A View From The Bridge Essay

Beatrice said, â€Å"Whatever happened, we all done it† in one of the final scenes in Arthur Miller’s play â€Å"A View From The Bridge†. I disagree with the above quotation, in my opinion, only three characters are to blame. Those being Eddie, Catherine and Rodolfo. Many factors became culpable for Eddie’s downfall in the concluding scene, such as his obsession with Catherine, Catherine’s flirtatious behaviour, the arrival of Rodolfo and so forth. Yet, many of these factors evolve around the character of Eddie. Therefore, if I had to point a finger of blame at one character alone, it would be Eddie. In the beginning of the play, our initial response to Eddie is that he dominates the household. He provides a father figure for Catherine, as he doesn’t want her to expose herself to the attention of other men in their community. Eddie shows a lot of interest in Catherine and her appearance, he informed her of how she was â€Å"walkin’ wavy† and that her skirt was â€Å"too short†. The way Eddie made his opinion known and how his obsession affected his lifestyle, is obviously going to have a negative effect on him for the rest of his life. Catherine’s effect on Eddie soon jeopardised Eddie’s relationship with his wife, Beatrice. Eddie tried to please Catherine, whilst he became â€Å"quickly resentful† when talking to his wife. We can tell immediately of how this situation cannot stay this way, some event will have to occur for Eddie to make up his mind about who and what he wants. When the submarines, Marco and Rodolfo are introduced, Eddie’s jealous streak and competitiveness both become evident and culpable for the hostile welcome he greeted the cousins with. Rodolfo made an immediate impact on Catherine, who showed a lot of interest in the illegal immigrant. Catherine’s interest in Rodolfo and Rodolfo’s feelings for her infuriate Eddie. Eddie seems jealous and unwanted to a certain extent. Eddie’s blunt attitude towards Rodolfo spells trouble, as we can tell at some point this will come to a head. For example, Rodolfo begins to sing, much to the pleasure of Catherine and Beatrice, but Eddie interrupts this and tells Rodolfo to, â€Å"wait a minute†. This seems as if Eddie doesn’t like Rodolfo entertaining, especially singing this song that could well have been aimed at Catherine. A View From The Bridge Essay The Play â€Å"A View From The Bridge† by Arthur Miller is set in the 1950s in Brooklyn, America in a small cramped apartment, focusing the audience’s attention on to the tension in this household. It is a tragedy about an Italian American man called Eddie Carbone. It is a story of self destruction that Miller suggests is inevitable when a strong man like Eddie defies the standards of what his culture holds to be right and wrong. Eddie and his wife Beatrice have brought up Beatrice’s niece Catherine. Catherine is now old enough to go out for work. Eddie is very protective over her and is reluctant to let her go out for work. When Beatrice’s cousins Rodolpho and Marco arrive as illegal immigrants, Catherine falls in love with Rodolpho. Eddie becomes jealous as Catherine moves further away from him but never admits it. Throughout the play Eddie tries to destroy Rodolpho and as a final desperate measure he betrays him and his brother to the authorities. In his community this is unforgivable. Marco is so mad that he finally kills Eddie before he is deported. The play ends with everyone losing something. I found it very difficult to decide who I felt most sympathy for in the play because ultimately, everyone lost something. Eddie dies a sad broken man. Beatrice weeps over the loss of her husband. Rodolpho and Catherine are sorry for Eddie’s death and Marco is deported and loses his goal of earning money to send home. Eddie is a strong, impulsive man. He acts by instinct and prejudice. He is convinced just by looking at Rodolpho that he is a homosexual and unfit to marry his niece, whom he is over protective of. This becomes clear in his conversation with Alfieri about Rodolpho. Eddie says, â€Å"he ain’t right† and he also says, â€Å"He’s a blonde guy. Like†¦ platinum. † Eddie thinks that Rodolpho is homosexual just because he has blonde hair. He suggests that Rodolpho is weak when he says, â€Å"I mean if you close the paper fast – you could blow him over,† showing how he believes Rodolpho is not ‘manly’ enough to marry his niece. In his mind he neither understands nor admits his true feeling towards Catherine. Alfieri confronts him about this, â€Å"She wants to get married, Eddie. She can’t marry you can she? † Eddie is shocked by the suggestion and replies ‘furiously’, â€Å"What’re you talkin’ about, marry me! I don’t know what the hell you’re talkin’ about! † He refuses to admit that his feeling for Catherine is more than fatherly. To him, Alfieri’s suggestion is absurd and unacceptable. In fact, he is only lying to himself and pushing himself one step closer to his own demise. A View from the Bridge Essay Why and How Does Eddie Carbone Change As The Play Progresses? What Leads to His Death? How Do You Think an Audience would respond To the Changes in his Personality As They Watch Him Destroy Himself? Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge is set in the 1950s, when communities were forced to reconcile between American culture and the Italian community culture that surrounds. The cultural and moral difference between the two provides one of the great conflicts in the play. Eddie is made to choose between the two, which questions his loyalty to his family. The play explores relationships. Eddie Carbone is a tragic protagonist who needs to believe that his masculinity denies any sexual desires. To him, being homosexual is â€Å"not right†; this shows his insecurity of being a dominant character. His strong emotions for his niece suggest incestuous desires. Becoming suspicious of his own motives, Eddie doesn’t realise these feelings until at the very end. His feelings for Catherine are suppressed. He transfers this sexual frustration into a hatred for Marco and Rodolpho, which causes him to act completely irrationally. Eddie’s fear need to secure his good name from Marco is a result of his failure to ‘protect’ Catherine. The community witness his loyalty die away due to his commitment to keeping Catherine to himself, and turning his vengeance into a need for acceptance by spending his last moments fighting Marco for his good name in the community. According to Eddie, men should protect the innocent and provide a better life for their family. Because of this devotion, he believes that men should be respected and not told what to do. â€Å"I do what I feel like doin’ or what I don’t feel like doin'†. This concept stays in Eddie’s mind throughout the play. He exercises his authority. He believes that loyalty should stay strong, not only within a family, but the whole community. The neighbours look out for each other. The audience notices that he’s a character with passionate beliefs. Eddie’s father was a poor immigrant from Sicily. He thinks that he has worked hard to get to where they are now. â€Å"I worked like a dog twenty years so a punk could have her†. He feels that immigrants should work as hard as he had done. This is why Eddie is seen as a proud man; he has reached so far in life, without any failures as of yet, and is determined to maintain his earned respect. Again, he believes the tight neighbourhood he resides in shouldn’t betray one other, especially if the Italian culture is questioned. He lets illegal immigrants stay with him â€Å"They’ll be thankful†. Readers believe that he’s a generous character at the start, even when he uses this generous act to prove that his loyalty is still strong at the end. When suggested that the only thing he could do to get back at Rodolpho was to betray the family, he reclined at first. â€Å"Oh, Jesus, no, I wouldn’t do nothin’ about that, I mean-â€Å". His beliefs for a strong community stayed persistent, until he became confused over his motives. Even when believing that Rodolpho is â€Å"stealing† from him, he doesn’t do this because he’s already losing his respect, due to his feelings for Catherine, and fears that his desires could be revealed. The audience already see that he’s changing from an over-protective father-figure to a jealous, bitter man who isn’t going to give up on what he wants. When suggesting that Rodolpho had stolen from him, we see that he isn’t generous anymore; readers wonder if his act of generosity was genuine. â€Å"A View from the Bridge†? Essay In â€Å"A View From The Bridge† by Arthur Miller I believe that Eddie is the character who changes most in the course of the play. I will show this by talking about his role in the drama, the dramatic devices and use of language by Miller as well as the background and social context of the play. Eddie’s role in the play is the most vital one; he is by far the most important character in the play. It is, after all, his inability to deal with his emotions that triggers most of the story and the tragedy that unfolds. Throughout the play we see many changes in the character of Eddie. At the beginning of the play Eddie is a respected, hard-working man who is protective and kind towards his orphaned niece Catherine. The first scene in the play demonstrates Eddie’s character clearly. He comes home from work and is greeted by an excited Catherine. One stage direction that immediately gives a feel for how Eddie feels about Catherine is â€Å"Eddie is pleased, therefore shy about it†. This shows that the simple â€Å"Hi, Eddie! † from Catherine is enough to make him shy, almost as if he has been reduced to a ‘schoolboy crush’ state of mind. Later in the scene he tells Catherine that he thinks her skirt is too short and that she is â€Å"walkin’ wavy. † He gets very protective of her, saying that she is being very provocative. When Catherine says, â€Å"Them guys look at all the girls†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Eddie replies, â€Å"You ain’t all the girls. † This adds to the impression that he wants to protect her and may have inappropriate feelings towards her. But by the end of the play Eddie no longer protects Catherine with all his strength; instead, he focuses solely on attacking Rudolfo and Marco because of his intense jealousy over Rudolfo’s relationship with Catherine. In spite of the advice of his lawyer Alfieri to let things run their course Eddie betrays Rudolfo and Marco and in doing so loses his reputation and goes against his own moral code. In the end Eddie has almost gone mad because his friends and family have lost all respect for him and he is vainly trying to get it back. The scene I have chosen to demonstrate how much Eddie has changed is the final one in the play. It shows Eddie almost as a different person – no longer kind and protective but vengeful and bitter. Eddie hears that Marco is on his way to confront him after being bailed out by Alfieri. He goes outside and addresses the crowd of people that has gathered because they have heard that Eddie has betrayed Marco and Rudolfo . The realization of what he has done has made Eddie go slightly mad. One stage direction says, â€Å"his eyes are murderous and he cracks his knuckles with a strange sort of relaxation. † This shows that Eddie has come to terms with what is happening and is facing Marco even though he knows he has greater strength than him. Throughout the play Arthur Miller uses simplistic language to demonstrate many things about Eddie. The character’s vocabulary is limited and often colloquial, this shows that Eddie has had a tough upbringing and has a hard-working life-style – he is a very ‘manly’ man. The play is based largely on Millers own experiences. The story of Eddie’s betrayal of his cousins is based on a longshoreman Miller heard about during his own two years working on the docks of Brooklyn. Whilst there, he also heard about a friend’s dream where the friend had an attraction to his niece. Miller believed that the dream revealed a desire to have relations with the niece. Miller used his own experiences a lot when writing his plays which give them a truthful feel. Eddie’s simple direct language is not shown as a negative thing however – it demonstrates what a powerful character he is and how he is perceived by those around him. Because he is the head of the household, he does not need to ask people to listen, he simply talks to the family using direct, blunt language and they listen. He is Catherine’s guardian (he also has inappropriate feelings for her). This role makes him all the more important because, Catherine is the second most important character in the play. When Eddie challenges Rodolfo to a casual boxing lesson and uses the opportunity to punch him. This is Eddie’s way of showing Rodolfo and Catherine that he has the most power in the household – but he then abuses it. The play is also an accurate projection of 1940s Red Hook, the slum where the Carbones live and the play is set. Eddie and his family are just like most families in Red Hook, they should be viewed as regular members of the wider community, even when the tragedy that occurs within the confines of their family is spilled into the community of Red Hook and becomes a public affair. In conclusion I believe that Eddie has changed the most because at the beginning of the play, he represents a good and a respectable man, but at the end, he has been reduced to the ruins of what was once an honorable man. It is Eddie’s good values at the beginning of the play that cause us to admire him. One of these was being so averse to what the boy did in the Vinnie Bolzano story. However, through his actions in calling immigration and telling them about Rodolfo and Marco he loses the respect and sympathy of those around him. The aspects of Eddie that made him the good, strong man he was in the beginning of the play were changed by Rodolfo and Catherine’s love for each other. By the end of ‘A View From the Bridge’ we see that even a man as strong and reliable as Eddie can be completely transformed and distorted by the illicit love and jealousy that he feels for Catherine. A view from the Bridge Essay Eddie: â€Å"Listen, you been givin’ me the willies the way you walk down the street, I mean it. † The relationship between them is that of a father and a daughter. The tension increases in the relationship when Eddie hears about Catherine’s new job. Eddie: â€Å"†¦.. plumbers; they’ll chew her to pieces if she don’t watch out. † Eddie is overprotective about Catherine especially when she has a new job. However, then he allows her to take the job. He gives Catherine some advice. Eddie: â€Å"†¦. don’t trust nobody. † He calls Catherine ‘Modonna’ this is a religious overtoues. He worships her. If I was directing the play I would make that scene a bit intense and make Eddie feel hurt when Catherine has got a new job but Catherine and Beatrice don’t see it. The tension grows in the relationship when Beatrice’s cousin, Marco and Rodolfo arrive. Eddie becomes jelous of Catherine’s interest in Rudolfo. Rudolfo and Catherine have gone to the Parmount and they come home having enjoyedtheir evening. Eddie tells Rudolfo to go into into the house because he wants to speak to Catherine. Eddie tells Catherine that Rudolfo only likes her so that he can get a passport. Catherine disagrees with this and refuses to believe Eddie. Eddie: â€Å"Katie, he’s only bowin’ to his passport. † I think that Eddie is using this to come between them because I think Eddie has feelings for Catherine and he likes her. If I was the director I would bring more tension into this scene and create some kind of argument between Eddie and Rudolfo. Eddie comes home drunk and sees Rudolfo coming out of Catherine’s bedroom. He becomes angry and upset. He tells Rudolfo to leave the house, but Catherine says no and she is the one who will be leaving the house. In that scene Eddie kisses Rudolfo to show that he is not straight(gay). Catherine: â€Å"I think I can’t stay here no more. I’m sorry, Eddie. † The relationship between Eddie and Catherine is getting worse and more tense. Catherine is very angry with Eddie’s anti social behaviour. Catherine tells Eddie that she is going to marry Rudolfo. Eddie tries to tell her that she is too young and that this is the first guy she has met. Eddie doesn’t want Catherine to go ahead with the marriage. â€Å"But you never knew no other fella, Katie! How could you make up your mind? † If I were to direct this play, I would put more action into this scene and a little argument about the wedding. The final relationship which I am going to explore is the one between Catherine and Beatrice. Beatrice loves Eddie and wants to respect Eddie, but Catherine comes in her way. Beatrice understands that Catherine is growing up and she is not a baby, but Eddie is being over protective of Catherine. Beatrice becomes more certain that Eddie is heading towards disaster. Eddie: â€Å"Beatrice, she’s a baby, how is she gonna know what she likes? † Beatrice: â€Å"Well, you kept her ababy, you wouldn’t let her go out. † Beatrice tries to reason with Eddie. She tries to tell him that he’s being selfish. Catherine try to affect Eddie. Catherine is confused and innocent throughout the play. If I was directing this scene I would create a havoc between Beatrice and Eddie and their relationship would break up. I think that Beatrice is jelous of Catherine but she is doing the right thing. She tries to push the girl out to work so that she doesn’t come into the relationship between her and Eddie. Beatrice is aware that Eddie some sexual desire for Catherine but she doesn’t blame Catherine for this. She tries to tell Catherine to move on with her life and she does this by standing up for her when she found her first job and when she is going out with Rodolfo. Catherine doesn’t encourage Eddie purposely. She is not deceptive. Catherine takes Beatrice’s advice to move on with her life. Beatrice: â€Å"You still walk around in front of him in your slip. † Beatrice: â€Å"well you can’t do it. † Beatrice tells Catherine that she is not a baby and she shouldn’t walk around in her slip when Eddie is shaving his underwear. She tells her to go on and marry Rodolfo. Beatrice is doing the right, but inside I think she feels jelous of Catherine. Beatrice was happy when Catherine announced her engagement. Beatrice is ready to attend the wedding but Eddie doesn’t want to. Catherine: â€Å"I’m gonna get married, Eddie. So if you wanna come, the wedding be on Saturday. † I would direct this be instructing Beatrice to shout at Catherine, teaching her to get on with her life. I would tell Catherine to actas if she is confused why Beatrice is shouting at her. In conclusion, I think Arthur Miller has done well to show the relationships between the characters. He has used different types of techniques and he has been succesful in doing this. Relationships are a major factor in the play because actions come from the characters and their prejudice attitudes etc. Miller shows conflicts, love and arguments through characters. I think the main point of the story is it shows if relationships don’t work, it leads to death and conflict. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Miller section. A view from the bridge Essay There are many emotions in the play: Love, hatred, jealousy, and anger. Write about one and how it is presented in the play. I have chosen to look at the emotion love and the part it plays in affecting the storyline. In ‘A View From the Bridge’ by Arthur Miller most of the characters’ actions are fuelled by love. Love drives all the other main emotions in the play. However there are question marks over both the central loving relationships, that of Eddie and Catherine’s and Eddie and Beatrice’s. Catherine’s love for Eddie is that of a daughter for her father as she calls him ‘the sweetest guy’. She has a doting daughter’s attitude. Catherine cares for Eddie and goes out of her way to please him ‘What do you want me to do? ‘ she asks him upset when he disapproves of her skirt. She wants very much to please him. But Eddie is very hard to please, as he is far too overprotective of her. Catherine’s falls in love with an immigrant who stays with the family ‘I love you Rodolfo’ she tells him. Catherine has never been in a serious relationship before but is deeply in love with Rodolfo who in turn loves her. This relationship is normal for people of their age and marriage is quite a natural step for two people in love. Marco is an immigrant who has come to America as his family are starving and as he explains his wife ‘feeds them from her own mouth’ meaning they are starving. Marco’s love has forced him to leave his wife and three children to work in America to make money to feed them. This is a very strong gesture as he plans not to see his family again for ‘four, five, six years maybe’. This relationship highlights the extreme measures people are driven to because of love. Marco loves his family to the point where he would do anything for them. This shows that in this play love is a real passion that prompts other behaviour. Eddie’s love for Catherine seemed at the beginning of the play just to be the love of a concerned father figure, ‘I think it’s too short ain’t it? ‘ he says worrying about the length of Catherine’s skirt. Eddie is very over protective of Catherine and treats her as if she is still his little girl, which could be damaging to her development in this stage of life as Beatrice points out ‘Look, you gotta get used to it, she’s no baby no more’. It is time for Eddie to let go but he can’t. Eddie’s obsessive attitude towards Catherine seems strange to everyone except Eddie ‘She can’t marry you, can she? ‘ Alfieri says trying to explain how others might see his behaviour. To everyone else Eddie seems to be perversely in love with Catherine and wants her for himself. I believe this is not the case, I believe Eddie has become used to Catherine’s love for him that he cannot bear to see her adorning her affection on anyone else. The stage direction ‘with a sense of her childhood, her babyhood and the years’ describes the great sense of loss Eddie feels as he has cared and loved her all her life. Beatrice remains faithful to Eddie throughout although she is frustrated, ‘When am I gonna be a wife again, Eddie? ‘ she tells him, desperate from him to forget about Catherine and go back to caring for her. Beatrice’s love for Eddie is one of the strongest in the play, she wants desperately for Eddie to pay her the attention she deserves as a loving wife. Eddies obsessive behaviour towards Catherine puts great strain on his marriage ‘I want my respect’ he says when Beatrice tries to confront him, Eddie is angry and shouts at her for complaining about him being so strict with Catherine. Beatrice is struggling to keep her marriage intact, but she cannot understand the love Eddie feels towards Catherine. I believe Eddie loves his wife dearly but his love for Catherine takes priority when Rodolfo comes on the scene, which leads him to mistreat Beatrice. I cannot help feeling sorry for her as she is forced into a situation that was not her doing. It seems her love for Eddie is unrequited. Eddie’s hatred for Rodolfo is fuelled by his jealousy for the love and attention Catherine bestows upon him, ‘I’m telling ya the guy ain’t right’ he says trying to justify his hatred. Nobody believes Eddie’s comments about Rodolfo and everyone but Eddie can see through to his jealousy. It isn’t right for a man of Eddie’s age to be obsessed with his young niece, but nobody understands the depth and passion of Eddie’s love, which drives him to keep Catherine at any cost. Eddie’s obsessive love compels him to see Mr Alfieri, family friend and lawyer ‘He ain’t right Mr Alfieri’ Eddie pleads, but it is obvious he has no jurisdiction within he law. The fact Eddie has gone to see Alfieri shows the power of his love towards Catherine and his desperation to have her for himself. Love is the main driving force behind all the characters actions, ‘the truth is not as bad as blood Eddie’ Beatrice tells him trying to quell his anger and hatred. Beatrice believes that love is not a worthy enough cause for the use of violence. It is Eddie’s deep love that drives him to use all force necessary to have what he believes to be his Catherine. This unfaltering love to the bitter end is misunderstood by Marco ‘He degraded my brother. My blood. ‘ Marco says; he cannot see why Eddie turned him and Rodolfo into the police. But it is obvious to the reader that it was Eddies’ love that compelled his actions and not his hatred for Marco and his brother. Eddies’ love finally leads him to his death ‘You lied about me Marco’ Eddie cries before lunging at him. This is Eddies last desperate attempt to win back his dignity. Eddies’ love has driven him to a point where he has no other option but to follow his feelings to the end. The fate of Eddie Carbone is a tragic one as his obsessive feelings towards Catherine took control of him and his actions that followed he could not help. I believe the story is a testament to the power of love and how once it has infected someone in a certain way; they are powerless to stop it. Emlyn Roberts Pluto10X Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Miller section. A View from the Bridge Essay Pride plays a great role in the play, â€Å"A View from the Bridge†. The biggest victim of pride is Eddie, who loses both his pride and respect throughout the play. And this gradual loss heavily affects the characters’ behaviors. However pride does not seem to be the only factor that dictates the progress of the play. In the beginning of the play, Eddie is full of pride. He is respected by both Marco and Rodolfo as well as the community. The quote, â€Å"I want to tell you now Eddie – when you say go, we will go,† shows that Marco and Rodolfo respect Eddie. The quote in other words means that Marco and Rodolfo will be doing whatever Eddie tells them to do. The fact that this is Marco’s first significant line in the play shows how important Marco thinks of Eddie. Also the hyphen in the middle of the sentence gives effect, which emphasizes the message Marco is trying to send to Eddie. The pride Marco and Rodolfo give Eddie in the family allows Eddie to lower his guard and gives him a chance to respect Marco as well. This perspective can be seen from the following line. Eddie says, â€Å"You’re welcome, Marco, we got plenty of room here. † He addresses Marco, which shows that Eddie is in favor of him. Then the second part of the line, â€Å"we got plenty of room here. †, not only shows the Eddie is welcoming Marco, but it also shows that Eddie has given Marco his respect. A â€Å"Room† in their house symbolizes respect. At first, Eddie and Marco both have each other’s trust and respect, giving them both pride which brings the two to a peaceful relationship. Later as the play progresses Eddie begins to lose his pride. Marco says, â€Å"Here. (the chair raised like a weapon over Eddie’s head – and he transforms what might appear like a glare of warning into a smile of triumph)† The simplicity of the sentence emphasizes Marco’s loss of respect for Eddie. The stage direction, â€Å"Over Eddie’s head† also symbolizes how Marco has overcome Eddie. Also the â€Å"glare of warning† shows that Marco no longer thinks of Eddie as someone he should respect. The story continues as Eddie loses his pride. Pride is very important to Eddie. He says â€Å"Yeah Marco! Eddie Carbone. Eddie Carbone. Eddie Carbone. † His name symbolizes his pride and the repetition of it shows the importance of his name in Eddie’s heart. Also he does not just say his first name but also his last name, which also emphasizes his name – his pride. The community’s reaction is another event that comes from pride. â€Å"(Lipari and wife exits†¦ Louis barely turns, then walks off the stage and exits down right with Mike. )† is a stage direction that shows the community’s reaction to what Eddie had done to Marco and Rodolfo. Lipari and his wife, Louis, and Mike represent the community. The fact that they have â€Å"walked off† and â€Å"exited† indicates that the whole community has turned their backs on Eddie. From there, we can see that Eddie has lost his pride in his community as well as his family. Although pride is a main factor behind the progression of the play, loyalty and family relationships, also play a very important role. Family relationships play a very important role. This could be seen from Beatrice’s line, â€Å"Eddie, listen to me. Who could give you your name? Listen to me, I love you, I’m talking to you. I love you. † The short sentences make the sentence feel real and have a real impact, as if Beatrice is really trying to talk to Eddie. Furthermore, the repetition of the phrases, â€Å"listen to me† and â€Å"I love you† emphasizes how much Beatrice really cares about Eddie. Pride and family relationships play a huge rule in the progression of the play. A View from the Bridge Essay Pride plays a great role in the play, â€Å"A View from the Bridge†. The biggest victim of pride is Eddie, who loses both his pride and respect throughout the play. And this gradual loss heavily affects the characters’ behaviors. However pride does not seem to be the only factor that dictates the progress of the play. In the beginning of the play, Eddie is full of pride. He is respected by both Marco and Rodolfo as well as the community. The quote, â€Å"I want to tell you now Eddie – when you say go, we will go,† shows that Marco and Rodolfo respect Eddie. The quote in other words means that Marco and Rodolfo will be doing whatever Eddie tells them to do. The fact that this is Marco’s first significant line in the play shows how important Marco thinks of Eddie. Also the hyphen in the middle of the sentence gives effect, which emphasizes the message Marco is trying to send to Eddie. The pride Marco and Rodolfo give Eddie in the family allows Eddie to lower his guard and gives him a chance to respect Marco as well. This perspective can be seen from the following line. Eddie says, â€Å"You’re welcome, Marco, we got plenty of room here. † He addresses Marco, which shows that Eddie is in favor of him. Then the second part of the line, â€Å"we got plenty of room here. †, not only shows the Eddie is welcoming Marco, but it also shows that Eddie has given Marco his respect. A â€Å"Room† in their house symbolizes respect. At first, Eddie and Marco both have each other’s trust and respect, giving them both pride which brings the two to a peaceful relationship. Later as the play progresses Eddie begins to lose his pride. Marco says, â€Å"Here. (the chair raised like a weapon over Eddie’s head – and he transforms what might appear like a glare of warning into a smile of triumph)† The simplicity of the sentence emphasizes Marco’s loss of respect for Eddie. The stage direction, â€Å"Over Eddie’s head† also symbolizes how Marco has overcome Eddie. Also the â€Å"glare of warning† shows that Marco no longer thinks of Eddie as someone he should respect. The story continues as Eddie loses his pride. Pride is very important to Eddie. He says â€Å"Yeah Marco! Eddie Carbone. Eddie Carbone. Eddie Carbone. † His name symbolizes his pride and the repetition of it shows the importance of his name in Eddie’s heart. Also he does not just say his first name but also his last name, which also emphasizes his name – his pride. The community’s reaction is another event that comes from pride. (Lipari and wife exits†¦ Louis barely turns, then walks off the stage and exits down right with Mike. )† is a stage direction that shows the community’s reaction to what Eddie had done to Marco and Rodolfo. Lipari and his wife, Louis, and Mike represent the community. The fact that they have â€Å"walked off† and â€Å"exited† indicates that the whole community has turned their backs on Eddie. From there, we can see that Eddie has lost his pride in his community as well as his family. Although pride is a main factor behind the progression of the play, loyalty and family relationships, also play a very important role. Family relationships play a very important role. This could be seen from Beatrice’s line, â€Å"Eddie, listen to me. Who could give you your name? Listen to me, I love you, I’m talking to you. I love you. † The short sentences make the sentence feel real and have a real impact, as if Beatrice is really trying to talk to Eddie. Furthermore, the repetition of the phrases, â€Å"listen to me† and â€Å"I love you† emphasizes how much Beatrice really cares about Eddie. Pride and family relationships play a huge rule in the progression of the play. A view from the bridge Essay Explain how act one of A View from the Bridge is effective in terms of dramatic quality and how an audience might respond to the play. This essay is about act 1 of A View from the Bridge which was written by Arthur Miller. A View From The Bridge is a play, so I will be focussing on the dramatic input it had on the audience. People in the 1950’s, when the play was first performed, would react differently to an audience would now. People in the 1950’s lived under a very strict moral code, people were expected to live like a stereotypical American citizen would have. The code was much stricter than the one that exists today. This is shown by â€Å"In your town you wouldn’t just drag off some girl without permission†¦ it ain’t that much different here.† In Italy there was no employment, which meant there was no money to spend even on basic needs like food and water, Marco explains how his 3 children â€Å"eat the sunshine† and because of this many Italians immigrated to America, so that they could live the ‘American Dream’, where people were able to find employment. Women were made to live under moral values and were expected to be homemakers. Beatrice is a very good example of this, ‘I was gonna wash the walls’, men, on the other hand were expected to be the providers, to get money and keep the family stable. They were expected to behave like men, â€Å"Come on Rodolfo, I’ll show you a couple of passes†¦ now watch out here I come, Danish!† Working class men had specific views on sexuality; this is a reason why Eddie and Rodolfo are constantly fighting. Eddie suspects Rodolfo as being a homosexual, because Rodolfo makes dresses, sings and dances, which is not a way a man should be behaving, and because of this behaviour, he calls Rodolfo â€Å"A weird† and tells Alfeiri, â€Å"the guy ain’t right,† Eddie also worries how the other men view him, â€Å"they’re calling him a canary.† The contrast to how they view the more conventional Marco, â€Å"A regular slave† creates a l ot of tension and makes Eddie very anxious. Eddie is the main character of the play, and it is his tragedy that we watch unfold. Eddie works on the docks because he is a longshoreman. He is presented as an ordinary, hardworking provider. â€Å"He was as good as a man as he had to be in a life that was hard and even†¦ he brought home his pay and he lived.† However Alfieri then goes on to say â€Å"Eddie Carbone had never expected to have a destiny. A man works, raises his family, goes bowling, eats, gets old and then dies.† This tells the audience that Eddie is more than meets the eye. Eddie is an Italian-American who is lacking in education, which is portrayed in his speech, â€Å"I’ll treat yiz†, â€Å"you gotta sit down sometimes†. His grammar is often inaccurate â€Å"whyn’t you run down.† Eddie is important to the play because he shows what happens when you betray your family and how it affects him emotionally and physically. If Eddie didn’t exist the family could not survive, as he holds the family together, however Eddie could not survive with his family, which is why the play is so tragic. Eddie relates to the other characters by being something they each need, for Instance he sees himself as a man, a husband, an uncle and a member of a close-knit Italian community. However the audience sees a strong silent type in Eddie, they can see what is going on in Eddies head, they can see he is trying to protect Catherine from other people and himself, â€Å"I guess I just never figured on one thing†¦ that you would ever grow up.† The audience can see Eddie try and rationalise his feelings for Catherine and can see how jealous Eddie is when Catherine is going out with Rodolfo, â€Å"He takes and puts his filthy hands on her like a goddam thief!† Eddie’s feelings for Catherine also impacts on the relationship he has with Beatrice, â€Å"when am I going to be a wife again?† Eddie makes act one dramatic with all the intensity of everything that is going on around him, eg his feelings for Catherine, relationship problems with Beatrice and the hatred of Rodolfo, which leads to Eddie making negative comments, which makes Catherine and Beatrice anxious, as they can see his anger building up. He also starts to criticise Catherine, for example â€Å"what the high heels for Garbo?†. Even though Marco has spoken very little, it is made clear that he is angry at Eddie for disrespecting his brother, so Marco challenges Eddie in lifting a chair above his head, which Marco does successfully but Eddie is unable to do, this gesture warns Eddie, its as if he is saying, if you mess with Rodolfo you mess with me. It also shows how strong Marco is compared to Eddie, which is important as it relates to the end scene. Catherine and Beatrice are important to the play because they are Eddies family, if they weren’t, Beatrice would not have been able to build up so much tension about not being a wife, and neither would Catherine’s falling in love with Rodolfo. This tells us that all the characters contributed something to cause Eddie’s death. Both Beatrice and Catherine are very likeable characters; Catherine acts like a little girl, even though she is 17. She treats Eddie like her father and she is very optimistic in every situation. Beatrice is a much more stable and mature character. She can see what to do in every situation. Being an Italian-American, means that her grammar is often inaccurate. Beatrice is very much based at home and her speech is usually connected with the world, â€Å"I don’t even have nothing to eat for them†, â€Å"what’re you got†. Whereas Catherine, has had more education than Beatrice, but has still grown up in the Italian-American community, which means she still uses a lot of slang and is lively in her speech, â€Å"I’m the best student, he says, and if I want, I should take the job†, â€Å"oh sure, I’m crazy for paper doll†. However, Beatrice and Catherine are different, â€Å"oh Beatrice what should I do?† where young Catherine is uncertain, Beatrice is mature and has a clear view of matters. The audience would feel sorry for them because they are trying to have normal lives, but Eddie brought so much tension, that it affects the whole family. Catherine doesn’t understand why Eddie was so upset with Rodolfo, â€Å"why don’t you like him Eddie?† Beatrice is troubled because she notices that Eddie has feelings for Catherine, but really wants to be Eddie’s wife. â€Å"You want something else Eddie! But you can never have her!† The audience feels sorry for Beatrice after learning that she knows about Eddie’s feelings. Catherine and Beatrice cause a lot of tension, with Catherine desperately wanting to see Rodolfo, but Eddie is reluctant to let her, and Catherine wanting to get a job and to go out more. Beatrice is concerned about her relationship, and the way Catherine acts around Eddie, which leads her to say that she needs to grow up now that she is older. Also Eddie’s reaction to Catherine â€Å"now don’t aggravate me, Katie, you are walking wavy† these are the first signs of trouble. Furthermore, Eddie is not entirely happy with Beatrice’s cousins coming to stay with them. â€Å"I’ll end up on the floor with you, and they’ll be in our bed†, Eddie expects the cousins to be grateful. Eddie then gets even angrier when Rodolfo flirts with Catherine, which is shown to the audience by stage direction – he has been unconsciously twisting the newspaper into a tight roll. Marco and Rodolfo are brothers who come from Italy. Their life in Italy was terrible; Rodolfo had no other family or any money, he was unemployed and could not get a job. Marco has a wife and 3 children. He also had no money because of unemployment, and therefore, both brothers immigrated to America, where they would stay with the Carbone’s. Marco and Rodolfo became longshoremen, and received reasonable pay, of which Marco sent most of it to his family in Italy, and continued to live in America. Rodolfo’s second language is English; this becomes more obvious when he gets flustered or excited. He is enthusiastic and lively in his speech, which reflects his character. â€Å"Me? Yes, forever†¦ I want to go back to Italy when I am rich, and I will buy a motorcycle†, â€Å"Quickly and with a great noise†. Marco lacks education. English is his second language too, â€Å"No, but she understand everything†. He is described as â€Å"A square built peasant†. He is a man of few words, but when Marco is angry, his speech becomes disjointed. â€Å"I work to come here mister†, â€Å"that one!† he speaks very poor English, but still it shows Marco’s contempt for Eddie. Marco is not like Rodolfo, he is not lively but very quiet, and does what he is told. He behaves like a ‘proper’ man. â€Å"He’s a regular slave†. Because of Rodolfo’s liking for singing and dressmaking, Eddie reacts harshly to him. For example, Eddie humiliates Rodolfo in front of Catherine, ‘Eddie pins his arms, laughing, and suddenly kisses him, â€Å"You see?† The audience would have also suspected Rodolfo of being a homosexual and would have despised him and discouraged his behaviour. The conflict between Eddie, Marco and Rodolfo at the end of act one is made very dramatic for the audience. This is cleverly done by the characters and their stage directions, for instance, he transforms what might appear like a glare of warning, into a smile of triumph. This creates a lot of energy from all of the three men, which puts a lot of pressure on Eddie. Alfieri is a lawyer. He is well educated and uses higher register than the other characters, â€Å"I confess that something perversely pure calls to me from his memory.† He is also ‘chatty’ when he addresses the audience: â€Å"you wouldn’t have known it, but something amusing has just happened.† He functions like a Greek chorus; he explains and sometimes warns the audience about the action, he might tell you what happens next. Moreover, he has a dramatic function as a narrator, a commentator and a character that interacts with others. Alfieri connects the play together. He also introduces the main themes, for example he suggests to the audience that the play they are going to watch is not going to be happy. â€Å"Watch its bloody course†. He makes the audience realise that the play is a tragedy and Eddie can not escape his destiny. He also introduces the main comments to the audience, â€Å"settle for half†, â€Å"The law is not a friendly idea † which means he is saying make sure you do anything for your family, which relates to what Eddie talks about when he is telling the story of Vinny Bolzano. He explains that Vinny had an uncle, who was staying with him. However his uncle was an illegal immigrant. So the boy phoned immigration and the uncle was taken back to his country. The boy was never seen again because he was so ashamed of what he had done. His friends and family would not speak to him again. Vinny Bolzano symbolises the loyalty amongst the Italian-American community and the consequence of breaking that trust. In a similar way: the Lipari’s, Louis and mike do the same thing. They were close friends of Eddie in the beginning of the play, â€Å"see ya Louis†, who turn against Eddie once he betrays his family: ‘the crowd has turned to Eddie.’ ‘Louis barely turns then walks off, Eddie calls after Louis and Mike’. In the play he also advises Eddie not to phone immigration, and warns him of the consequences, â€Å"You won’t have a friend in the world Eddie!† This will make the audience think either; that the advice is not appropriate because he is a lawyer. He is connected to the law, and so should make sure Eddie goes by the law. Or the audience might agree with the advice, as they know how important it is that you do anything for your family. .. this scene makes the audience involved by making use their judgement. Lighting is used throughout to make Alfieri’s appearance more dramatic, ‘lights rise on Alfieri’, ‘lights fade on Alfieri’. Arthur Miller uses dramatic irony. For example, when the Immigration Officers appear outside the Carbone’s apartment just as Catherine is arguing with Eddie over where Marco and Rodolfo are going to stay if Eddie throws them out of the building. We know their argument is pointless because the officers are about to pounce. The effect of dramatic irony is to involve us in the action, to make us feel implicated, almost as if we are ourselves characters in the play. Miller is very explicit with his stage directions. He describes in detail how he wants the set to appear and exactly how characters are to say each line, i.e. ‘With deep alarm’. Miller also uses stage directions to hint that there is a sexual attraction between Eddie and Catherine â€Å"He looks at [Catherine] like a lost boy†. Furthermore, the actions towards Rodolfo show the audience that Catherine is slipping away from Eddie, â€Å"He’s a rat! He belongs in the sewer!† The dramatic devices, techniques and stage craft make the play very dramatic. The skilful use of these, build up intensity between the characters, which in turn causes hatred and jealousy. It shows us today how fortunate we are compared to the lives back then; as women and men were not allowed to be different, and had to live by strict moral values. This also shows us how bad some peoples lives were in the 1950’s and illustrates how bad life was in Italy. Today, the audience would act differently; this is because it is now acceptable to be unique and to be homosexual, nowadays people wouldn’t be so judgemental. I think the play is good because it so emotive. It highlights how bad life can be, and even when you are tempted not to, to still look after your family, and do everything you can for them, as betrayal, (a major theme in the play),has been proved to sometimes have fatal consequences. â€Å"A View from the Bridge† Essay There are a few interpretations of what the title could mean: an overview, a bridge between characters, Catherine’s bridge between girl and woman, a bridge between two worlds (America and Italy) and Eddie’s change of character. Alfieri is an outsider, his view is ‘from the bridge’; he comments on Eddies’ progress as a storyteller, â€Å"I could have finished the whole story that afternoon†¦I could see every step coming.† (p50) This is what Alfieri says after Eddie comes to see him. He is the narrator and is quite similar to the chorus in a Greek Tragedy. Characters also make ‘bridges’ or connections between other characters. For example, throughout the first act we see that Beatrice is the bridge between Catherine and Eddie and she still is on page 80 when she insists that Eddie attend the wedding when Catherine does not care. Also, Eddie dislikes Rodolpho and Catherine bridges that gap and tries to persuade Eddie to her point of view, â€Å"What’re you got against him?†¦He only blesses you.†(40) Catherine’s growing up is a bridge as well: â€Å"I’m not a baby†¦Beatrice says to be a woman,† (62) In this scene she also asks Rodolpho to teach her and they venture towards the bedroom, she emerges to speak to Eddie adjusting her dress. An innocence of virginity is seen. The audience also sees a bridge in Catherine’s job (18), with her growing up and changing from the rough area of the docks to something more ‘up market’. The title could also mean bridging the gap between two cultures, America and Italy. The Italian way of life is very much based on unwritten rules of  honour and trust, the American justice system is written in stone, â€Å"MARCO:†¦All the law is not in a book. ALFIERI: Yes. In a book. There is no other law.† (78) Eddie lived an Italian/American way of life, Alfieri says in the first scene that the law was often broken for ‘justice’ (12); Eddie does not want this for Catherine, he wants her to have The American Dream – going from poor slums to rich and successful in one generation. The American culture of Brooklyn generates from the dirty docks. The bad living conditions and poor way of life do not seem fit for Catherine and Eddie wants to change that. Eddie and his longshoremen friends are very hard in there own way, they have very good intents, but their way of going about it shows very little awareness of the outside world. The troubles of the whole play originated from the docks and Eddie’s generosity in taking the Italians in to stay. This is illegal and he is bringing back the culture that Alfieri introduces as having changed for the better, â€Å"Now we settle for half [the law] and I like it better.†(12) Eddie at the start of the play is very hard-working and protective; he wants Catherine to have the American Dream that he never had; he is generous – he lets the cousins come to stay, caring and sensitive; he has the Italian values of loyalty and the family as one being. This changes through the play. The audience sees his change of character in such things as the threat from Rodolpho and his brother. On page 27 Eddie disagrees with Marco’s offer that â€Å"If you say ‘go’, we go.† On page 48 Eddie refuses Alfieri’s idea that the only way to rid himself of the threat of Rodolpho is to report them: â€Å"Oh Jesus no, I wouldn’t do nothin’ like that†¦Ã¢â‚¬  On page 67 he finally rings Immigration to report his cousins, a change of attitude completely. This change is the ‘bridge’ in Eddie’s story.