How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from On the Waterfront.
Quote #1
EDIE: I want to know who killed my brother!
Edie's reacting the way any family member hopefully would to the murder of a loved one—with outrage and demands for justice. But her dad's been so cowed by the mob, and is so concerned for her safety, that he doesn't want to make waves.
Quote #2
TERRY: Why me, Charley? I'd feel funny going in there.
CHARLEY: Johnny does you favors, kid. You got to do a little one for him once in a while.
TERRY: But going in that church, I'd be stooling for you, Charley. You make a pigeon out of me.
CHARLEY: Let me explain you something, kid. Stooling is when you rat on your friends, on the guys you're with.
Charley is putting undue family pressure on Terry. Terry's already given Johnny way more than he deserves, but Charley's trying to convince him that he owes more. In reality, Terry's been used by them.
Quote #3
POP: Edie, for years your mom and me put quarters in the cookie jar to keep you up there with the sisters and keep you from things like I've just seen outside the window. A daughter of mine walking arm in arm with Terry Malloy.
Pop Doyle knows that Terry's in with the gangsters. He wants to see Edie stay safe because she's his daughter and he loves her. Just look what happened to Joey… Pop doesn't want to lose another kid. But Edie knows that she can't stay silent. She needs to seek justice and follow her heart.