Here is a practice text response. It was done to time in 50 minutes. Please mark / give feed back and criticism.
Question
“...But Pop, I’ve seen things that I know are so wrong. Now how can I go back to school and keep my mind on things that are just in books?”
In what ways are the characters of “On the Waterfront” transformed by life on the docks?
Elia Kanzan’s social realist drama, “On the Waterfront” presents an exploration of life in the post war era of 1950s Hoboken. Throughout the course of the film, Kazan places particular emphasis on the harsh waterfront setting and provides insight into the ways in which it influences and transforms each of his characters. The result of this ruthless landscape as shown by Kazan is the inception and birth of a generally apathetic culture in which one seeks only to better oneself.
Terry Malloy, the unquestioned protagonist of the film, is shown to be without drive or ambition; a “bum”. Terry’s admission, “I always figured I’d live longer without [ambition],” reveals to the audience the suppressive nature the docks of Hoboken can have on one’s desires to succeed. The constant referral to Terry as a “bum” and a “kid” only reinforces Terry’s lack of ambition as he is enabled to continue living a life without consequences, concerned with only himself and his needs. Kazan demonstrates that it is the environment of Hoboken and the associated “D and D” culture that has engendered these sentiments in Terry through conversations Terry has with both Edie and Fr. Barry. Terry’s confessions of a troubled childhood, where education was “beaten” into him, and the resulting, “do it to him before he does it to you,” ethos is accredited to his difficult upbringing in a challenging neighbourhood which transformed him into the relatively apathetic creature he is seen to be at the commencement of the film. Terry’s lack of ambition is then starkly contrasted against Johnny Friendly who because of his years growing up on the docks, is seen to be powerfully driven to success.
In revealing Johnny Friendly’s difficult childhood to the audience, Kazan invites the notion that it is this that motivated him to succeed and resultantly morphed him into the ruthless villain he is. Friendly’s difficult past, being raised “on a stickin’ watchmen’s pension” supplied Friendly with the motivation to succeed at life on the docks. Kazan uses frequent midshots positioning Friendly centre frame to indicate the power and prominence he has gained through his villainous ways. Although not providing a justification for the crimes Friendly commits, the explicitly harsh scenery of the docks does offer some explanation as to how he came to be as he is. Kazan encourages his viewers to come to the conclusion that Friendly is merely a product of his surroundings and in doing so, shows the transformation Friendly undertook to become the morally decrepit person portrayed to the audience. The transformation is however implicit and must be inferred from watching the film. Kazan uses Edie’s metamorphosis to expressly show how life on the docks changes his characters.
Edie Doyle, the picture of innocence and symbol of purity, undertakes arguably the most obvious change as a result of her environment. Living on the waterfront appears to have a profound effect on Edie and she change from the naive school teacher-to-be created through her sheltered years living in a convent, to the submissive, cowardly women pictured at the end of the film. Kazan marks the point of completion of Edie’s transformation with Edi’s pleas to Terry, begging him to “please don’t do it” and her further adherence to Terry’s command, “don’t leave him here alone.” At this point in the film, the audience is given a clear idea of how life on the docks can steal one’s naivety and catalyse one’s change into an apathetic follower. Edie’s altruistic, “everyone should care for everyone else” ideals and her need to find out “who killed [her] brother”, seem to dissipate when the unforgiving reality of Hoboken presents itself. Kazan captures this facet of the nature of Hoboken and uses Edie to perpetrate the idea that it is the merciless actuality of the dock that catalyses this change within his characters. Likewise, the longshoremen of the waterfront are shown to have similar ideals to post-Hoboken Edie.
The longshoremen of Kazan’s film seem to reject the values of justice and honesty in preference for group loyalty and self security. Kazan emphasises the role of the environment in the formation of these values using wide sweeping shots showing the waterfront in all its grandeur dwarfing the longshoremen against the background of the docks. This belittling of the dock workers shows the challenges the waterfront presents and thereby makes explicit the need to work together as a group and shows the dependence each longshoreman has on the other. The dependence on others further engenders a sense of group loyalty which in turn explains the “D and D” culture and why the longshoremen “don’t rat”. The longshoremen’s silence however, is not merely just a product of strong group loyalties. Pop Doyle’s remark, “Don’t say nothing you’ll live longer” acts as a testament to the dangers associated with telling the truth on the waterfront. The hazardous nature of Hoboken indeed means that it led to the transformation of the dock workers into “D and D” individuals concerned with self preservation rather than outing the truth.
In various ways, the callous environment of the waterfront cause change in its inhabitants. Often, the change is to an individual unwilling to oppose the established authority for fear of retribution from the harsh atmosphere of the dock.
Home
Help
Search
Login
