Still of Hunter McCracken in The Tree of Life.

Throughout the film, Jack struggles to reconcile the differences in his parents' teachings. While Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien clearly represent opposite ways of life, Jack falls in the middle of the sepctrum as he tries to discover his own path and spirituality. By focusing on Jack's struggle, Malick gently explores a crisis of faith that makes his character universal.

Malick quickly establishes Jack's innocence through the costuming, lighting, and cinematography. When Jack is born, the room is bright and the characters are all in white (38:36 -38:46). Immediately, the viewer is immersed in a pure world. As Jack ages, the film becomes more colorful, and the scenes are shot from a low angle. For example, when the mother is interacting with the butterfly, the cinematography suggests we are watching from Jack's point of view (41:30 - 41:52). The camera looks up at the mother, allowing the viewer to experience the world through a child's perspective. These elements of the film establish a lens of innocence with which the viewer is meant to interpret the religious aspects.

Because the audience is immersed in Jack's persepctive, we grow along with him. In his article, "'Love Everything': Cinema and Belief in Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life," Robbert Sinnerbrink argues that Jack strives to "rediscover the glory that imbues the world and nature with love and light" (101). We follow Jack as he searches for that wonder in the world. While he tries to understand the discrepencies in his parents' teachings, he begins to question the existence of a God, which is treated as a universal experience.

Jack does his questioning through many instances of reverant voiceovers throughout the film. In one scene, Jack begins a prayer with the plea for God to help him be good, but soon digresses and asks who God is. He whispers questions like "where do you live?" and "are you watching me?" (57:41 - 58:49). These inquiries suggest Jack's confusion of how he should act -- do grace and nature really matter if God's not watching? 

Soon Jack begins to experience his first losses of innocence. In one scene, he sees a boy drown. In another, he stares at a boy who was severely burned in a house fire. He asks God, "Why should I be good if you aren't?" (1:14:36 - 1:14:43). These questions reflect Jack's situation, but are not exclusive to his experiences. The ambiguity allows Malick to prompt viewers to find the answers to these questions themselves.