On the Waterfront

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ON THE WATERFRONT ORAL PRESENTATION Introduce self. I am going to talk about how the protagonist Terry in the text On the Waterfront changes and develops throughout the movie. He starts of as a dog’s body for the corrupt union; he does whatever they tell him without question. By the end of the movie he has become aware of what’s right and wrong and he has learned to be strong and stand up for justice. He also changes emotionally; he starts of very much alone and ends up in love with Edie. Terry has no family except for his brother Charlie. He ran away from an orphanage at a young age and was brought up by Johnny Friendly and Charlie who are apart of a corrupt union. He does not know what its like to be loved unconditionally; therefore he doesn’t display love or compassion to others. The gang is the only family he has. Terry is not confident, as his body language displays rounded shoulders and hands in pockets. When Joey is crucified he is upset and feels that the gang mislead him, “I thought they was just gunna rough him up a little but’ he said with his had over his heart, whilst showing signs of guilt. “He could sing but he couldn’t fly” a gang member said, they all laughed as if the tragedy meant nothing to them. When he meets Edie he is obviously attracted to her, the more time he spends with her you see his loving, protective side. You also see his gentle side when he takes over looking after Joey’s pigeons. After father Barry’s speech when Kayo Dugan is crucified in the ships hold. “Anybody who sits around and lets it happen and keeps silent about something he knows has happened, shares the guilt just as much as the Roman soldier who pierced the flesh of our Lord”. You can see the guilt pouring out of Terry. The power of the priests speech push’s him to tell Edie the truth about Joey; she runs away and doesn’t want to talk to him,

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