Analyse the function of Alfieri in "A View from the Bridge" and estimate his contribution to our understanding of the drama in its social context.

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Analyse the function of Alfieri in “A View from the Bridge” and estimate his contribution to our understanding of the drama in its social context.

        The play is set in New York, about a man named Eddie Carbone who lives with his wife Beatrice and his niece Catherine. When Beatrice’s two cousins come from Italy to stay with them trouble begins to start within the family. Eddie becomes unhappy when he sees Rodolpho, Beatrice’s cousin, becoming close to his niece, infuriating Eddie and he eventually reports the two immigrants to the Immigration Bureau. The play concludes when Marco, Rodolpho’s brother, stabs Eddie to death. This affects everyone in the play as Marco will have to be electrocuted and so his family will starve to death, Roldopho will have to go back to Italy and he won’t be able to marry Catherine, Catherine will lose the man she loves and Beatrice will be grieving because Eddie is dead.

        Alfieri is a middle-aged lawyer who also lives in Brooklyn. He came to the city from Italy just like the other characters. He is different to the rest of the characters by having a higher level of education and higher status in the community. Alfieri’s speeches appear at the beginning and ends of sections in the play. His purpose is to narrate the story much like a choric figure in the Ancient Greek Tradition and he relates to a Greek chorus in Greek tragedy. A Greek tragedy is a play where the central character is led by fate towards a destiny that can’t be escaped.

         Eddie, the central character, is not led by fate, as such, but by his own actions towards a fate that can’t be escaped, his own jealousy and anger leads him to his downfall, death. His actions will also lead Marco to die, because Marco will be put in an electric chair.

        

                Alfieri could be described as the “bridge” between the characters and the audience. He talks directly to both the audience and other characters. “I gave you my advice, Eddie” shows his interaction with other characters and “this ones name was Eddie Carbone” seems like he is talking to the audience instead.  

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        Alfieri certainly builds tension in the audience. He creates a sense of foreboding through his language and suggests that something might happen. He shows this by saying, for example, “This was the first time they had been alone together in the house” this shows that Rodolpho and Catherine alone together could mean that something was going to happen, maybe they were going to declare their love for each other. The audience is then expecting something exciting or horrifying to happen. They can feel the tension building. The audience can tell when there will be a new twist added to ...

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