A View from the Bridge

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Literature Coursework-

A View from the Bridge

        The play a View from the Bridge is a modern day Greek tragedy, which tracks the downfall of one individual. This is Eddie Carbone, an Italian man, with the beliefs of the Italian culture. Eddie, with his wife Beatrice and niece Catherine, live in Redhook, Brooklyn, a slum as the people there calls it and now it is known as that. Brooklyn has a large Italian community. Many people who live in Redhook are mostly Italian. The arrival of Beatrice's cousin Marco and his brother Rodolpho two illegal immigrants who must be kept a secret form the Immigration authorities, in America to live an 'American Dream', makes the whole play catalyst. The play is a tragedy and so a lot of aggression is included. The tragedy focuses on the private and social life of Eddie Carbone. The traditional, cultural beliefs of how to be an Italian man is a downfall. The belief's on how to be a real Italian man is to get back justice, if you get hurt. This is exactly what happens to Eddie. If any of these Italian beliefs weren't in place the play wouldn't have ended as such a "bloody course".

        The whole play is changed when the two brothers arrive in the slum neighborhood. Eddie, who is Catherine's uncle, but acts like a father to her, is so protective over her and tells her what to do and what not to do. But Beatrice thinks that Catherine is old enough to go out to work, and to attract the attention of young men as she walks down the street.

        Alfieri who is a lawyer knows both sides of the story and also knows what is going to happen next in the play. Alfieri is the kind of man who is not bad tempered. He tries to control everything what goes on, and doesn't want anything to go wrong. He knows what Eddie will get in the end, by acting the way he is. This includes being jealous, and not being happy for Catherine, the way she is.  

        In this essay I am going to examine the ideas of manliness, hostility and aggression. I will examine how these are connected.  

        During most of the tragic play, Marco is talked of very positively. This is shown as Marco works day and night very hard, and with physical strength. Marco is thought of positively by a few people at the start of the play, when they arrive, in America, as immigrants. Eddie is one of the people that think very positively as he says:

"Marco goes around like a man;

Nobody kids Marco".

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This quote is showing that Eddie thinks very positively of Marco. He believes that as a man you should be physically strong. He is saying that Marco is serious; he wants to do work and send money he earns home, to his wife and children. Marco has come to America to do work, and that’s what he does do. Nobody kids around with Marco.

        Marco shows much more masculinity when he says he cares so much about his family in Italy, that he is going to send everything, straight to them. He says this to show his masculinity:

"I ...

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