GLOVESThe first "object" I'd like to discuss is Edie's glove. During their second encounter, this is the first time that Edie and Terry actually engage in a conversation. As Edie walks along, she drops her white glove, and instead of giving it back to her, Terry puts it on his hand. Originally, this glove scene was improvised by the actor Marlon Brando, but the director intentionally repeated the scene because he liked it so much. The shot follows Terry and Edie tightly in a medium shot, and the camera is suddenly steady as Terry puts on the glove and takes a seat. We, as an audience, are supposed to note the implication that this minuscule detail tells a broader story than what appears on the surface. In the article Ambivalence As A Theme In "On The Waterfront" author Kenneth Hey states that "The social environment pulls them apart, but their feelings bring them together with the help of a personal object. Terry tries on her glove, almost as if he were about to "try out" her moral values. He had worn boxing gloves for the mobsters, and he will now try to fit into the white glove of virtue " (685) That white glove demonstrates that Terry is trying on her perspective of life, where "everybody [should] care about everyone else." As soon as Terry puts on Edie's glove, he tells her he remembers her when she was a child. This is important because Terry is acknowledging her innocence, and this contradicts himself, for he was "always getting in trouble". Terry was never innocent because of how he grew up. The neighborhood controlled by mobs corrupted him and led him to lose his innocence at a young age and therefore Edie's glove represents the world that Terry was never introduced to because of the mob.
pigeons/birds
I'd like to call this part of the blog, "The Brotherhood of the Traveling Jacket". After Joey's death, Joey's father gives Joey's jacket to Dugan, and after Dugan's death, Edie hands off the windbreaker to Terry. Every owner of this jacket has something in common; they go against the mob in order to stop the corruption being caused by them. In the essay Ambivalence as a Theme in "On The Waterfront" Hey states "Unlike Edie's glove which symbolically allowed Terry to "try on" a new morality, Joey's jacket brings with it a heavy responsibility; Joey testified and Dugan testified. Each owner of the jacket was forced to subordinate self-interest to a higher social good."
This film reveals that corruption is a powerful force that is difficult to escape, although it is possible if you have the power within yourself. Terry was able to conquer his fear to speak up against the corruption being caused by the mob in order to get back to Edie's philosophy, "everybody [should] care about everyone else". Overall, this relates to the boxing film because Terry's morality was corrupt because of the powerful, money hungry antagonists. Terry finds his inner strength throughout the movie and ultimately finishes as the hero on the waterfront.
3 Comments
Admin
9/14/2016 04:46:40 pm
Just testing out how these comments look :)
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Brian Brems
9/21/2016 11:11:53 am
So much good work here! Really awesome blog overall, and I think this post in particular was tremendous. Excellent job, Savannah.
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Rachel Diaz
9/21/2016 12:36:52 pm
This was awesome! I love that you brought the glove scene. I was thinking about discussing it in my blog but I'm glad you did. I like that you mentioned how the director purposely decided to repeat that shot. Also, great work on the jacket I never thought of the jacket in that way. Thank you for opening my eyes in that scene!
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