“Whatever happened we all done it.” Discuss who you think is to blame for the tragedy at the end of the play.
"Whatever happened we all done it." Discuss who you think is to blame for the tragedy at the end of the play.
"Whatever happened we all done it." These words are spoken by Beatrice in response to Catherine's accusations about Eddie Carbone. Catherine has just accused Eddie of being a rat,
"You belong in the sewers."
"In the garbage he belongs."
"He bites people when they sleep."
Later in the play Eddie draws a knife on Marco who turns the knife back into him and Eddie dies. In my opinion it can be argued that all the characters; Eddie, Catherine Marco, Rodolfo and Beatrice contribute to the tragic death of Eddie at the end of the play.
Eddie Carbone contributes most in my opinion to his own death at the climax of the play. We can see his over-protective behaviour towards Catherine at the start of the play,
"I'm tellin' you you're walkin' wavy."
This over-protective behaviour towards Catherine may contribute to Eddie's constant feeling that he controls the life of Catherine. He is obsessed with her and analyses everything she does to her appearance;
"Where are you goin' all dressed up?"
"And what happened to your hair?"
Eddie shows a hint of jealousy in the same conversation as when he displays his feelings on Catherine's way of walking when he comments the 'looks' that Catherine is getting from other men,
"I don't like the looks they're giving you in the candy store."
Eddie is obviously bothered with the fact that Catherine may seem attractive to other men. More evidence of this is shown when Catherine is in a relationship with Rodolfo.
Another reason for the tragedy at the termination of the play may be because of the fact that Eddie sees that Catherine is growing up and tries to keep her as a 'girl'. Evidence of this is shown where Eddie, Beatrice and Catherine discuss her job opportunity.
"You're a baby. You don't understand these things."
The use of the word 'baby' here undermines Eddie's prospects to keep Catherine as his 'girl'. The fact that Eddie feels that she 'doesn't understand' proves this point further.
We see Eddie as a caring man at the commencement of the play who looks after Catherine well. Although Catherine is not Eddie's daughter, she does appear to be special to him.
"You ain't all the girls."
This shows us, the audience that Catherine is not just a girl to Eddie, which led to greater feelings shown by Eddie towards Catherine, later in the play.
The introduction of Rodolfo and Marco, but particularly Rodolfo changes our view of Eddie and later on in the play, of Catherine. Eddie is suspicious of Rodolfo as he ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
We see Eddie as a caring man at the commencement of the play who looks after Catherine well. Although Catherine is not Eddie's daughter, she does appear to be special to him.
"You ain't all the girls."
This shows us, the audience that Catherine is not just a girl to Eddie, which led to greater feelings shown by Eddie towards Catherine, later in the play.
The introduction of Rodolfo and Marco, but particularly Rodolfo changes our view of Eddie and later on in the play, of Catherine. Eddie is suspicious of Rodolfo as he starts to court Catherine, he believes that Rodolfo is only after a passport so that he can become a legal American citizen. Eddie tries his best to persuade Catherine and Beatrice that his accusations are true,
"Katie, he's only bowin' to his passport."
"I see it in his eyes, he's laughin' at her and he's laughin' at me."
Eddie is jealous of the way Rodolfo has walked into their lives and Catherine seems to like him straight away. Eddie has known her all his life yet she doesn't feel anything towards him. This jealousy causes him to betray Marco and Rodolfo.
"When I think of that guy layin' his hands on her I could - I mean it's eatin' me out."
"Give me the number of the immigration bureau."
Eddie's actions to mar Catherine's happiness by reporting Rodolfo are those of an irrationally jealous man and once Eddie loses his honour, he is finished.
The character of Beatrice Carbone in the play has an impact on all of the characters' lives and I do feel that she a connection with the killing at the end of the play. I feel that Beatrice did not do enough to prevent the killing. In my opinion, Beatrice could have done a lot more to prevent the death of her husband. Her love for Eddie is the main point in her life but is increasingly in conflict with her love for Catherine and to an extent, her cousins; Marco and Rodolfo. She understands the unnatural feelings that Eddie has for Catherine.
"You want something else Eddie and you can never have her."
She acts as a mediator and tries to work things out between Eddie and Rodolfo. We see her encouraging the boxing 'lesson' that Eddie so kindly gives to Rodolfo.
"Go ahead Rodolfo. He's a good boxer. He could teach you."
"He's teachin' him; he's very good."
The fact that Beatrice encourages this kind of behaviour gives Eddie a good enough reason to hit Rodolfo and teach him a lesson. This 'fight' may also be another method by Eddie to get rid of Rodolfo for good. This contribution by Beatrice may not seem much at the time, but it may have been a considerable boost for Eddie in his attempt to eliminate Rodolfo from Catherine's life.
Marco, the cousin of Beatrice Carbone is introduced into the play after he and his brother have entered America illegally. Marco, in my opinion contributed greatly to the tragedy at the end of the play but I do not feel that his contribution was as great as Eddie's. Marco is the character who accuses Eddie of reporting him to the immigration bureau in front of the whole neighbourhood.
"That one! I accuse that one!"
"That one! He killed my children! That one stole the food from my children!"
The fact that Marco has said these things about him in public has removed the people of Red Hook's respect for Eddie and therefore he has now got a mission to get his 'name back'. The way in which Eddie goes about getting his name back (with a knife) shows us Eddie's desperate condition.
Marco sees that revenge towards Eddie is correct for he has stopped his family's income for a period of time. In Marco's mind, killing Eddie would be a family duty and a restoration of their honour.
"Animal! You go on your knees to me!"
Marco sees that there is no other solution to the problem, but to kill Eddie and to regain his family's respect. Marco wants his revenge for 'killing' his children and Eddie wants revenge for degrading him in front of the neighbourhood. By following the traditional standards of right and wrong, Marco a respectable working man in search of justice becomes a murderer.
Rodolfo, Marco's younger brother is a person who is constantly trying to impress people with his skills, such as singing, dress making and cooking. These skills are considered effeminate from the start by Eddie, who doesn't consider Rodolfo to be masculine at all. On the other hand Rodolfo is very respectful towards Eddie and this could be seen on many occasions.
"I don't want to hit you, Eddie."
"I kiss your hand."
Arthur Miller is trying to make us recognise that Eddie is in need of respect from other characters but will not accept anything from someone who he considers to be effeminate.
The fact that Rodolfo has plans on being an American citizen may also turn Eddie against him because of the fact that one of the ways in which he can obtain American citizenship is by marrying Catherine.
"Me, I want to be an American."
Eddie may feel that he is being robbed from because he may feel that Rodolfo is only courting Catherine marriage - leading to American citizenship. Towards the end of the play, Rodolfo wishes to apologise for failing to ask permission to marry Catherine and for bringing all the troubles but he is not without pride. He states that Eddie insulted him too but he does not require an apology; he is willing to forgive.
"Maybe God understands why you did that to me."
Eddie has no wish to accept comradeship symbolised by the kissing of the hand.
Catherine, in my opinion is the main cause of trouble in the play because of the fact that she is found attractive by Eddie, who is then totally obsessed with her and will go to great lengths to win her for himself.
Catherine, at the start of the play makes a huge fuss over Eddie when he comes home in the evening.
"Like when he comes home sometimes you throw yourself at him like you was twelve years old."
This constant attention which Eddie receives from Catherine may lead him to believe that she has feelings for him. Catherine has feeling towards Eddie but only ones that a daughter has towards her father.
Catherine's attitude towards Eddie changes dramatically after he has been accused of reporting Marco and Rodolfo to the immigration bureau.
"You belong in the sewers."
"In the garbage he belongs."
"He bites people when they sleep."
This change in attitude toward Eddie leaves Eddie with virtually nothing, no friends, no respect and no Catherine. Eddie is a broken man and has no one but himself to blame but himself. The only thing that he can do is to recapture his name from Marco, which he doesn't succeed in doing.
Catherine's guilt at the end of the play may be summed up in the final statement.
"Eddie, I never meant to do nothin' bad to you."
Having began the play in all innocence, being dutiful and loving to her elders, her character develops a rebellious streak who is prepared to defy Eddie at all costs. She is also not afraid to speak her mind,
"Who the hell do you think you are?"
I feel that it must be argued that it was mostly Eddie Carbone's fault for his downfall although the other characters contribute to the tragedy. He was the one that made the call to the immigration bureau and he was the one that set out with the knife to kill Marco. At the end of the play we see the state of desperateness that Eddie has resorted to. From his words, "Oh, Jesus, no, I wouldn't do nothin' about that" when Alfieri suggests that Eddie should report them to the immigration bureau Eddie does exactly this later in the play. Eddie's downfall was due to his obsession with a young girl who found true love in the arms of another man.
