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‘On the Waterfront shows that understanding oneself is key to moral development.’ Do you agree?

In his classic film On the Waterfront, Elia Kazan demonstrates how his protagonist develops in key scenes, portraying that only after periods of soul-searching and self-realisations that an individual can find redemption by doing what they believes is right with new found clarity. It is through the compassion and love of Father Barry and Edie Doyle that allow Terry to truly differentiate his own moral values from the incongruously rough masculine codes enforced by Johnny Friendly. Ultimately, it is Terry’s journey from a man who misguidedly understands the importance of ‘standing with the right people, so you have a little change jinglin’ in your pocket’ to one who understands the peace of mind that comes along with greater moral truth, that makes up the basis of the film.

In the corrupt world of Hoboken longshoremen, under the ruthless authority of Friendly, Kazan quickly establishes Terry’s role as ‘the kid brother of Charley the Gent’. In the opening scenes, Kazan validates the initial uneasiness of Terry’s conscience towards the murder of Joey Doyle and his involvement by saying ‘I thought they was only gonna lean on him a little’. It is here that it becomes evident that despite Terry’s burdening conscience that he is still able to remain a tool of Johnny Friendly as he stays ‘D ‘n D’. In Terry’s personal determination to remain uninvolved in the dramas of life on the waterfront his values and beliefs struggle to remain in line with those of Johnny Friendly and his goons. Suffering from moral confusion Terry’s values become profoundly contradictive in which despite becoming morally unhinged following the death of Joey Doyle and the violence he witnessed in the Church he claims his philosophy of life to be ‘do it to him, before he does it to you’. It is while Terry struggles to maintain his contradictive values; he subconsciously knows to be wrong, that he meets Edie and Father Barry, who provide him with moral homilies and life-altering ethics.

In his associations with Edie and Father Barry, Terry – although increasingly hesitant to become involved – is able to move forward with his life. Edie’s influence and forgiveness of his role in her brother’s murder, her love and her unwavering belief that he is capable of ‘much much more’ gives Terry the courage to not only forgive himself but also face the corruption he’s adamantly turned a blind eye to. Father Barry, on the other hand, is able to on several occasions, allow Terry to see for himself that ‘it is the love for a buck’ alone that permits Johnny a comfortable reign which wouldn’t be the case if he ‘stood up for the truth’.  It is when Father Barry openly denounces the actions of the corrupt waterfront union before soundless longshoremen and a domineering mob after the brutal death of Kayo Dugan that a cut to an uneasy Terry shows that he too is engulfed with guilt at the continuous brutality on the waterfront. As Terry silences Tullio with a blow to the head, a malignant goon of Friendly, his first truly independent action lacking direction from anyone, is registered by both Charley and Friendly. Cementing Terry’s conflicting conscience is Kazan’ choice of utilising a smoke machine in which steamy hot air seeps up through the sewers or when steam is released on the docks, creating a misty visual atmosphere. When Terry finally takes initiative and tracks down Father Barry following the brutal murder of Kayo Dugan to confess, they walkthrough an indistinct park, with steam swirling all around them, illustrating to the audience the seeming manifestation on the uncertain and frightening terrain through which both these characters are attempting to find their way. 

Although there’s no one crucial epiphanous moment in the growth of Terry, the revelation of betrayal and the love lost between the brothers, Terry and Charley, in the profoundly intimate taxi-cab scene is a defining pivotal point in Terry as he finally accepts there’s ‘so much more’ to the corrupted waterfront union.  It is in this scene that Terry understands through the previous betrayal of his brother’s loyalty that lead him from being a potential ‘contender’ instead of a self-proclaimed ‘bum’, that it is his own choices and actions alone that he can rely on. After receiving unspoken consent from ‘Charley the Gent’ who sacrifices his own livelihood for the cause of his brother, Terry is in the possession of clarity where he is now left with only one plausible choice: stand up against Johnny Friendly. Despite Terry’s initial response to the murder of Charley being to kill ‘every single one of them’ reflecting his reliance of physical actions, it is Father Barry, who once again guides Terry to look at the bigger picture in order to ‘fight [Friendly] in the courtroom with the truth’. In the final resolution sequence of the film,

By capturing the external battles of good and evil, Kazan illustrates the importance of identity in a world where it’s ‘every man for himself’. Through the presence of characters such as Johnny Friendly and his goons, Kazan openly stresses the importance of individuality and more significantly, morality. Terry Malloy’s final triumph over the corrupted union and his moral development are embodied in the final scene of the film in which, Terry leads the longshoremen into the warehouse, despite the emphasis of his disorientation through the point-of-view shots that he has the capability through his sound conscience to ‘win the war’.