Terry Malloy On The Waterfront

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Someone who is of good character is someone who can show strength and be a role model for all those who cannot quite stick up for themselves. On The Waterfront by Elia Kazan is a movie that explores the moral development of Terry Malloy (the main character), and his struggle between his sense of responsibility to his community, and his sense of responsibility to himself and those he loves. Throughout the film, Malloy is able to build up his strength to defeat the big monster, Johnny Friendly, and to get revenge on Johnny for all of the longshoreman and himself. The death of Joey Doyle and the romantic interest in Edie, Joey’s sister, initiate Terry’s inner conflict between doing what is morally right and just as a good citizen and doing what …show more content…
Shortly after this incident, Terry goes to Father Barry to make a confession and Father Barry will not hear it fed up by this code of silence. After Father Barry presses Terry again to talk, Terry admits setting up Joey. Then Terry admits this to Edie as well. Terry is talking now and not playing “d and d” anymore. This shows that Terry is beginning to think about what has been happening all these years and how wrong it really is. Even in the car ride with Charlie, he refuses to take the bait to be quiet. Charlie tries to prevent Terry from testifying to the crime commission by offering him a promotion on the docks with a much higher salary in exchange for his silence; Terry refuses. Faced with this moral dilemma that he must act on, Terry is now doing the right thing even though he knows his life and his brother’s life is in …show more content…
Initially, Terry wants to kill Friendly for killing his brother. Once again, with a little guidance from Father Barry, Terry makes the right decision to fight him in the courtroom. The fact that Terry testified against the Mob for the killing of Joey, Charlie, and many others proves that he really is good. Clearly, Terry’s strength to testify against Friendly in the end instead of killing him, which is a heinous act typical of the Mob, was something only a “good guy” would do. If Terry had killed Friendly in the bar that night, that would make Terry just as bad as Friendly. Additionally, when Terry went to Friendly’s office area on the docks after the testifying against him, Terry calls him out and exposes him to the longshoremen. In the film, as the longshoremen stand behind Terry, he says, “You take them heaters away from you and your nothing. You take the good goods away and the kickbacks and the shake downs and your pistoleros and you’re nothing. Your guts is all in your wallet and your trigger finger.” He shows the strength to stick up for everyone against the big bad monster whom everyone is afraid. Terry goes on to say, “You give it to Dugan and Charlie who was one of your own and you know what you are you're a cheap lousy, dirty, stinkin mud and I'm glad what I've done to you.” Terry is saying what everyone else feels about Johnny Friendly. The best part of this scene,
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