Film Summary: An Analysis Of Terry's Heroism

Terry’s heroism stems from various events and people in his life. His instincts as a fighter provoke a physical retaliation to the union such as, toward the end of the film Terry and Johnny get into a fight. This event showed the extent of his fighting ability and how it was a major aspect of his life until the union destroyed his career for the “love of a lousy buck.” However Terry’s heroism also comes from influential people in his life such as Edie and Father Barry. Firstly Father Barry the religious figure in this film who was the voice of the voiceless, as all the longshoreman were “D and D” or deaf and dumb as “no matter how much [they] hate the torpedoes [they] don’t fight back.” Secondly Father Barry was the first person Terry confessed to, which lead to a response from father Barry saying that “conscience should do the talking.” Finally Father Barry was committed to putting the end to the corruption provoking a heroic change in Terry that allowed him to confess putting an end to the corruption.

With Edie’s guidance he became active and an informant towards the corruption present on the waterfront this mental change displayed his heroism without a need for physical retaliation showing that “You [should] let your conscience tell you what to do.” This ultimately shows that Terry’s heroism does not only stem from his past as a boxer, however it also come from influential people in his life that guided him to use his somewhat limited brain capacity to fight