Beatrice is Eddie’s wife and Catherine’s Aunt. She is also an Italian-American and cares for all of her family very much she allowed cousins of hers, who were illegal immigrants, to stay in her house. She did not have much of an education and is now a housewife, she is very proud of Catherine because of her education and that she is top of her stenographer classes. She is very house proud and is somewhat bothered when her cousins are due to arrive early and she has not washed the walls or bought a new tablecloth. She unfortunately is realising Eddie’s feelings towards Catherine quicker than he is, all she wants is to be a good wife for him but she can see that they are drifting away. I pity her because she is not in control of what is happening and her life is falling apart in such a small space of time. I am not angry at her all she wants is for Catherine to get a good job and settle down and things to get better for her and Eddie but it all goes wrong. The audience should react to her as the victim of the play; she is losing everything through no fault of her own. She is one of the less memorable characters of the play.
Catherine is a bright 17-year-old girl who is prevented from working and having much of a social life by Eddie. She cares for Eddie but does not understand her emotions because they are new to her. She cares for her aunt a great deal and looks to her as a mother and Eddie as a father. She really wants to work and has been offered a job that could leave to a career as a secretary. She is excited when Rodolfo and Marco are about to arrive; she falls in love with Rodolfo. I pity Catherine because she has been shielded from relationships and careers. Also the death of her mother must have had a great impact on her and the death of Eddie must have been terrible for her. I am angry with her for not setting Eddie straight sooner and not standing up to him, she missed out on opportunities to learn and have more of a social life. People should react to Catherine’s character as a troubled girl with little understanding of her emotions, and feelings towards people.
Rodolfo is a young man who is trying to enjoy his life. He is in a new country with new chances, and he is trying to make the most of this. He has blonde hair and loves singing. In Italy he sang in a hotel, he hopes to one day return to Italy and purchase a motorcycle so he can deliver messages. When he meets Catherine he likes her and they end up falling in love. He does not mean to upset Eddie and always tries hard to please people. People look at him as being ‘odd’ by this they mean gay they assume this because he has blonde hair were as most Italians have brown hair and he sings on the docks. He is an illegal immigrant who went to America with his brother Marco. He has been employed at the docks and is told he will get plenty of work until he pays off his debt to the people who smuggled him to America and then he will have to struggle like every one else. I pity Rodolfo because all he tries to do is please people and enjoy himself, he does not understand what he is getting into when he falls in love with Catherine. I am not angry with him as far as I can tell he did nothing wrong. An audience should react the same sort of way that they should Beatrice he is a victim in this he loves Catherine and never meant to hurt anyone, yet he is ridiculed on the docks and hated by Eddie. His lively personality makes him a memorable character.
Marco is a more reclusive man. He is also from Italy and is an illegal immigrant; he has a wife and children who are starving in Italy. He travelled to America so he would be able to send money to his family so they can eat. He is very grateful to the Carbone’s for helping him and his family. He seems to understand Eddie’s feelings toward Rodolfo quickly, and warns Eddie off. He later realises that it was Eddie who tipped off the Immigration Bureau and tells Eddie he has killed his family. Later Marco kills him ending the play. I pity him because he only went to America so that he could keep his family healthy. But when Eddie turns him in he as very likely killed his family. He has been used to get at Rodolfo and that was unfair, but I also feel angry towards him he should not have killed Eddie that probably made things worse, he would probably go to prison and not be able to do anything for his family. He is memorable because he kills Eddie and that’s about it.
Arthur Miller successfully got me emotionally involved in this play I felt anger and pity towards many of the characters, they were believable and very realistic. I can imagine how they would all look to me and feel I know them and have met them, a lot of thought went into making the story have a range of emotions and a range of characters with different backgrounds emotions and lifestyles.
