The Third Man

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The Third Man

Most of the characters in the movie The Third Man engage in actions that go against the Christian natural law ethics. Their actions go against the principles set out by St. Augustine in his book City of God. They do this by violating the principles of equality and doing harm to other characters in the film. Various sections and readings from the Bible influence the ethics and laws that Christians apply. Additionally, Christianity uses Jesus Christ as the key inspiration for their principles.

The main antagonist in The Third Man, Harry Limes does many things that do not conform to Christian ethics. Firstly, Limes steals penicillin from military hospitals dilutes it and sells it on the black market. His actions result in the deaths of many children who were suffering from meningitis. Limes’ evil nature also comes out in the way that he kills people multiple times in the film. One of the people that Limes kills is the orderly who was helping him steal the penicillin. This shows that he has no loyalty as well.

Limes’ associates also break the rules that St. Augustine established. His girlfriend, Anna Schmidt, continues to be in a relationship with him despite the fact that she is aware of Limes’ evil deeds. This implies that she does not care for the well-being of other people. Limes’ friends Kurtz and Popescu are also involved in his syndicate and help him break the law when they assist in faking his death. They then go ahead and lie to Major Calloway and Martins to protect Limes’ secret. Finally, the doctor who helps Limes’ fake his death also breaks St. Augustine’s laws. He knowingly helps a thief, murderer and conman to fake his death and evade justice. The doctor’s actions also expose more children to danger by helping Limes fake his death, despite the fact that he would have continued to sell ineffective drugs on the black market.

The protagonists in The Third Man also fail to abide by St. Augustine’s code of ethics. For example, Martins is selfish in nature. When he finds out that Anna will not leave Vienna, he backtracks on his pledge to help Calloway find Limes. He only agrees to go through with the task after Calloway shows him all of the children dying because of Limes’ actions. Major Calloway also breaks Christian ethics and laws. After the police have cornered Limes’, Calloway injures him and then executes him a few minutes later when he could have arrested him just as easily.