well, its pretty obvious, percy is like a christ figure here, and when eli lays his hands over her, its like the baptism of christ.

Please tell me where you got this information?

no but the writers gave him that name in symbolism to john the baptist

No, Percy explained she called him Johnny B in reference to the song Johnny B Good.

just in case nobody caught this, johnny b. was called that as a reference to john the baptist

please read bkamberger's entry above.
many veterans, especially when ostracised/alienated by those back home, will return to the last environment that they felt comfortable living in. As many Viet Vets served in the jungle, i suspect that's why Eli lived in the woods.

Ok, so let me get this straight..
Eli went to war, came back, and his father threw him out (why?)
then the only place he had to go was in the forest? Why?
Why didnt he come back when his father died?

PERCY'S unborn child that died. Eli was Hannah's son that went MIA but came around for the bread, sorry about that miscommunication.

johnny b. was also the name she gave to her unborn child, and she just called eli that because he wouldn't say anything to her.

Wow - there was a stage musical version? Brilliant! I adore this movie, and I'm intrigued by the notion that more information was provided about Eli.
It was enough for me in the film version to assume it was most likely shell-shock that caused Eli's 'condition' - as it's told through Shelby's comment to Percy: "Hannah never told me the what the official story was, but after a few years, it was pretty clearhe wasn't coming back."
Either way - or a combination of both - this isn't a simple movie with cookie-cutter characters. I've watched it several times, and I always notice something new that I hadn't noticed before about it.
I always wondered if there was a 'Director's Cut' of this film, but I guess the stage production might be the best source for 'deleted scenes'!

in the stage musical version, Hannah specifically tells us he deserted. Like many things, it's not explicitly stated in the film, but this scenario would make Eli's and Hannah's behavior toward each other more understandable, and I suspect the actors used this as subtext.

Why would you think that Eli deserted? They never say anything remotely like that in the movie.
I believe he had PTSD (shell shock) after the war and that's why his mother wanted money to get help for him.

Eli deserted. It's never made clear when or why, but I'd assume he did so after seeing some atrocities committed by American troops. He came back home, but his father, a WWII war hero, threw him out and died of shame shortly thereafter, causing Hannah to be even more resentful. The guilt for all these things was obviously too much for a pure-hearted soul like Eli. Fortunately, Hannah and Eli were eventually able to reconcile and start down the road of recovery, albeit at a terrible price.

I had a question about Eli too. I knew that he was her son but I understood his condition like being what I seem to hear a lot about people that come back from veitnam Shell Shock. Was that what he was supposed to be like and is that the refferance to what Hannah says that she wanted some of the money for to help him? Thanks Just wondering

He went to Viet Nam but never really came back.

Thanks, I missed that!

Hannah's son