How Important Is Family Loyalty in the Film "On the Waterfront"?
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How important is family loyalty in the film?
“On the Waterfront”, a film by Elia Kazan, has used family loyalty as one of the main key determinants, which influences the actions and decisions of a handful of main characters more specifically, Terry Malloy and Edie Doyle at numerous decisive moments in the film. Elia Kazan mostly conveys family loyalty through turning points in the film. Throughout the film, family loyalty is the key to the film’s progression, although there are other factors that can be seen to have an effect, for example, guilt, and desire for the truth.
Edie Doyle, the gentle, untainted female protagonist, is devoted to her dead brother, Joey Doyle. Through family loyalty and her relentless quest for the truth about corruption on the waterfront, is of great importance to the continuation of the film. Near the exposition of On the Waterfront, when Joey Doyle gets pushed of the roof for being a “canary” and dies, Pop Doyle, having no sympathy, won’t tell the police anything, but Edie Doyle, kneeling at the side of her dead brother, mourning, for Joey Doyle, cries “I want to know who killed my brother!” and “Who is responsible for Joey!” Family loyalty is undoubtedly revealed in this scene, and is backed up when Edie Doyle, often filmed as a pure, innocent woman, is almost an avenging angel, defying the constraints of her gender in her pursuit of the truth about her brother’s murder. Furthermore Edie, goes down to the waterfront, covered up in several clothing and looking afraid, but determined to find out the truth “I’m going to find how who’s guilty for Joey.” The waterfront is an “all mans’ world” so, you can see that Edie has great courage and determination, for her to push forward towards her goal. If Edie had not had this transformation, the film would have ended differently, most likely having a more undesired ending. Even though Edie Doyle’s family is of great importance to the film, Edie initiates Terry’s moral dilemma and his eventual...
“On the Waterfront”, a film by Elia Kazan, has used family loyalty as one of the main key determinants, which influences the actions and decisions of a handful of main characters more specifically, Terry Malloy and Edie Doyle at numerous decisive moments in the film. Elia Kazan mostly conveys family loyalty through turning points in the film. Throughout the film, family loyalty is the key to the film’s progression, although there are other factors that can be seen to have an effect, for example, guilt, and desire for the truth.
Edie Doyle, the gentle, untainted female protagonist, is devoted to her dead brother, Joey Doyle. Through family loyalty and her relentless quest for the truth about corruption on the waterfront, is of great importance to the continuation of the film. Near the exposition of On the Waterfront, when Joey Doyle gets pushed of the roof for being a “canary” and dies, Pop Doyle, having no sympathy, won’t tell the police anything, but Edie Doyle, kneeling at the side of her dead brother, mourning, for Joey Doyle, cries “I want to know who killed my brother!” and “Who is responsible for Joey!” Family loyalty is undoubtedly revealed in this scene, and is backed up when Edie Doyle, often filmed as a pure, innocent woman, is almost an avenging angel, defying the constraints of her gender in her pursuit of the truth about her brother’s murder. Furthermore Edie, goes down to the waterfront, covered up in several clothing and looking afraid, but determined to find out the truth “I’m going to find how who’s guilty for Joey.” The waterfront is an “all mans’ world” so, you can see that Edie has great courage and determination, for her to push forward towards her goal. If Edie had not had this transformation, the film would have ended differently, most likely having a more undesired ending. Even though Edie Doyle’s family is of great importance to the film, Edie initiates Terry’s moral dilemma and his eventual...