On The Waterfront Redemption Essay

Compare how the concept of redemption impacts on the lives of the characters in Ransom and On the Waterfront.

A character’s yearning to atone for a sin is what may drive him or her to serve justice or begin on a path for good. In David Malouf’s novel Ransom and Elia Kazan’s film On the Waterfront redemption plays a major role as the driving force for the protagonist’s journey to a moral rebirth. Achilles, Priam, Terry and Charley take up the opportunity to regain their new titles as honest and amended human beings. A protagonist’s desire to make good out of a world ruled over by corruption prevails through the ever-powerful bond between families. These progressions however omit any predominant female characters from a great influence on the …show more content…
Edie in particular is able to push Terry into acting out against the corrupt union officials with the hold she has on the ex-boxer. His love for her is one of the major reasons for him becoming an informant; her ‘saint-like’ appearance convinces him of their evil. It is as if Edie allows Terry to adopt a more feminine approach to defeating Friendly, in the sense of it being in opposition to that of the stereotypically male approach of violence. As Terry seeks to murder Friendly, Edie pleads for justice through law; it is this influence that allows redemption to be achieved in a more complete form. Similar to this Hecuba although lacks such a strong hold over the characters around her she acts as the mother figure and is garnered with great respect. Her advice, although lacking the power to stop Priam from undertaking his journey, is held with great importance for the King. His opinion will not change his but it may mould to a form similar to hers. As the advisors and princes look to her searching for answers, Hecuba can be seen as more than a woman but almost a deity. These women have great powers of influence, without physically being there, a power that can only be matched with that of the bond of