Odds are, you have some responsibilities around your house, some duties. Maybe you have to take out the garbage or make your bed. Maybe you cut the grass or your grandpa's nose hairs.
In Kramer vs. Kramer, everybody's sense of duty is out of whack—at least at the start of the film. Ted feels like his primary obligation is to work. (Sorry, Joanna and Billy.) Not being a workaholic is for "losers"—at least so says Ted. Joanna, meanwhile, wears her duty to Billy like a noose. It's the only thing keeping her around, and it's killing her.
Fortunately, everybody gets their duties straight over the course of the film—for the most part. Ted decides to make Billy his #1 priority, and Joanna realizes the best thing she can do is let him.
Questions about Duty
- Does Ted work too much?
- In your opinion, who does Joanna feel her duty is to at the end of the film? Has it changed since the beginning of the film?
- When Ted needs to get a new job in 24 hours, he won't take "no" for an answer and is extremely aggressive about it. Do you think Joanna could've pursued a job the same way? What kind of reactions would she get along the way? The same as Ted?
Chew on This
If Ted's a workaholic, neglectful husband and father at the beginning of the film, it's society's fault. Thanks a lot, 1979.
If Joanna really felt obligated to do what was best for Billy, she would've left him with Margaret, not Ted.