On the Waterfront

From the very beginning of the film On the Waterfront characters are faced with decisions that can either lead to them being viewed as a whistleblower or as a traitor. The problem they are faced with is the choice of either going to the police and standing up against the mobs wrong doings or keeping quiet. Characters such as Joey, Doogan, and eventually Terry Malloy, are all whistleblowers and believe in standing up for what is right. They are willing to risk their lives to bring justice to the families of the waterfront by speaking out against the mob. Joey and Doogan are unsuccessful but Terry continues on even after seeing what fatal consequences can come. On the other hand there are characters such as Johnny Friendly and the dockworkers who believe speaking out would make them a traitor. The dockworkers also don’t budge on offering any tips to the police out of fear for their lives; this fear is brought on by Johnny and his mob that make them believe speaking out is the wrong thing to do and would be considered tattling. Through all this Terry persists with the encouragement of the Priest and Edy and eventually reaches his goal of bringing justice to the mob. But before he is able to fully bring down the mob he first needs the support of the dockworkers which he eventually gets as they realize that being a whistleblower and telling the truth really is a benefit to society and shouldn’t be considered tattling.

In my opinion being a tattle and being a whistleblower are two hugely different things. To me a tattle is just someone who tells on another for their own personal pleasure or gains not someone who speaks up about wrong doings in hopes that they can improve society by fixing this problem. A whistleblower is someone who is to be appreciated for spreading awareness and helping to fix problems not just someone who is looking to get someone else in trouble for amusement.

Dishwasher: Post 3

Pete Jordan is finally starting to get an idea of what it is he wants to do with his life so things are looking up for him as Pete recounts his life in Dishwasher. He was traveling around some more getting odd jobs here and there when he met Melanie on a ferry ride from Alaska to Seattle. They become friends and she invited him to come and stay with her. He stays for a couple of months before his money starts run low and he searches anxiously for a job. This is the first time you really see him concerned and devoted to doing something, finding a job in this case. He fears if he doesn’t get his act together and earn some money Melanie will kick him out for his bum like characteristics. He frantically searches for work but is unsuccessful due to his lack of experience and qualifications and fears it is only a matter of time before he will have to leave but, Melanie comes home ecstatic one day saying she has found him a dishwashing job at a local restaurants. He is overjoyed and runs the eight miles to get the job. On his first day of work he already feels at home and meets some fellow dishwashers. They reveal to him information about a whole dishwashing community where they refer to themselves as “a dish dog” (49), a “pearl diver” (49), and a “plongeur (that’s French talk for dishwasher)” (54) and share their stories of the places they’ve dished in. This sparks his first real new curiosity in something since maps when he was a boy. Pete is engrossed in their stories and wishes that he to could share stories of places he’s dished at being able to say things like: “where in Texas haven’t I dished?”(52). This is when the idea first strikes him; he decides he wants to travel to exotic places dishing and exclaims to his fellow dishers “I’m gonna wash dishes in all fifty states!” (52). Pete has finally established some sort of plan for his life that he is actually enthusiastic about.

Pete’s writing style makes for easy reading while still giving depth in his descriptions and personality quirks. He goes through his life adding humor to common situation and rejoicing over simple things such as the disher offering him a half eaten muffing thinking, wow I like it here already. But amidst his lightheartedness you can also depict his claustrophobia of being trapped in a situation where he can’t bail easily; he turns down many better paying jobs for this reason and you get the sense he feels comforted knowing he’s not tied down to anything and could leave at any moment if he felt the urge to. I also don’t think he is comfortable staying in any one place for two long so his goal of dishing in all fifty states will suit him wall for a career satisfying his love of traveling along with a career he enjoys to fund this travel and a lifestyle well fit for him. He now has a task laid before him that he can pursue fitting his work ethics so I look forward to seeing how it plays out for him.

Jordan, Pete. Dishwasher : One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States. New York: HarperPerennial, 2007.

All My Sons: family vs. society

The characters in Arthur Miller’s play, All My Sons are forced to make decisions where they can either choose to do what’s best for their family or what is best for society. In the case of Joe and Kate Keller they choose to make their decisions based on what will benefit their family. Joe expresses his views on how he feels family is what is most important when he tells Joe that everything he worked for in the company was for Joe, his family, saying “what the hell did I work for? That’s only for you, Chris, the whole shootin’ – match is for you!” (17). Later we find out that Joe also shipped off cracked cylinder heads knowing they might not hold up and could result in the death of pilots. When Chris finds this out we see his views; he believes in doing what is ethically right and what’s right for society as a whole not what may just bring benefits to ones family. Chris is furious and deeply hurt by his father’s actions. His father tries to back up what he did by saying “Chris, I did it for you, it was a chance and I took it for you. I’m sixty years old, when would I have another chance to make something for you? (70). Joe feels his actions are justified given he did for Chris but Chris feels otherwise. He is appalled and replies “for me! Where do you live, where have you come from? For me?—I was dying every day and you were killing my boys and you did it for me? What the hell do you think I was thinking of, the Goddam business?” (70). Chris feels what his father has done is wrong no matter what his motives were.

I think in general people should do what is best for society as a whole versus what is best for their individual family but it is hard to say this for every decision. Sometimes there are instances where one should consider what is best for their family before considering the entire society but families fall under the category of society so often doing what is right for society is also right for ones family.