A vew from the bridge- cultural and historical

Between 19h – 20th century immigration to USA was the largest movement of people in human history. During the 1820’s – 1920’s Italians were the largest group of immigrants to the USA this mostly included illegal immigrants from the south and Sicily. The increase of a lot of illegal immigration taking place cause racism and violence. The amount of immigration during the years grew more than 4 million movements. Arthur miller, who is the author of the play, was also born in New York. His family were immigrants as well. Having been a longshoreman, he worked with a lot of Italians, which also brings to mind the character in his play called Eddie. He had the same job and is also a citizen from the Italian culture.

Italian culture has strong beliefs. They have strong impressions on people who rattle each other and will surely deal with such problems. Most importantly man has the power in the family. They can force women to do anything for them. A good example is when Eddie commands Beatrice to serve his dinner. This shows the strength of men. Moreover, finally the American dream firstly brings the word freedom, which gives success in life with the exception of hard work. The dream American dream is to become an American citizen. However, everyone has different dreams, everyone thinks subjective; they can achieve what they want.

Linking the historical and cultural beliefs of Italians and “a view from the bridge” seems to be very similar in various ways. Rodolfo and Marco migrating to the USA illegally reminds us about the illegal immigration in the 19th – 20th centuries. The author of the play, Arthur Miller. His family being an immigrant links with the two brothers migrating illegally. Cultural beliefs refer to the manly hood of the play. Overall, the American dream mostly points to the two brothers migrating to America with two different dreams. Marco wants to send money and save a future for his children. Rodolfo dreams ...

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This scene is important because the first time when the tension in the play rises, it brings all the aggressive emotions to the stage. The scene mostly draws the attention of the audience by showing all the giving and making the audience think about the characters. I think the three main characters taking important roles are Eddie, Marco and Rodolfo. These characters show strength, revenge and hate towards each other in two different situations.

At the start of the scene we clearly see Eddie’s jealousy and love towards Catherine, when she dances with Rodolfo. Eddie shows a fake interest in Rodolfo of how he cooks, makes dresses etc, and at the same time he tries to point out his weak side. Later in the scene Eddie builds up the tension and shows his strength by boxing Rodolfo. By the end of the play Marco with a look of alarm faces Eddie to win back his brothers face and strength by lifting up the chair with one hand. My instructions for the characters will show the audience what they hide inside and their real feeling to each other.

My directions will show how the characters react towards each other. I will try to show all the hidden feelings of the characters to the audience.

The scene begins with Rodolfo and Catherine dancing on stage. At this point Eddie joins in. He says: “what’s that, a new record?” Having said this he feels jealousy inside and stares at Catherine, with a hopeless look. When he does this he strengthens the impression that he wants to seek attention, by showing a fake interest. I will direct Eddie to have a sarcastic tone, and an excited facial emotion.

Later in scene, Eddie judges on how Rodolfo cooks, and does feminine work. At this point Eddie shows disbelief. When he does that he highlights the thought that he actually finds it weird, and wants to put Rodolfo down by giving an ironic remark. I want the audience to get the reaction that Eddie is uncomforted, fidgeting on his chair and looking at everyone when he is talking. This is because he wants everyone to hear his suggestions about Rodolfo.

Towards the end of the scene, Eddie teaches Rodolfo how to box. “Now I’m going to hit you, so block me, see?” as Eddie says this speech Catherine comes from the kitchen. At this point Eddie is nervous and ready to show his skills and strength to Catherine. When he does this he emphasizes the idea that he has special feelings towards Catherine. The audience can see this by Eddie showing powerful image of him and punching Rodolfo with a sharp intense. Eddie’s face will have a serious and disregarding look. This is to show his anger for what he feels towards Catherine, because he can’t say his love freely.

At the end of the scene Marco lifts up the chair above Eddie’s head. At this point he gives a dreadful glare. When he does that he reinforces the impression that he wants to warn Eddie to not touch his brother and to show his cultural power. To show this I would make Marco gaze into Eddie’s eyes with a defiant stare, saying nothing.

In these notes I have stated the reactions of the characters and what they actually hide behind their words. By adding these ideas I think that I have shown a clear view to the audience, also it sums up all the feelings of characters to one another. The audience will see that the story has an overall scene, which shows all the emotional feelings, living no question behind.

BY Tugba Melek...