The Dark Knight: Cheat Sheet

THEMES:
1. The Irony of the Joker: Planned Chaos
a. robbing the Mob bank
b. death threats
c. ferry boats
d. gives Batman wrong addresses for Rachel and Harvey

2a. The Power of Life and Death: Joker
a. kills innocent people
i. Rachel Dawes
ii. Ferry Boats
iii. Hospital blown up

2b. The Power of Life and Death: Batman
a. saves innocent people
b. jumps out window to save Rachel
c. doesn’t kill Joker (twice)

3a. Does Good Always Defeat Evil: No
a. Joker succeeds in planned chaos
b. Causes change in Harvey Dent
c. Batman forced to use excessive force

3b. Does Good Always Defeat Evil: Yes
a. Ferry Boats are NOT blown up
b. Batman does NOT kill
c. Mob and Joker are defeated

CHARACTER ISSUES
4. The Batman is a Flawed Character
a. willing to break laws (listening in on cell phones)
b. seriously injures Maroni (throws him off fire escape)
c. not accepted as a hero by Gotham
d. Hey, why do you think they call him The Dark Knight?

5. Batman and Joker are Two Sides of the Same Coin
a. they both wear "masks"
b. each uses violence to achieve a goal
c. both are outsiders to society
d. JOKER to BATMAN: "You complete me."

6. Harvey Dent: Thin Line Between Good and Evil
a. DA who becomes a killer
b. Two-Headed coin becomes burnt on one side as a symbol of his new
evil persona
c. His face becomes a mask: he has a dual personality

7. Alfred is the Conscience of the Batman
a. tells Batman that he shares blame in Joker's rise to power
b. knows truths about Batman that no one else does (Rachel Dawes)
c. Teaches lesson: "burn down the forest"