"A View from the Bridge" written by Arthur Miller - review

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Hatice Giritli

Group 9                                           Thursday 11th November 2004

My Book Review of the Week: A View from the Bridge

        This week I chose to read the play “A View from the Bridge” written by Arthur Miller. Arthur Miller was born on October 17th, 1915, in New York City. His parents were both immigrants into the United States. The family lived in prosperity due to the success of his father’s clothing manufacturing business, but this collapsed, along with the American economy as a whole, following the Wall Street crash. As a result Miller had to work as a warehouseman in order to save his fees before he was able to go to Michigan University in 1934 to study Economics and History.

        

While at university Miller also followed a course in playwriting and this now became his primary ambition. After graduating in 1938, he earned his living from journalism and from writing radio scripts. During world war two he also worked as a ship fitter for two years in the Brooklyn Navy Shipyard, where a ‘near a majority of the workers were Italian’ and where Miller ‘made connections with their family-centred concerns…[which were] full of Sicilian dramas’ (time bends). His first produced stage play, “The Man Who Had All the Luck” was a failure when it was staged on Broadway in 1944, however, in 1947, “All My Sons” was a considerable success.

        , an Italian-American lawyer in his fifties, enters the stage and sits in his office. Talking from his desk to the audience, he introduces the story of . Alfieri compares himself to a lawyer in Caesar's time, powerless to watch as the events of history run their” bloody course”.  

Eddie Carbone walks down the street to his house. As Eddie enters the home two fellow Longshoremen,  and  greet him. Eddie's niece, , reaches out the window and waves to Eddie and Louis. When Eddie enters the house he gently scolds Catherine for flirting with the boys so blatantly. Eddie thinks she should be more reserved and not "walk so wavy." , Eddie's wife, is also home. While Beatrice and Catherine set the table for dinner, they convince Eddie to let Catherine take a job as a stenographer down by the docks. Eddie informs Beatrice that her cousins,  and , will be arriving early from  and will probably be at the house that night. Beatrice and Eddie plan to hide Marco and Rodolpho while they work in the country illegally to send money home.

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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 ...

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