Tools of Characterization

Characterization in Dirty Dancing

Actions

Robbie Gould might be Ivy League educated, but he doesn't have any class. Robbie's a guy who looks good on paper—a summer job, goes to Yale, going to be a doctor. But he's also the guy who gets Penny pregnant, denies it, and refuses to do anything about it. If he won't pay for her to have an abortion, and you know he has the money, he won't support the child if she decides to have it. Robbie is a scumbag.

Meanwhile, when Johnny, who Robbie would want you to think is the real scumbag, finds out what has happened to Penny, he attempts to take care of it immediately. Johnny tells Penny,

JOHNNY: What do you think you're doing? You're in trouble, you talk to me.

However, it's Baby who proves herself by actually getting the money Penny needs. Her name may be Baby, but she acts like a real grown-up.

Family Life

The most popular activities at Kellerman's are merengue, volleyball, and nepotism. The resort is where rich families go to mix and mingle. Max Kellerman knows Baby's dad, and wants to hook Baby up with his grandson, Neil. All the waiters at Kellerman's appear to be Ivy League boys who probably know Mr. Kellerman as well.

The odd ones out are the dirty dancers. They're the outsiders because they don't know anyone. Neither Penny nor Johnny appears to have a family back home. Johnny implies this by saying he needs to dance to survive, and Penny says it explicitly.

PENNY: Yeah, well, my mother kicked me out when I was sixteen. I've been dancing ever since. It's the only thing I ever wanted to do anyway.

Johnny and Penny don't have a support system other than each other. They must get by on talent alone. Baby and the waiters at Kellerman all have a safety net in the form of their families. The difference between Baby and the others is that she's willing to share her net with Johnny.

Occupation

In an era of Dance Moms, So You Think You Can Dance, and Dancing with the Stars, being a dancer is an occupation to be proud of.

Not so much in 1963, especially at an uptight vacation resort for rich white people. The guests at Kellerman's are all doctors, lawyers, bankers, or their bored wives. Hey, don't judge; that's a full-time job. Even the waiters are all Ivy League college students.

The dancers, which is the only group featuring non-white people, is looked down upon as lower-class. They're the entertainment. They're supposed to wiggle around, almost like clowns, and then disappear. We think the sign on the dancers' cabin that says "no guests allowed" isn't because the guests might bother the dancers; it's to enforce the illusion that the dancers aren't actually there when they're not dancing.

Shmoop's Koan of the Day: If a dancer dances in the woods, and no one's there to see it, are they dancing at all?