On the Waterfront

In the beginning of the movie On the Waterfront, the character Terry believes that to inform police about the crimes of the mob is to snitch and be a traitor. This mindset continues while Terry has not himself been deeply scarred by the actions of the mobsters. For instance, when he got to know Edy, even though he loved her, at first he would not tell her his responsibility in her brother's death. Because he valued his relationship with the mobsters over telling Edy the truth, he kept "deaf and dumb". This attitude changes completely when the mob has turned its anger towards Terry personally. After Terry sees that his brother Charlie has been murdered by the mob, he forgets his past fear of being a rat and decides to take it out on the mob himself. When the priest sees his desire to hurt the mob and persuades him to tell the truth in court, Terry seriously considers telling the truth for the first time. This change of attitude shows that only when Terry felt that he had nothing more to lose did he make the decision to stand up for the truth.

Personally, I believe that in almost every instance someone should choose to stand up for the truth. However, I do think that someone is a snitch when they tell on people for trivial things that really have no importance in the long run. If someone's actions are wrong, but they are only hurting themselves, then I think a person shouldn't tell on them because the repercussions of the other person's actions are punishment enough. If however someone's actions were affecting the rest of society or even a small number of other people, I think that it is important to bring the truth into the light. This may be difficult to do and would certainly take courage to face the person one is telling about, but I believe that it is necessary to put yourself in a bit of danger to protect others.

Ethics in All My Sons

In the play All My Sons, Joe Keller has a very strong opinion about the importance of family. When it is uncovered that he was guilty in shipping out over one hundred faulty cylinder heads that resulted in the death of 21 men, Keller attempts so justify his actions by stating his motive. He responded to the astonishment from his son Chris with, "Chris... Chris, I did it for you, it was a chance and I took it for you. I'm sixty-one years old, when would I have another chance to make something for you?" (70). Because Joe Keller thought that it was a sufficient excuse for his crime to have done it for his son, we see that in his mind he was doing the right thing. His definition of the "right thing" consists of caring for his own, so he would rather provide for his son than save the pilots and lose his business. In the case of George Deever, he also values his family over society. Because George found out that Joe Keller had ruined his own father's life, he thinks that it is more important to keep his family intact than to allow his sister Ann to marry into the Keller family. He makes this evident when he confronts Ann in front of Chris, "You're not marrying him... Because his father destroyed your family" (53). Society in this case is Ann and Chris, and although he loves his sister, George values keeping his family clean of the Kellers over anyone's emotions.

In life there is an appropriate time to value the needs of society over family, and a time to value the needs of a family over society. I believe that in most cases, the needs of society as a whole should be valued above family needs. I disagree with Joe Keller's ethical stance in All My Sons. Although he justified hurting society by helping his family, I believe that if there was ever a risk to someone's life who isn't family, then the choice should be made to put the wishes of the family aside to help society. I also believe that if one had to make the decision between causing the death of a large number of people they don't know, and a family member, they should be willing to sacrifice their family to save many more people. This is because all of those strangers have families too, and if fewer people had to mourn loss of life, that is better than being selfish and causing many people grief. However, it is necessary to put the needs of family over society when society is wrong. For example, during the Holocaust it would be better for people to take care of their families and hide them versus complying with society and getting killed. Although there is no distinct way to tell when to help society or family, I believe that a person's conscience will generally instruct them in the way they should go.