"Pardon me, you dropped something."
When The Tramp finds a child next to some trash cans, he is quick to try to pass it off on someone else. He says this line to a woman pushing a baby in a stroller as he tries to hand the foundling over—an absurd suggestion as both The Tramp and the passing woman know the child isn't hers.
"Please love and care for this orphan child."
The Tramp tries at first to get rid of the child he finds, putting himself in a quick succession of slapstick scenarios. However, the tone shifts from comedic to sentimental and heartfelt when The Tramp finds this note within the folds of the baby's blanket. The simple statement makes The Tramp's heart melt, and he goes from trying to get rid of the child to holding him close to his chest and setting out to do as the note asks.
"You know what streets we worked today?"
After living together for five years, John and The Tramp have developed a routine for earning a meager amount of money—just enough to keep them housed and fed. This line precedes The Tramp and John going out to con people into paying The Tramp to fix windows. Making sure not to "work" the same streets too often, John throws rocks into windows just before The Tramp walks by posing as a glazier. When the homeowners see the damage, they are quick to pay The Tramp to install new glass.
Charity—to some a duty, to others a joy.
Although she begins the film poor, The Woman becomes a wealthy entertainer in the five years after she abandons John. With her excess money, The Woman routinely engages in charitable giving, distributing toys and money in poor neighborhoods. This title card proceeds a scene in which she goes to The Tramp's block and gives out gifts, including a dog toy for John.
"How may I atone for the suffering I’ve—"
"It’s too late now, unless the child—"
Now that she is famous, The Woman is invited to parties with other elites. At one of these parties, she encounters The Man, with whom she conceived John. The sight of The Man prompts The Woman to go outside, where he joins her to apologize for the callous way he refused to acknowledge their child or support her through her pregnancy. Title cards show the ex-couple's strained conversation. Both of their statements are so laden with emotion that neither can quite finish their sentences.
"Remember, if he smites you on the cheek, offer him the other."
On another visit to The Tramp's impoverished block, The Woman happens upon The Tramp dodging the punches of a local bully's older brother. She tries to break up the fight by reciting this Bible quote from which we get the phrase "turn the other cheek." By saying this, The Woman is reminding the men that it is virtuous not to retaliate when someone harms you; instead, you should maintain civility and dignity. The man listens. The Tramp, however, prepares to hit the man with a brick when his guard is down.
"Are you the father of this child?"
"Well—practically."
"Explain yourself."
On her second visit to The Tramp's neighborhood, The Woman collects John in her arms and informs The Tramp that the boy has come down with an illness. In the next scene, a humorless Country Doctor visits to assess John's health. In this exchange, the doctor realizes The Tramp is not the boy's legal guardian. Rather than lie and claim to be John's parent, The Tramp shows the note left with the baby at the beginning of the film, and the doctor keeps the note, later showing it to The Woman. This scene is significant because without the doctor's inquiries, The Woman might never have learned that John is her son.
"This child needs proper care and attention. I’ll attend to the matter."
Having determined that The Tramp in his idiocy and poverty is an unfit guardian for the boy, the doctor sets out to alert the child welfare authorities and has John taken from The Tramp. Before leaving John and The Tramp's attic room, the doctor speaks this vague but foreboding line, leaving The Tramp in a state of confusion as to what he has planned.
$1000 REWARD
LOST CHILD WANTED
Boy - Age 5 - Last seen with a little man with large flat feet and small mustache. If he or any other person will bring the child to Police Headquarters, the above reward will be paid. No questions asked.
H. GRAFTON Chief of Police.
After the child welfare authority removes John from his home with The Tramp, The Tramp executes a daring rescue that involves running over rooftops until he catches up with and leaps onto the truck carrying John. That night while hiding out, The Tramp sneaks John into a flophouse where they can rent a cheap bed for the night. As they doze, however, The Tramp and John are unaware that the flophouse proprietor has seen this newspaper advertisement. Although the stakes are high for The Tramp and John, Chaplin injects humor into the scene with a description of The Tramp that draws attention to his iconic feet and mustache.
"What's its name?"
"John."
After finding the note in the baby's blanket, The Tramp decides he will do his best to love and care for the foundling. On the doorstep of his multi-person home, The Tramp runs into women who presumably live on the lower floor. When asked what his child's name is, The Tramp is caught off guard, clearly not having considered yet that children need names. He steps inside momentarily to think about it, quickly returning with the simple name on which he has settled. The humorous line is significant because it reveals how unprepared for fatherhood The Tramp is.
