Da Mayor (do the Right Thing)

In Spike Lee’s film Do the Right Thing, Da Mayor is seen as a drunken old man. During the movie, he tells Mookie to “Always do the right thing”. I believe that Da Mayor represents “the right thing”. Throughout the movie I think that Da Mayor proves that he can follow his own advice. His many acts of honor prove that he is not just a hopeless drunk.

The whole neighborhood sees Da Mayor as an old drunk. Early on in the film Da Mayor was getting harassed by some kids. They were going on about how he was drunk and shiftless. Da Mayor tells them, “What do you know ‘bout me? Y’all can’t even pee straight. What do you know? Until you've stood in the doorway and listened to your five hungry children, unable to do a damn thing about it, you don't know shit. You don’t know my pain, you don’t know me.” I think what Da Mayor was doing was telling them his situation, maybe so they won’t end up the same way. I think Da Mayor made a few mistakes in his life and he wanted the kids to learn from it. I also believe this can mean that until those teenagers put themselves in Da Mayor’s shoes and position, they should not judge him or his lifestyle because they do not know how it feels when a man must work extremely hard to feed his family. With this advice he is doing the right thing because he is giving the teenagers a lesson that will affect them throughout their lives. Growing up in that neighborhood, just as Da Mayor, they will most likely end up like him. When it is actually happening to them, they will understand Da Mayor’s perspective.

Another example of Da Mayor doing the right thing was when he risked his own life to save the kid Eddie. Eddie was running in pursuit of an ice cream truck, unaware of the oncoming speeding car. Da Mayor saw what was going on and quickly ran across the street to knock Eddie down, out of the way of the car. Da Mayor saves Eddie out of the kindness of his heart. Thus it is the right thing to do. Eddie, growing up in a somewhat racist neighborhood, has probably not received such an act of kindness. Da Mayor, in risking his life for another, teaches Eddie that people do care about him and that his life matters. Da Mayor is also setting an example to the younger generations of this neighborhood because he once stated to Mookie, “Always do the right thing.” If Da Mayor did not risk his life to save a