Marco and Rodolpho arrive at the house and have a brief reunion. They are both very gracious for the hospitality. Marco tells the Carbone's that he has three children and a wife back home that he will be sending money to. Rodolpho, the young blonde brother, has no family and intends to stay in the country as long as possible. Rodolpho entertains everyone with his version of the jazz tune, "Paper Doll."
In the coming weeks, Rodolpho and Catherine spend a great deal of time together, which worries Eddie. Eddie thinks that Rodolpho is untrustworthy and Eddie becomes jealous of the time he spends with Catherine. Eddie tells Catherine that Rodolpho just wants to marry her to become a citizen, but she does not listen. Rodolpho develops a reputation at the docks for being quite a joker, which further embarrasses Eddie. Beatrice, more aware than ever of the attention Eddie is giving Catherine, talks to Catherine about being a woman and tells her she must grow up and make her own decisions. Beatrice encourages Catherine to get married to Rodolpho if that is what she wants to do. Catherine agrees to try. Eddie, still frustrated with Rodolpho and Catherine, visits Alfieri and asks if there is any way he can get rid of Rodolpho by law, but Alfieri assures him there is not. Alfieri tells Eddie that he needs to let Catherine go.
The situation escalates and Eddie becomes increasingly jealous of Rodolpho. Eddie resents the fact that Rodolpho thinks Catherine is looser than Italian girls. Eddie threatens Rodolpho in a pretend boxing match held in the living room of the house which is then stopped by Catherine and Beatrice.
As Act II begins, Alfieri narrates and it is evident that time has passed. Rodolpho and Catherine are left alone in the house and have sex in the bedroom. As they are leaving the bedroom, Eddie comes home drunk. Eddie violently kisses Catherine then pins Rodolpho to the floor and kisses him too. Eddie visits Alfieri once again, who repeatedly tells him to let Catherine go. Immediately after leaving Alfieri's office, Eddie calls the Immigration Bureau and reports Marco and Rodolpho.
The Immigration bureau comes and arrests Marco and Rodolpho. As he is being taken away, Marco spits in Eddie’s face. Alfieri pays bail for the two men and arranges the marriage of Catherine and Rodolpho. On the wedding day, Marco returns to the house for revenge. Eddie lunges into Marco with a knife. Marco turns Eddie's arm and kills Eddie with his own knife. Eddie dies in Beatrice's arms.
Arthur Millers writing style In “A View from the Bridge” is informal (slang) for example he uses words like “ain’t” and “gonna”. He also uses a lot of narration, which is done by the character Alfieri who engages with both the audience (explaining events) and with the characters (giving advice to Eddie as a Lawyer), for example where he says “This ones name was Eddie Carbone” this shows him narrating and “I gave you my advice Eddie” shows that he also gives advice. Millers’ style of writing is clear and well structured.
There are few themes that arise in the play “A View from the Bridge” which include:-
- Violence – “run its bloody course” the use of the word bloody in this part of Alfieri’s prologue, shows us that some violence will take place in the play.
- Jealousy – Eddie is Jealous of Rodolpho and Catherine’s relationship.
- Betrayal – When Eddie betrays the family by informing the immigration bureau about Marco and Rodolpho, “Give me the number of the immigration bureau” This shows us that Eddie betrayed the family by calling the immigration bureau.
There are 13 characters in “A View from the Bridge”:-
- Eddie Carbone – a longshoreman who lives with his wife Beatrice, and orphaned niece, Catherine in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
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Catherine - The niece of Eddie Carbone and Beatrice. Catherine is a beautiful, smart, young Italian girl who is very popular among the boys in the . Catherine seeks approval from her uncle and struggles when Eddie does not approve of , the man she intends to marry.
- Beatrice - The wife of Eddie Carbone and aunt of Catherine. Beatrice has raised Catherine from the time she was very young and acts Catherine's mother. Beatrice is a warm and caring woman, more reasonable than Eddie. Like Catherine, Beatrice is not a very well-developed character in the play.
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Marco – the cousin of Beatrice, comes to the U.S. to work and make money to send back to his wife and children in . Marco is a hard working Italian man who is a powerful, sympathetic leader.
- Rodolpho - Beatrice's young, blonde cousin from Italy. Rodolpho prefers singing jazz to working on the ships. To Eddie and the other Longshoremen, Rodolpho seems effeminate because he also cooks, sews and loves to dance. Rodolpho desires to be an American and have all the privileges of Western society including wealth and fame.
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Alfieri - An Italian-American lawyer. is the narrator of the story. He speaks directly to the audience and attempts to make clear the greater social and moral implications of the story.
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Mike - A Longshoreman and friend of Eddie's. is often seen with outside the Carbone home.
- Louis - A Longshoreman and friend of Eddie's. Louis hangs out with Mike outside Eddie's home.
- Tony - A friend of the Carbones. He assists Marco and Rodolpho off the ship and brings them safely to Beatrice's home.
- First immigration officer - One of two officers from the Immigration Bureau who comes to look for Marco and Rodolpho at Eddie's request.
- Second immigration officer - One of two officers from the Immigration Bureau who comes to look for Marco and Rodolpho at Eddie's request.
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Mr. Lipari - A butcher who lives upstairs from the Carbone's. Eddie blames for the arrest of Marco and Rodolpho.
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Mrs. Lipari - The upstairs neighbour of the Carbone's. agrees to give Marco and Rodolpho a room in her home when Eddie kicks the men out of his house.
- Two “Submarines” - Two illegal immigrants hiding upstairs from the Carbone's in the Lipari house.
I think the target audience for this play is from the age of 13 and upwards. This is because the innermost themes and issues of the play are not very easy to work out.
In conclusion, I found this book quite interesting because it used a lot of emotion and had parts where it would leave questions in the readers mind for the reader to work out such as the themes as it does not state clearly that there will be violence or betrayal.
Out of ten I would rate this book a six out of ten as I didn’t enjoy reading it very much because I prefer adventure books such as The Lord of the Rings and the Dark Materials Trilogy. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy reading about the different types of lifestyles and laws of different societies.
By Hatice Giritli
Group 9