Broken Arrow is the story of a developing friendship between a frontiersman and an Apache chief. Together they strive to achieve peace between their warring nations. This story is notable for featuring many aspects of moral development including awareness, knowledge, reasoning and decision-making. These qualities are integrated into the personal lives of the characters against the backdrop of the larger issue of war and peace. The film reveals with great clarity the components of moral knowledge as Tom Jeffords and the Apache chief, Cochise, come to recognize and respect one another in a fully human way. The love story of Tom and Sonseeahray and the friendship between Tom and Cochise dramatically portray how the virtues of justice, compassion, and tolerance make peace possible between people of different cultures and races, and allow for love to grow between them. Without these types of virtuous relationships, peace cannot be achieved.

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