A veiw from the bridge.
It is unusual for a play to have a character like Alfieri in it. Discuss why Miller includes Alfieri in the play and how this character contributes to the dramatic impact of ' A View From The Bridge. '
In the title 'A view from the bridge' Arthur Miller is referring to the Brooklyn Bridge which used to be the largest cable bridge in the world and its main purpose is to separate Manhattan from the slums of Brooklyn such as Redhook. This gives us an insight into the historical context of the play. Alfieri performs a variety of very important roles which enhance key points of dramatic tension in Miller's ' A view from the bridge. ' We meet Alfieri at the beginning, where he introduces the play, like a chorus. This role contributes to the dramatic impact by giving us a glimpse of what to expect throughout the play. This is one of Alfieri's main roles in the play. His other roles include narrator in act 1 and 2, giving background information. He shows us the time pass. And then participates in the action. He also concludes the play, which is also one of his main roles, because it adds a lot to the dramatic tension.
Alfieri contributes to the dramatic impact throughout the play; he describes the themes, jealousy and hatred which run throughout the play. Love in different aspects is another theme on page 34 where, he and Eddie are arguing over Eddie wanting to get rid of his wife's cousins " There is too much love for a daughter, and there is too much love for a niece. " Suggesting he thinks Eddie loves Catherine, his niece too much. Eddie is jealous of the cousin Rudolfo, from Italy and his love with Catherine throughout the play, this is given off because ...
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Alfieri contributes to the dramatic impact throughout the play; he describes the themes, jealousy and hatred which run throughout the play. Love in different aspects is another theme on page 34 where, he and Eddie are arguing over Eddie wanting to get rid of his wife's cousins " There is too much love for a daughter, and there is too much love for a niece. " Suggesting he thinks Eddie loves Catherine, his niece too much. Eddie is jealous of the cousin Rudolfo, from Italy and his love with Catherine throughout the play, this is given off because of the comments made by Eddie " I mean like me - I can't cook, i can't sing, I can't make dresses, so I'm on the waterfront. " This is as if to say Rudolfo isn't like him, he doesn't belong on the water front.. And by talking about those skills, in that day they were seen as more of feminine skills. Throughout the film dramatic tension builds up, one of the causes of this is Eddie's feelings towards Catherine. When the cousins move in from Italy Eddie begins to get along with them, until the relationship grows between Catherine and Rudolfo. It is then when the audience begin to realise the side of Eddie where he is more protective over Catherine as he wants to make out. The tension builds up because the audience realise it before the characters do. Until the conversation between Alfieri and Eddie, when someone finally confronts him about it. " She wants to get married Eddie. She can't marry you, can she? " So it is as if Alfieri also has the role of breaking the tension of the audience. There is also the theme of revenge throughout the play. He also gives background information about the time and place, such as on the second page, where he describes a civilized neighbourhood in the heart of New York, in the 1940's. He describes his high status, and Italian background. Eddie is desperate to get rid of Rudolfo, but however he cannot bring the law into because of the consequences it would bring, this gives us an insight into the social context of the play. " Beatrice tell her about Vinny." " He snitched to the Immigration.... Oh, it was terrible. He had five brothers and the old father. And they grabbed him in the kitchen and pulled him down the stairs - three flights his head was bouncin' like a coconut. And they spit on him in the street, his own father and his brothers. The whole neighbourhood was cryin'. " This suggests that it was a big deal to tell on an immigrant back then, for your whole family to turn on you. Knowing this adds to the dramatic tension because further into the story Eddie is thinking about bringing the law into it. And the audience know what could happen because of this. One of his main roles is making sure the audience is clear about Miller's message. He also participates as a character in the action; he plays a American lawyer, with a Italian background. Miller portrays him as being an older, mature figure in the play who has a high status and deals with small claims as a lawyer. At the start of the play Alfieri's speech is almost like a chorus, it creates dramatic impact, as he gives glimpses to the audience of how the story is going to unfold, one of the most powerful lines he says in this speech is, " Sat there as powerless as I, and watched it run it's bloody course. " I think this creates dramatic tension, by the audience not knowing what to expect.
I think Alfieri's most important role in contributing to the dramatic tension throughout the play, is his role as a character in the action, because he is in all the main scenes that the tension is either created, or revealed.. Such as his conversations with Eddie, where he introduces the themes of love in different aspects. He also speaks at the end of the play, which also means as well as him starting the play and creating the dramatic tension, he also concludes it. As if to say, he was right to start with. I think Miller used the character Alfieri to create the dramatic tension as a narrator, and then to be able to add to it, as a character. Also for him to be a lawyer a long side, the story of the Immigrants. Also for him to have an Italian background, just creates even more tension.
