How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Kramer vs. Kramer.
Quote #1
TED: Well, I'm sorry that I was late, but I was busy making a living, all right?
Ted thinks his duty to his job trumps his duty to everything else, including his wife, kid, and home life. (Yup; Ted's wrong.)
Quote #2
TED: Well, obviously my wife and you have had numerous conversations about my shortcomings which I have not been privy to, and I would love to sit here and talk to you, but somebody has to bring home the bacon, and I have a major presentation in the morning, and I just gotta get my work done, so please, allow me to—
MARGARET: Ted, you don't seem to realize we have a serious problem.
TED: Wrong, Margaret. Me! I've got the problem.
Even when his wife has walked out—and left their kid behind—Ted's still focused on his job and Ted, probably in that order.
Quote #3
JIM: I gotta count on you for 110%, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. I gotta have that, Ted. I mean, I can't be concerned about you worrying about a kid with a runny nose.
TED: First of all, you can count on me 25 hours a day, and you can count on me eight days a week. Because I'm not a loser, Jim. You know that. And I've never let anything at home, you know, come into the office.
There's a lot of juicy stuff in this exchange. First, Jim makes it clear that there's a lot expected from Ted at work. He's under a lot of pressure, and Jim expects everything else to take a backseat to the ad agency.
Second, Ted admits that he never lets his home life intrude on his work life—although h
Finally, the fact that Ted thinks someone who doesn't live at the office is a "loser" speaks volumes about Ted's attitude toward work, duty, and success. If you're not eating lunch at your desk and working past dinner, you're not trying.
Quote #4
TED: God damn it, Billy. I knew this was gonna happen. I knew this was gonna happen. Who told you not to drink this stuff here, and you're supposed to have it all at the dining room table, huh?
BILLY: Sorry.
TED: Yeah, you're sorry. I told you to keep that juice in the dining room. You don't take anything out here anymore.
BILLY: Sorry.
TED: Who took you to the park and gave you everything you wanted, huh?
BILLY: You.
TED: Yeah. Who bought you an ice cream?
BILLY: You.
TED: Yeah. And who promised Daddy that when we got home, you would let him work and not bother him, huh?
Ted thinks that Billy owes him some good behavior because Ted provides for him. He thinks it's like a business contract—albeit a verbal one: "I take you to the park and get you some ice cream, and you follow the rules and be the first kid to never spill anything." Ted should've gotten it in writing.
Quote #5
TED: And then what happened?
BILLY: Well, I don't want to be late for school. I'll see you later.
TED: Wait a minute. Let me give you your homework. Give me a kiss. (to another kid) Hi, Tommy.
Gone are the days of Ted hurriedly dumping Billy in front of his school and hoping that woman he left his kid with is a teacher. Ted even knows the names of other kids.
Quote #6
JIM: Teddy, look, I know you may be a little short of cash right now. No big hurry about paying this back.
TED: Shame on you.
Throughout the film, especially during the first act, Ted makes a big deal about being a provider. That's his role. He's good at it. That's why Jim's offer of cash is so insulting; he's suggesting that Ted's no longer able to provide for Billy, which, by extension, means Ted's no longer a man. Ouch.
Quote #7
TED: No. This is a one-day-only offer, gentlemen. You saw my book; you know I can handle the work. I'm willing to take a salary cut; the only thing is, you're gonna have to let me know today, not tomorrow, not next week, not at the end of the holidays. If you really want me, you make a decision right now.
Ted's got a lot on the line here, hence his aggressiveness. He wants a new job so he can provide for his kid, and he needs a new job because, without one, the court's going to rule him unfit to take care of his kid before he even has a chance to speak.
Quote #8
TED: Did you have to be so rough on her?
SHAUNESSY: Do you want the kid or don't you?
Shaunessy has an obligation to his client, Ted. Namely, he needs to do anything to win. He also has an obligation to act a certain way in the court room; when you think about it, being a lawyer is a form of performance. You think that's why there are so many movies with heart-wrenching courtroom scenes? A Few Good Men… A Time to Kill… Legally Blonde. We could go on and on.
Quote #9
TED: On that day, I had to go home because my child was sick. He had a fever.
GRESSEN: Mr. Kramer, did you or did you not miss a deadline? Yes or no?
TED: My son was sick.
ATKINS: Mr. Kramer, answer the question.
TED: I'm trying to answer the question. It's not yes or no. I'm sitting there in my office—GRESSEN: Mr. Kramer, yes or no?
TED: He had a 104 temperature! He's lying there sweating; I go home to be with him!
ATKINS: Mr. Kramer, I must urge you to stop or else I'll have to hold you in contempt.
TED: I missed the deadline.
Gressen's line of questioning here is kind of weird. He's trying to get Ted to say that taking care of Billy when he was sick made him shirk his responsibilities at work and miss a deadline. We don't know about you, but that makes him sound like a good dad, not a bad one. If his kid's sick (especially with an 104º temperature!), sure seems like his duty is to his kid, not some project for work. Joanna's attorney is accusing Ted of failing at the traditional division of labor—Ted's job is to provide.
Quote #10
SHAUNESSY: This time it'll be Billy that pays. I'll have to put him on the stand.
TED: You can't do that. No, I don't want to do that.
Ted fights back tears.TED: Thanks very much for your time. I'm gonna take a walk.
By the end of the film, Ted's primary duty is to Billy, not to some client or his new bosses at the ad agency. It's his job not just to provide a roof over Billy's head and plenty of Salisbury steak, but to protect him, and that's why he refuses to put his kid on the witness stand.