CRITICISM OF THE AMERICAN DREAM
The concept of the American dream has been the subject of much criticism. The main criticism is that the American dream is misleading. These critics say that, for various reasons, it simply is not possible for everyone to become prosperous through determination and hard work. The consequences of this belief can include the poor feeling that it is their fault that they are not successful. It can also result in less effort towards helping the poor since their poverty is "proof" of their laziness. The concept of the American dream also ignores other factors of success such as the family and wealth one is born into and inheritable traits such as intelligence. In particular, in the US it is difficult for children of poor families to afford college; not attending college sets upper limits on their career success, and it is essentially impossible to earn a bachelors' degree — necessary for many fields — in one's free time once one begins working full-time.
A critical comparison of the American dream and the experience of Italian-Americans is one of the themes in film trilogy
A View from the Bridge
A View from the Bridge is a play by originally produced as a verse drama on Broadway in 1955. It was based upon an unproduced screenplay that Miller developed with entitled , dealing with corruption on the docks of a port. (Though the movie was never made, Kazan's 1954 film developed similar ideas.)
Though the 1955 production was not successful, it was revised in 1956 to become a more traditional prose play, and it is through this version that audiences are most familiar with the work today. (Interestingly, the play was adapted into an opera in 1999 by , thus bringing the story back into verse.)
The main character in the story is Eddie Carbone, and his relationships with his niece at the arrival of his wife's cousins.
Marco and Rodolpho
In the play the brothers, widely separated by age, are usually referred to in this order, but Rodolpho is more prominent in the first act and at the start of the second, while Marco becomes more important towards the end of the play. Make sure you know why this is. In every sense except their being brothers, the two are unalike. This is not just a subtle matter of character, but is shown in ways which are obvious in a theatre. They look different, they act differently and their speech differs.
Rodolpho is slender, graceful and (unusually in a Sicilian) blond-haired (Eddie nicknames him "Danish"); he is strong enough to work, but weaker than the thick-set Eddie. Marco is not simply strong by contrast, he is unusually strong by any standard, and excites admiring comment from Mike. Marco is dark and powerfully built.
Where Rodolpho speaks almost incessantly, Marco is often silent. He has some difficulty speaking English, but this is not his only reason. He is very attentive to what is going on and being said, he thinks and then speaks, and he clearly believes actions speak louder than words, whether in unloading a ship or threatening Eddie. In the latter case, as he raises a chair like a weapon, he is able to express an idea which he would not wish to put into words as it would seem to show ingratitude to his host. Rodolpho is an enthusiast for all things American.
This explains why he spends money on fashionable clothes and records, of which Eddie so disapproves. He loves Catherine but is appalled at her suggestion that they return to Italy. Marco, on the other hand, clearly misses his family and has only come to the U.S.A. out of love for them. Rodolpho has learned, presumably from tourists, records and books, how to speak fluent English. Marco speaks more slowly and less correctly, but with simple dignity and clarity. Because there is no regular paid work in his home country, Rodolpho has learned other ways to support the family: there is nothing so odd in his singing, cooking and dress-making skills. But in a world where there is work, and men's and women's tasks are clearly defined, as in Red Hook, these talents are suspect.
Both Rodolpho and Marco are proud, but Marco has a stronger sense of the traditional values of the community. When Eddie attempts a joke about the "surprises" awaiting men who return from working in the U.S.A. for several years, Marco corrects him, while appearing not to see anything funny in the suggestion. It is Marco who tells Alfieri that at home Eddie would already be dead for his betrayal: he feels even more strongly than Eddie does the values which Eddie expresses in telling the story of Vinnie Bolzano. Rodolpho, on the other hand, tries to calm his brother, and offers Eddie a chance to make peace, a chance which Eddie spurns.
Marco feels a sense of responsibility for his brother (he tells him to "come home early") but also feels responsible to the community, and ready to punish the one who has injured its unity, Eddie. It is Rodolpho whom Eddie seeks at first to eliminate (by showing Catherine he is homosexual, then by betraying him and Marco to the authorities). But after Marco spits in his face and announces: "I accuse that one", Eddie's quarrel is with the elder brother. He will barely speak to Rodolpho and refers to him in the third person when he is present: "He didn't take my name; he's only a punk. Marco's got my name." Eddie understands that, in effect, a challenge has been issued by Marco; contradicting Marco is Eddie's only way of trying to recover the lost name, but is as impossible as it is for him to have Catherine as a lover.