The way that Alfieri presents Eddie in the beginning to the end of the play is very different, in the beginning he presents him as a friend and through out the play he begins to disagree with Eddie and when Eddie is going to turn in Marco and Rodolpho he tells Eddie not to “You wont have a friend in the world…Put it out of your mind.” But Eddie ignores him. The main reason that Eddie won’t have any more friends is because he betrayed his own race by turning in Marco and Rodolpho, by doing this he lost Catherine’s love for him and the same with Beatrice.
In the first episode of the play, the dialogue suggests initially a happy family atmosphere, though we wonder if Eddie is over-protective of Catherine. There are undercurrents, however: of tension between Eddie and Beatrice, and of unnatural closeness between Eddie and Catherine. Catherine and Beatrice must persuade Eddie to allow Catherine to take her job; at last he agrees, but warns Catherine not to trust people because "most people ain't people". We then discover that Beatrice's cousins are coming to stay, which gives Eddie the chance to tell the tale of Vinny Bolzano. This is ironically prophetic of his own treachery later. Note the stage directions, also. Exits and entrances allow Miller to have different pairs in conversation. Catherine runs her hands down her dress to show it off, walks Eddie to his chair, and sits on her heels beside him. There are repeated references to the facial expressions of the characters. While Beatrice rebuts Eddie's charge ("You're the one is mad"), Catherine gives Eddie a cigar and lights it. The speech hints at the trouble in his marital relations, while the action indicates its cause (in films of an earlier period the gesture was often used to suggest sexual attraction or something deeper; here it is as if Eddie and Catherine play at being lovers).
In the fourth episode of the play, this scene takes place in Alfieri's office; Eddie is less at ease in neutral territory. Eddie explains his case to Alfieri, who tries gently to suggest that his conclusions are far from reasonable. Alfieri tells Eddie of the only law which can help him, but he is not desperate enough to do so. Finally, Alfieri points out that Catherine "wants to get married" but cannot marry him. This is the second time (coming after Beatrice's "troubles") that Eddie has been given a hint of his improper desire. Again, he seems offended and puzzled, but dare not consider the idea further, as we can tell from the pause which follows Alfieri's ultimatum: "I gave you my advice...That's it".
In the ninth episode of the play, though Eddie would die for such a betrayal in Sicily, Alfieri will only put up bail for Marco if he gives his word not to harm Eddie. Unlike Eddie, Marco is "an honourable man", who will keep his word. Although certain to be deported, Marco has the chance to work for five or six weeks, and if Rodolpho marries Catherine, he will be able to stay. However, the threat of deportation ensures that the marriage takes place at once. Marco agrees to Alfieri's request, in order to be able to attend his brother's wedding.
In the tenth episode, Beatrice is torn between loyalty to Catherine and Eddie. She wishes to stand by Eddie, as all others have been pressurizing him. Catherine calls him a "rat", who bites and belongs in the garbage, but she is weeping as she says it. Rodolpho comes to warn Eddie that Marco is coming. Now Beatrice suggests that what Eddie really wants is something quite impossible: "You want somethin' else...and you can never have her!" Eddie can not admit this tries to challenge her word, he demands that Marco is to take back his accusation and restore to him his good name and status in the community, without it he is worth less. Marco calls Eddie an "animal" and strikes him, at which Eddie pulls a knife on him. Marco seizes Eddie's arm as he lunges with the knife, and turns it back on him.
Eddie is supported by the two women as he dies. He is killed by his own hand, an obvious metaphor for his self-destruction. All that remains is for Alfieri to explain how Eddie "allowed himself to be wholly known".
