He cannot control his sense of territoriality regarding his wife which repeatedly erupts in animalistic violence. This is such an important line because of course Jake Lamotta IS an animal and this will dictate much of how his life will turn out. Jake gets called an animal by his neighbor, his brother, and the prison guards after he his locked up and after pounding on the walls in a moment of unrestrained emotion he tries to reassure himself by saying 'I'm not that bad, I'm not an animal'. The first is the line 'I'm not an animal'. Anyway, there are two lines in the film that repeatedly come back because it seems that they perfectly encapsulate the character: These same emotions make him a feared and successful boxer in the ring while destroying his life outside of it. He is a man who simply cannot control his powerful emotions. However, his violent nature and sexual paranoia ruin it for him in a way that he cannot understand until it is too late.

It is a movie about a man who could easily live an amazing life as one of the most accomplished boxers of all time with a beautiful wife, close brother, and children. I admit I am stealing these ideas from a college professor who taught us the brilliance of the movie Raging Bull.

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