Analyse how the audience might interpret miller's portrayal of masculinity in act one of "a view from the bridge"

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Analyse how the audience might interpret miller’s portrayal of masculinity in act one of “a view from the bridge”

“A View from the Bridge”, is a probing psychological drama. A play script written by Arthur Miller during 1955. It is set in Red Hook Brooklyn New York. It is about an illiterate longshoreman named Eddie Carbone who has relatives come stay with him illegally from Italy who want to persue the America dream. Inspired by a true story of a Brooklyn dockworker who informed on two illegal immigrants. When Miller wrote this script it dealt with water front corruption and graft that questioned the reasonableness of U.S. immigration laws. Arthur Miller was strongly influenced after his father was ruined by depression and after reading Dostoevskys novel “the brothers karamazor” he decided to become a writer.  

After reading act one of “A view from the Bridge” I believe that masculinity is very important to the story because it is closely linked to the American dream and this is the reason why the cousins come to America, to pursue the American dream. Also I believe it is essential to the dramatic tension because if it weren’t for Eddie’s views on masculinity he would not hate Rodolpho, he would accept him and so there would be no tension between them and there would be no story line.

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This book was written during 1955 and during that time there was a stereotypical view of what masculinity was, it was seen as being strong and having power, authority and responsibility and perhaps demanding respect. It could be that a man was only a man if he had a family and took care of them or if he dressed a certain way. I have added a list on my views of what characteristics should be seen in masculinity: power, strength, authority, responsibility, respect, control, in charge and pride. In “A view from the Bridge” the protagonist Eddie Carbone ...

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