Quote 4
Terry: “But
you know if I spill, my life ain’t worth a nickel.”
Father Barry: “And
how much is your soul worth if you don’t?”
After Father Barry hears Terry’s out-of-church
confession about his involvement in Joey Doyle’s death, he urges
Terry to tell both Edie and the Waterfront Crime Commission, and
he gets this response. This brief exchange effectively summarizes
Terry’s mounting dilemma and is the thematic crux of the film. Terry
must decide whether he wants to risk his life by speaking out against
larger, stronger forces, or to live the rest of his life with a
secret harbored deep in his heart. Father Barry’s response here
indicates that Terry’s duty as a human being is to tell the truth.
Otherwise, he’ll live a tortured existence with a cowardly soul.
As a priest, Father Barry believes in a glorious afterlife, but
only for those who have done their best to cleanse their souls.
This conversation foreshadows Terry’s final explosion on the docks
in which he reclaims his conscience and forges an individual identity:
“I been rattin’ on myself all these years.”
