Themes in ‘On the Waterfront’

Acceptance

• D & D culture provides acceptance for many• Terry also finds acceptance in ‘The Golden

Warriors’• Edie and Father Barry, perhaps guided by

Christian principals, do not accept the culture• End sequence- Terry is rejected after the court

case but is finally accepted by workers after ‘The Walk’

• Edie- is she worried about acceptance?

Goodness

• Edie “with patience and kindness” represents goodness. “everybody is a part of everybody else”. Wants to be a teacher.

• Does she want to change Terry?

• Father Barry “There is light”• K.O.Dugan- does he know

right from wrong? Why him?• Charley- “It’s not your night”

but shares the winnings with Terry- good or bad?• What/who else represents goodness in the film?

Respect

• Is respect self-perpetuating?• How does Detective Glover get Terry talking?• Tommy and Terry- respect? • Do the longshore men respect Father Barry?

Terry?• Pop Doyle- is he respected? Does he deserve

to be?

ConscienceBeginning:• Longshoremen- D &D blocks conscience• Father Barry- conscience awakened “who ever

heard of a saint hiding in a church?”Later:• Longshoremen- “if He don’t work we don’tWork”• Father Barry, to Terry “how much is your soul worth” “You’ve got Some other brothers”• Question: Is everyone’s individual conscience the

same?

Loyalty

• This is a major theme in the film• Edie’s loyalty to Joey is a driving force. It makes

her courageous and infects others• Is Terry showing loyalty to Edie through his

confession?• The mob- a mixture of fear and loyalty is the

glue that sticks them togeether• Charley- loyal to Terry?• Pop- loyal to Joey?

Courage• Edie- naturally courageous?• Terry- needed courage to be a boxer. Loses courage

(why? Too kind to succeed in boxing?) but regains it• Father Barry- helps people find courage- who?• Is courage something innate (natural) or can it be

taught? (mentor) • How is courage

linked to respect?• How is courage

linked to anger?

Justice

• Is justice the same for everyone?The mobFather BarryThe policeTommy “pigeon for a pigeon”Edie• How are Edie’s ideas of justice at the start and at

the end of the film different?• Do the workers get justice in the end?

Realism in ‘On the Waterfront’

What makes the film seem so real?

• Location: mise en scene- the New Jersey docks. What other locations are memorable?

• Black and White: suits the mood of the film• Slang: pigeon, bum, cheese-eater, rat, canary, dummy-up,

goof-off, D & D, stooling, juicehead…• Double negative: “he won’t take no loans” (JP)“if I was wise I wouldn’t be no longshoreman for for 32 years” (Kayo) Why is this realistic? Why does Father Barry use no double negs? Edie: “I didn’t day I didn’t love you”- powerful• Marlon Brando: method acting