Explain the importance of Alfieri's role in 'A View from the Bridge'
Explain the importance of Alfieri’s role in ‘A View from the Bridge’ In the play ‘A View from the Bridge’, the playwright has brought in the character Alfieri, who is used both as a minor character in the play and a dramatic device. He’s trusted by the audience to tell the story of Eddie Carbone. He also hints at things to come and shows what characters are thinking. Alfieri opens the play with a monologue that sets the scene for the social and historical context of the setting for the play. He first introduces his own professional status as a lawyer; “that’s because I’m a lawyer”, this makes the
audience immediately trust him as a person of high respect in the community. He then goes on to say how in this area lawyers are hated as they represent the law; “A lawyer means the law” this is beginning to show the audience that this play may not be set in the most lawful of places. He tells of how the people in this area, mainly originate from Sicily, “in Sicily, where their fathers came from”, and how in Sicily, the law of the land is not respected, “the law has not been a friendly idea since the Greeks were ...
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audience immediately trust him as a person of high respect in the community. He then goes on to say how in this area lawyers are hated as they represent the law; “A lawyer means the law” this is beginning to show the audience that this play may not be set in the most lawful of places. He tells of how the people in this area, mainly originate from Sicily, “in Sicily, where their fathers came from”, and how in Sicily, the law of the land is not respected, “the law has not been a friendly idea since the Greeks were beaten”. This tells us that the area is inhabited by Sicilian immigrants who have come here to work, but do not necessarily obey American law. He then expands on the history of the place and how “Al Capone, the greatest Carthaginian of all time, was learning his trade on these pavements” and how “Frankie Yale himself was cut precisely in half by a machine gun”, showing that there is a history of crime around this area. He also talks about law and justice in the area, some of the play’s main themes, “many here who were justly shot by unjust men.”, emphasizing that people around this area have never respected the law of the land, and more specifically, have always opted for their own, law of the people to sort out any problems in the community. Now though, he says, there aren’t so many disagreements as people usually compromise, “Now we settle for half,” this is showing that now there isn’t so much trouble in the area, but, he does now hint at a rare occasion where there is trouble in the area “it run it’s bloody course”. He then introduces “Eddie Carbone, a longshoreman working on the docks from Brooklyn Bridge”, now the same character who has set the scene for the audience is introducing a character, which will make the audience pay attention to this character. Alfieri then walks off stage and lets the scene take its course. The next time we see Alfieri is after the audience have seen how Eddie is with his family. Alfieri then states to the audience that Eddie is “A good man” and doesn’t do any thing out of the ordinary. “He worked on the piers when there was work, he brought home his pay, and he lived.” This is showing the audience that Eddie is an average, working man. Alfieri then moves time on “And toward ten o’ clock of that night”. This is using Alfieri again, as a dramatic device, in a different way, now he is showing a progress in time, so it is clear to the audience that time has passed. He then exits, and the scene goes on. Next time he is seen is after the cousins have become acquainted with everyone. He now hints that there may be some trouble coming with these new arrivals “there was a trouble that would not go away” This is affirming the audiences suspicions that have spawned from the tensions in the previous scene.
