OR post #5

How is this novel similar to other pieces of literature (poems, novels, films) that we have studied in class?

The theme of going against society that is prevalent in On The Waterfront is found in the novel Until the Streetcars Come Back by Stanley Gordon West. In the novel, Cal is faced with a difficult situation with a friend who has an abusive father. He can't tell anyone because they would tell the police and that may get Gretchen killed. Gretchen made Cal promise to keep his mouth shut as she says "You need to promise!" (West 157). The policeman that Cal calls only wants to know her name so he can send someone to investigate but there lies the same problem. Cal can't tell anyone about Gretchen's situation because of the possibility of making it worse. Because of this Cal takes a big risk by framing her father. This risk is similar to the risks that Terry in On the Waterfront takes when he testifies against Johnny Friendly and puts himself in serious danger. Both characters decided to do what they thought was morally correct and took the consequences but could say that they did the right thing.

An abusive parent lies within the plot of both Until the Streetcars Come Back and The 400 Blows. In the novel, Gretchen's father abuses her and therefore creates a disdain for her father in Gretchen. She fears him and knows that he does not care about her. In fact he abuses her, getting her pregnant and killing the baby in front of her (West 202). This unhealthy relationship leads to Gretchen leading a strange and isolated life in society, lacking a father. In the film The 400 Blows, Antoine, the main character, has an uncaring and apathetic mother. In the Antoine is aware of the fact that she does not care for him as he talks to the psychologist at the Observation Center. One of the reasons he is at the Observation is because of the poor decisions he made which may have been preventable with the support of a caring mother. As we see, in both the novel and the film, the lack of proper parenting renders the children strange and troublesome.