The Dark Knight Duty Quotes

Is Harvey suggesting that the good guys should know when to give up? Or just implying that one's duty is ultimately going to leave a few psychological scars when you start giving things up for it?

Remember when we talked about how Nolan likes to push his heroes to the limit? This is one instance: Batman has to reveal himself to the public or else all of Harvey Dent's good work will come undone. Harvey, surprisingly, is not cool with this plan. Both of them have a sense of what needs to be done, and both of them are absolutely dedicated to doing it. Hence, they come into conflict. Hence, good drama. Hence, one of them ends up with the worst skin peel ever and… well, you get the idea.

Alfred, in true Alfred form, is reminding Bruce of his duty here. Good people are going to suffer; it's what happens when you push bad men into the corner. The question is, will Bruce just give up because of that, or ensure that all that suffering leads to something better?

Here's Dent spelling out his duty in the clearest possible terms. He wants to bring hope to Gotham, to prove that criminals don't run the streets and to give decent citizens a chance to live their lives in peace. As we've seen, that goes seriously pear-shaped on him by the end.

As Maroni snidely points out, every action has consequences. If Batman wants to save lives, it might mean taking off the mask, a duty that we're guessing ole Bats is going to ignore. Sadly, Maroni's right about one thing: doing so means that other people are going to pay the price.

The Joker gets at Batman here by suggesting that he's fallen down on his duty, and taken the selfish route by staying hidden rather than revealing himself to the world. It's a false analogy. Batman's unmasking would leave the city helpless before the Joker, but it makes the same point we've heard elsewhere. Batman's duty will cost lives, and not just his own.

Wow, no pressure buddy, right? The importance of Harvey in this plan to put the mob behind bars means that Harvey really can't shirk his duty. Ultimately, he does, of course, leaving someone else (Batman) scrambling to keep the fallout from affecting everyone.

Alfred reminds Batman of his duty again, this time suggesting that he do what he eventually ends up doing. Sometimes, the help really does know best, Bruce.

So here's Gordon's priorities laid out crystal clear. The trouble is, he's about to make a horrific mistake for the sake of this duty, shooting what he believes are the Joker's men but are actually hostages in disguise. Duty may lead you towards noble ends, but it can also make you do things without thinking them through, and perverting the very nobility you seek. That's how the Joker plays this game, and even a good man like Jim Gordon can be taken in by it.

Batman's willing to take on any task for the sake of this idea, including taking the blame for multiple murders that he didn't commit. It's also understood that he'll die for them if the circumstances are right. Say what you will about him, he doesn't do anything halfway.