Eddie Carbone ultimately chooses to turn against his community and abide by the official laws. He looses the respect of his community and friends-this makes him feel as if he has lost his dignity and pride. Eddie is shown to have a stronger allegiance to the community through out the play, but he only ‘grasses’ on Rodolpho and Marco to seek revenge. This reveals that Eddie has reverted back to the teaching of his community because revenge is acceptable within the community law. Also, Marco, the Italian, is the final victor of the play, and he murders Eddie on the grounds that his revenge is justifiable according to community values. All this suggests that the small community is stronger than the official law.
In the beginning of the play Eddie tells the story of a young boy who called immigration on his own relatives. Eddie lectures Catherine about how they must tell no one about Marco and Rodolpho. The small story of Vinny Bolzano shows the struggles between the law of the community and the official law. The story also shows the reaction the neighbourhood had to this betrayal: ‘…they spit on him in the street, his own father and his brothers.’ The community in the play believe that the treatment of Vinny was fair and just. The neighbourhood doesn’t even consider the fact that they possibly inflicted an injustice upon Vinny, (Vinny was technically following the federal law when he informed on his uncle). The community believes that they have the right to decide whether justice or injustice has taken place. This betrayal also echoes what happens in the rest of the play. The story of Vinny Bolzano shows dramatic irony on Eddie because he eventually does what Vinny did-tells the immigration Bureau about the illegal immigrants his family are hiding.
Miller makes Eddie’s opposition to betrayal seem extreme to make him being the betrayer seem illogical: ‘Just remember, kid, you can quicker get back a million dollars that was stole than a word that you gave away.’ This quote reveals the irony and madness of Eddie’s character. The quote also suggests that Eddie knows his own fate, but he can’t escape it. Eddie watches himself make decisions that he knows will ruin his reputation in the community. Eddie is unable to stop the consequences of his betrayal because of his unspoken love for Catherine.
Eddie makes recourse to the law that he spurned when he telephones the immigration Bureau. Eddie’s idea of justice is that revenge is acceptable, even if he has to go against the law of his community, and embrace the federal law. Eddie sides with the official law because he feels that this will enable him to seek revenge from Rodolpho. Eddie feels that Rodolpho ‘taking’ Catherine with out permission is an injustice imposed upon himself: ‘I see it in his eyes; he’s laughin’ at her and he’s laughin’ at me.’ This quote shows how overprotective Eddie is of Catherine. Eddie feels he hasn’t received any justice even after Alfieri’s advice to him-he feels that the law is inadequate. Eddie wants the federal law to take action against Rodolpho on the grounds that he may be a homosexual trying to get married to Catherine to become a legal citizen in America: ‘The guy ain’t right, Mr Alfieri.’ Eddie is told that the law cannot cope with that kind of justice: ‘The law is not interested in this.’ This makes the law inadequate in Eddie’s opinion.
Marco is a typical Italian man, and he strictly follows the law of the community: ‘All the law is not in a book.’ His idea of justice involves revenge and murder- taking revenge from Eddie. Marco feels that Eddie has insulted him and destructed his family, so in his mind Eddie’s death is justifiable: ‘in my country he would be dead now. He would not live this long.’ This quote shows that Marco thinks that Eddie should be severely punished for ‘snitching’ on him and Rodolpho, because he would be punished if he were in Sicily. Marco feels that the law is not delivering justice because there is no law that stops his family from starving, and stops him from being separated from his brother: ‘Where is the law for that?’ He feels that the law would be adequate if he was permitted to continue his work in the USA, and support his family.
Alfieri (the narrator) tells the audience everything through his eyes. His point of view can be heard through out the play. To an extent, Alfieri knows that Eddie might go against the law of the community and ‘grass’ to the federal law: ‘His eyes were like tunnels; my first thought was that he had committed a crime, but soon I saw it was only a passion that had moved into his body, like a stranger.’ This quote reveals that Alfieri has a hint of suspicion that Eddie may betray his family, and the community he lives in because of his passion for his niece, Catherine. Alfieri believes that Eddie is unable to control his passion, and describes Eddie’s behaviour very dramatically. Alfieri knows that Eddie may do something that he will regret, but he is powerless in this matter: ‘…heard the same complaint and sat there as powerless as I, and watched it run its bloody course.’
More than once, in the play, Alfieri tries to warn Eddie about his relationship with Catherine and argues with him to allow her to marry Rodolpho: ‘You did your job, now it’s her life; wish her luck, and let her go.’ Alfieri is sympathetic towards Eddie, and he understands his point to an extent: ‘I understand you. But the law is very specific.’ He is trying to suggest that Eddie’s feelings for Catherine are too strong and over possessive. Alfieri wants Eddie to ‘free’ Catherine, and to realise that Rodolpho and Catherine aren’t committing a crime: ‘ Because there’s nothing illegal about a girl falling in love with an immigrant.’ This quote shows that the law can’t always help. Eddie continues to get angry whilst he is talking to Alfieri, and he doesn’t understand that the law doesn’t always take his own concept of justice seriously. The federal law is simply not interested in affairs.
Alfieri questions justice and injustice through out the play, and he has a clear view of justice and the law. He is portrayed as a character that is aware of the fact that the law is sometimes inadequate, and that justice cannot always be delivered: ‘this is not God, Marco. You hear? Only God makes justice.’ Miller uses this quote to combine the theme of religion and justice, therefore showing Alfieri as a man who still holds to Italian traditions and religion. Alfieri is a lawyer, but he still believes that in certain situations it is better to abide by the law of your community: ‘you won’t have a friend in the world, Eddie! Even those who understand will turn against you; even the ones who feel the same will despise you!’ This quote shows that Alfieri is trying to warn Eddie of the consequences that will arise if he betrays his community and family. According to Alfieri God only makes real justice- he feels that the law is only able to deal with crime and punishment: ‘…the law is nature. The law is only a word for what has a right to happen.’
Alfieri’s opening speech includes some of his views on justice-this sets up the rest of the play. The opening speech makes several references to concepts of justice and the law, e.g. ‘in this neighbourhood to meet a lawyer or a priest on the street is unlucky.’ This quote reveals that people in the neighbourhood distrust and oppose the official and religious laws. They like to take the law into their own hands. Alfieri also makes several references to crime and punishment: ‘Oh, there were many here who were justly shot by unjust men.’ This quote is suggesting that the community do not rely on the federal law to deliver justice; instead they take the law into their own hands. Alfieri’s references to the conflict between the federal and community law set up the rest of the play-the main theme of this play is conflict. Alfieri thinks that law is a significant part of life. He also thinks that the law cannot always solve all injustices, e.g. Eddie’s plea to Alfieri to show him a way to keep Rodolpho away from Catherine. In Alfieri’s view the law can deliver justice when crime and punishment is involved, but the law can’t always prevent the unjust outcomes inflicted upon innocent people, e.g. according to the official law Marco has to be sent back to Sicily because he’s an illegal immigrant, but there is no law that stops his wife and children from starving.
Alfieri also refers to concepts of justice and punishment in his closing speech: ‘most of the time we settle for half and I like it better…even as I know how wrong he was, and his death useless, I tremble, for I confess that something perversely pure calls to me from his memory-not purely good, but himself purely…and yet, it is better to settle for half…’ This quote reveals that Eddie was obsessed with his own feelings and concepts of law, and his own desires led him to his death. This quote also deals with the main conflict of A View from the Bridge: the will of the community. Community is a powerful theme in the play. The tight community creates tension in the Carbone family because the neighbourhood is always watching them. The neighbours knew when Marco and Rodolpho arrived, saw Marco spit in Eddies face and saw Eddie being murdered by Marco. The community is the ‘watcher’. Alfieri uses the phrase ‘settle for half’ in both his opening and closing speech. This means that no one ever gets complete justice in his or her lives. Alfieri is explaining that the law can’t always give us what we want, (law is often inadequate) so it is often better to settle for incomplete justice.
This play is all about peoples’ points of views. Miller’s characters have clearly defined yet flawed ideas about the true nature of the law and justice. Alfieri believes that in some cases it’s better to settle for incomplete justice; he tries to combine the American laws with Italian culture and negotiate a place between the two. Eddie believes that his concept of justice is always right whether he abides by the law of the community, or the federal law. Marco, on the other hand, believes that the law of the community is always right because he holds to very strong Italian traditions. A View from the Bridge is a play that uses strong themes, and even symbolism, e.g. Brooklyn Bridge is symbolic of a linkage between American and Italian cultures. You can see the whole Red Hook community from the bridge, and the Red Hook community is a powerful context of the play.
