Terry Malloy: Between Individuality and Community

In On The Waterfront, Elia Kazan chronicles the transformative journey of an inarticulate, but sensitive Terry Malloy exploring the ensuing battle inside his conscience as it grapples with his expanding sense of morality. Terry actions into stride as his own man, shedding chains of dependence from his brother Charley. The film captures Terry’s shifts in ethical perception by means of his interactions with the characters that populate the Waterfront. From the virginal guiding force of Edie Doyle to the tyrannical grip of Johnny Friendly, Schilberg and Kazan generate a planet in which a bumbling ‘ex tanker’ with no moral vocabulary is deemed a hero by speaking out against the injustices of a silenced neighborhood. Even so to do so he challenges the prevailing reticence of folks on the Waterfront. In this way, Kazan gives insights into the value of the person at times when there is no pulse of self believed in a neighborhood.

The relationships forged by circumstance on the Waterfront bring Terry to re-examine the extremely core of his getting. From the onset of the film, the audience is introduced to Terry as a naive, uneducated ‘bum’ who does as he is told. After getting unknowingly accessory to the Joey Doyle hit, an incredulous Terry who thought, ‘they was only gonna lean on him a lil’ bit,’ can not look to fully grasp the magnitude of his situation. Although he recognizes, ‘he was a excellent kid,’ Terry’s vocabulary is devoid of any moral substance he can not express any genuine emotion, preferring as an alternative the apathetic, ‘Ionno’. Nonetheless in considering Terry’s character, the audience need to too appreciate the context in which he has grown up the cold, gritty culture of the Waterfront that preaches ‘Deaf n Dumb’ and encourages a calloused sense of justice.

These traits are not shared by Edie Doyle and Father Barr- outsiders to the Waterfront. The two characters share an idealised view of men and women that sees them compelled by Christianity, fairness and brotherhood (‘Shouldn’t absolutely everyone care about absolutely everyone else?’). Following Terry and Edie’s escape from the Church, the two shy away from eye speak to however from the instant their gazes lock, there is a palpable attraction reinforced through the uplifting violins in the background. The audience sees Terry’s infatuation of Edie to surface this courteous and graceful man, disarmingly all-natural in demeanor. Terry feels at ease with Edie and as his care for her grows, it is only championed by her plea to, ‘help me for God’s sake’. Kazan chooses to shoot the scene as a close-up of Terry to capture each and every sliver of physique language that lends itself to unease his quivering lip and incessant rubbing of his chin. The scene represents a situation Terry’s heart has by no means skilled just before and yet we see his swift change in priorities from a fear of Johnny Friendly, to Edie becoming ‘sore at [him]’. Therefore, it is evident that Terry’s belief in some thing a lot more profound than his personal effectively becoming offers him with clarity the ability to see past the particular person he is, to the individual he needs to turn into.

The voice of every man and lady on the Waterfront has been stamped into submission by means of years of playing witness to the warped reality of Hoboken singing ‘like a canary’ meant your wings would be put to the test. Traditionally, the neighborhood has provided in to Johnny Friendly’s regime, in worry of repercussion. As a outcome, the ideas of loyalty and disloyalty are severely blurred. ‘Loyalty’ as observed by the audience is allegiance to the dominant set of social values as such, the longshoremen think that, ‘you don’t ask no questions, you do not answer no questions’. As Terry comes to realise he’s been, ‘rattin’ on [himself] all these years’, he learns of loyalties beyond the Waterfront- to the dignity of fair operate and the all encompassing “good”, that challenges Johnny Friendly’s “evil”. In his transition, he is revealed to truths he has never considered. The Golden Warriors, a club founded by, ‘the original Golden Warrior’ Terry, is not what he had after thought it to be. As Champ sheds tears at the pigeon coop, he exclaims, ‘A pigeon for a pigeon!’ in reference to his murder of Terry’s birds. Just as it is for Terry, a blind is thrust open for the audience. We identify that the teenagers wanted to be just like Terry not in terms of his character, but his position in society (‘standing with the appropriate people’). They aspire for that, ‘little bit of adjust inkling in [their] pocket’ understanding full properly of the corruption it is tainted with.

The scenario produced by Kazan now calls upon a hero to liberate the Waterfront and cleanse its all encompassing influence. Enter- the new Terry Malloy. The struggle and redemption of a single man on the Waterfront parallels the emancipation of an entire men and women. When Terry confronts Johnny Friendly, he is only there to get his own rights, but with Father Barry as an advocate of the Church, Terry’s staggered steps via the arched doors are as meaningful to the longshoremen as they are to Terry. Father Barry does not abide to the traditional mold of a priest observed in films of previous eras he is no,’ gravy train rider with a turned about collar’. He actions out of the Church to do the work of God as he bears witness to the reality of Hoboken. The Father displays indignation in relation to the therapy of the dockworkers, but as a man, “new to the true world”, he fails to comprehend why they cannot speak out. In this way, Kazan enables the character to be genuine his idyllic views on folks and the supreme power of excellent (‘testifying for what you know is correct, against what you know is wrong’) leave him ignorant to the blatant truth of the Waterfront. Additionally, he is no saint he drinks and smokes in occasions of disconcertion. These minor traits add layers to his character and far more importantly, make him susceptible to the human condition.

Whilst this is generally likened to weaknesses, it also provides Father Barry with a capacity for deeper relationships. We see this by way of his adoption as surrogate father to Terry. When Terry is ready to wreak his own vengeance, Father Barry talks him down by absorbing his rage and redirecting it to a path that can “really hurt [Friendly]”- to “fight him in the courtroom with the truth”. For the duration of this scene we see the Father’s eyes intensely focused on Terry’s eyes. Piercing into and revealing the inner turmoil that is unfolding. He also knocks him to the ground, unloading the tough love that Terry in no way receives from Charley. It is only via this connection that Father Barry is able to rally Terry to ‘win the war’ not only for himself- but for the entirety of the Waterfront.

The opening of Terry’s perceptions brings him to violate the loyalties of a neighborhood in order to free of charge them. Maybe Schilberg’s and Kazan’s message could be the value of freedom of thought. The longstanding oppressive culture of the Waterfront would have continued in the unfair therapy of decent males, if not for the capability of a single particular person to modify and gain insight. Terry learns the worth of the ‘truth as [he] knows it’ and in telling it, his voice resonates with a community hence painting Terry Malloy as the hero of the Waterfront.