Eddie Carbone has strong views and when Rodolpho doesn’t match up to his view’s it creates a conflict between characters. Eddie thinks strength is important to being a man:
“Catherine: I’ll make some coffee, alright
Eddie: Go ahead, make some! Make it nice and strong.”
When you read this you think Eddie is talking about the coffee but just before Catherine asks about the coffee Eddie is talking to Rodolpho about watching boxing. Eddie thinks Rodolpho is weak and Eddie says “Make it nice and strong” Rodolpho is in earshot of him. Eddie is possibly trying to imply that Rodolpho is weak and he needs to become stronger to be more of a man.
Eddie is a strong man and is not very well educated, so to deal with problems he uses aggression. Miller shows Eddie aggression in the stage direction more than him speaking. When Eddie teaches Rodolpho how to box it seems he is always encouraging Rodolpho by speaking to him “sure, he’s great! Come on kid, put sump’m behind it.” This show that Eddie is impressed with Rodolpho, but when Eddie punches Rodolpho it raises the question, of whether the nice talking to Rodolpho was just a way of luring him into a false sense of security. This is a major turning point in the play because Marco, who in Eddie’s eyes is a real man, and who has not taken any side so far in the play stands up and starts siding with Rodolpho. Miller has made Marco stand up to show how just how un-educated he is, but not to the same level as Eddie. You can tell Marco starts siding with Rodolpho because he challenges Eddie to show how manly he is by beating Eddie at his own game, by showing how strong he is. Marco asks Eddie to try and lift a chair by its leg. Marco asks this because he knows that it is extremely hard and only very strong men can lift a chair like this. Eddie fails to lift the chair but make the excuse that “it’s on an angle, that’s, why, heh?” he make this excuse because he does not want to be seen as weak or a lesser man. Marco picks up the chair high above Eddies head who is kneeling down. This gives the effect that Marco is the master and Eddie is a little follower. It also makes you think that Marco could potentially use it as a weapon on Eddie as an act of revenge for punching Rodolpho. This is at the very end of act one and therefore is of a major turning point in the play.
Alfieri is a narrator in this play but he is a talking character and a bridge between Eddie, the law and people he shows hostility towards. Alfieri is more of a classical Italian man than Marco or Rodolpho. This play is more for watching than reading, but Alferie wears a double breasted suit and has well oiled hair. He is shown as a man with a certain taste because he smokes cigarettes and seems a man to be trusted.
By Ryan Dodson