Compare and contrast the personalities, behaviour and attitudes of the two brothers in A View from the Bridge. To what extent is it fair to say that they exchange roles in the course of the play?

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                Nicola Tramontini

Compare and contrast the personalities, behaviour and attitudes of the two brothers in A View from the Bridge. To what extent is it fair to say that they exchange roles in the course of the play?

In Arthur Miller’s play ‘A View from the Bridge’, Marco and Rodolfo are the two brothers who are Italian immigrants who moved illegally to the United States to find work. During the time Italy was suffering from enormous poverty, and in the play the two brothers work as longshoremen in order to earn money: however both brothers have different reasons for doing this. Marco’s plan is to make enough money to send to his wife and three children back home in Italy, who are starving. Rodolfo on the other hand has come to earn money with no prior responsibilities. He is a free agent who wants to become an American citizen.

From the beginning of the play we see that Marco and Rodolfo have very different character traits and characteristics. It could be said that Marco fits the typical Italian stereotype, strong with dark hair and skin, with his main priority being his family. Rodolfo however is not, as he has blonde hair, and this shocks the characters (especially Catherine) first impressions of him when he arrives, as Catherine says wondrously,

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        “How come he’s so dark and your so light, Rodolfo?”

A prominent characteristic of Marco that comes across from the beginning of the play is a honourable, heroic one. He gains most of the characters respect in the play as he is strong and could easily “load the whole ship by himself”, the reason for his being there also gains respect; as he left his family to give them support and save his eldest son who is “sick in the chest”. Rodolfo gains the respect of the other characters via completely different means. As a character Rodolfo is young spirited, ...

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