The role of Alfieri in

Authors Avatar

Amit Ramji - 10BD

The role of Alfieri in “A view from the bridge”

This essay that I have written about is from the book “A View from the Bridge”. And I am going to discuss how Arthur Miller (the Author of this play) has achieved such dramatic impact by using Alfieri. 

The main characters in the play are: Catherine, Beatrice, Eddie, Rodolfo, Marco and Alfieri. Eddie and Beatrice are married and Catherine is their niece. Rodolfo and Marco have illegally immigrated to America from Italy. Catherine and Rodolfo want to get married and Alfieri is a lawyer.

Catherine wants to live in Italy with Rodolfo because she is afraid of Eddie here. And Rodolfo is saying no, how can he take Catherine from a rich to a poor country and live with no money. In the second scene: Eddie tells Rodolfo to get out of his house but alone and not taking Catherine with him. Catherine was arguing back saying she will go with Rodolfo and marry him as well. Alfieri knows what the future holds because he has seen this type of situation before. He knows what nature holds and they have to let it run its course, just wait till the end and see what happens.

        Arthur miller was born on October 1915 in New York City. His family was quite well off because of his fathers business. Arthur miller also wrote "the crucible", "the man who had all the luck" and lots more.

        Eddie was like a father to Catherine in this play. He feels the most injustice out of all the characters. He fathered Catherine and "gave food out of his mouth". He paid her money so that she felt that she was in a higher class and making hints that he was attracted to her. He shows jealousy and injustice towards Rodolpho when he comes from Italy.

        

Alfieri's Role

        

        In this play Alfieri's role is very important. He tells us more about the characters like a narrator; he sets the scene and the environment. He is an engaged narrator, helping the audience in every way to understand the story. Arthur miller has used the characteristics in Alfieri to divide the play in different ways. The character helps us to understand the background information, which we might have missed. Alfieri's role is to unfold the play to the audience. He makes the audience get involved and plays with their emotions and helps them understand the story. The audience, including me, believe Alfieri because he is a lawyer and knows the most. He creates tension and emotion for the audience and the characters.

        

Join now!

        I think he has so much pressure from being told the background information about the characters. I think he is drowned in stress and needs to talk to someone. I think that’s why he talks to the audience. Alfieri also gives the feeling that he is retelling the story, because he mostly speaks in the past tense. The community in this play respect Alfieri because he is a lawyer and helps the rest of the characters out.

        Alfieri's role is like a chorus, always reminding its tragedy. He creates suspense in the audience and gets them hooked to the ...

This is a preview of the whole essay