himself. Cyrano is able to keep his composure at all times and keep confident because of his internal abilities. His ability to believe in himself and put others first make him a selfless and very socially aware individual. I think the biggest "grand gesture" is probably the way he keeps quiet about his love for Roxanne for so long. He continuously visits her, for years as a "news reporter", creating a very difficult situation for himself. He sees her so often, listens to Roxanne gush about the amazing writing abilities of her deseased lover, and still is able to keep his composure. He is too gentle of a man to break her fragile heart. The first gesture that was presented in the play is when he gives away all of his money to pay back the audience of Montfleury's show. He has the compassion of no one else in his time, and although he has a major physical set back, he surely makes up for it with his actions. This is a clear example of "actions speak louder than words" Although Cyrano uses his words and his language to move forward in many situations, the fact that he actually pushes past his own emotions to help out a friend demonstrate the strongest action known: caring. His grand gesture can be debated endlessly about the many actions and sentiments he creates among friends and enemies, yet his one true grand gesture is left undefined. He is an understatement in himself. He is modest and timid in all the right moments, and knows when it is appropriate to seperate his own emotions from real life problems. His gesture is an emotional one : Cyrano knows how to put others first, to keep honesty in mind (slight specific moments) and continuously proves himself a hero without truly acknowledging it.