Protagonist

Character Role Analysis

Terry Malloy

Who else could possibly be the protagonist? Obviously, Terry's the only real choice. He's the man with the conflict. He's the one who could'a been a contender.

Sure—Edie and Father Barry have character arcs of their own: Edie falls in love with Terry and then has to wrestle with the role he played in her brother's death. And Barry learns to put himself out there, and help the longshoremen against the gang.

But Terry has to go against his upbringing, his friends, and even his own brother, in order to break with Johnny. In the end, he's the only man who can really bring down the gang. He's the one who risks it all, takes a horrible beating, gets ostracized by his friends and neighbors, and finally gets everyone back on his side by courageously showing Johnny up and walking to work after being bloodied and injured. He takes it to the street.