In the next scene it is obvious that Eddie has approached everyone with a fresh mind and with more of an insight into what they want to accomplish. However, when Marco and Rodolfo start talking about there life back in Italy, he can’t help himself but make comments about whatever they are talking about. ‘Sure. (laughing) How you gonna catch sardines on a hook?’ Here I would have made Eddie say this under his breath, as if he were simply speaking his mind and not meaning to offend everyone.
They then go on to talk about Rodolfo going out during the day and whether or not he will get caught. Eddie seems to think that Rodolfo is being too loud and drawing too much attention to himself. ‘Look, kid, I’m not only talking about her. The more you run around like that the more chance you’re takin’. Rodolfo then seems to find is voice and starts answering Eddie back. This extremely annoys Eddie and you can see that he is starting to lose his temper.
Later in the scene they start talking about boxing, Eddie shows that he is more than willing to teach Rodolfo how to throw a punch. Not wanting to give in to Eddie, Rodolfo lets him teach him. Unfortunately he lets his temper out and hits Rodolfo harder than he said. This is when Marco starts to hate Eddie. Here I would have directed Eddie to act innocently as if he had done nothing wrong, which is what he believes to be the case.
At the end of the scene, Marco lets Eddie know that he has had enough of him and that even though he is letting them stay in his house, it is not his place to comment on their family and their home. There is not much script involved; however there are a lot of meanings to be interpreted from his actions. Marco asks Eddie if he can lift the chair with one hand, when Eddie fails to lift it, Marco effortlessly lifts the chair by the leg and raises it above his head. I think this display of strength is telling Eddie to back off a bit and that if need be Marco can find other ways to stop him bullying Rodolfo.
With the combination of Marco’s show of rivalry and the knowledge he has of Catherine and Rodolfo, Eddie’s rage continues to build inside of him, waiting for a time that it can be released.
In the later scene, Eddie returns home drunk, only to find Catherine and Rodolfo there, alone! He instantly jumps to the wrong conclusion and begins to air his views of the two. Rodolfo begins to stand up for not only himself, but Catherine to. He argues with Eddie, but in doing this he is inadvertently fuelling Eddie’s rage to a higher level. Soon Eddie bursts and grabs Catherine by the arm and kisses her. Shortly afterwards he does the same to Rodolfo. Both kisses were done to provoke different reactions from the characters.
When Eddie kisses Catherine, he makes it far more that of a passionate one than that of a fatherly figure. He feels she has a chance to get out of the docks and into a higher class of people, ‘I broke my back payin' her stenography lessons so she could go out and meet a better class on people’. In this quote it also becomes evident that Eddie feels as though Catherine owes him something. It is seems that he regards her more as a possession than a daughter, or even a person with its own feelings.
It may also be that Eddie sexually attracted to Catherine. In kissing her so passionately he may have thought that this was his last opportunity to have her for himself. Before the kisses, when Eddie arrives home, he saw Catherine emerge from the bedroom, soon followed by Rodolfo; his emotions make him think the couple has been making love. When he tries to throw Rodolfo out, Catherine says she has to leave too, this provokes a slight change in Eddie’s attitude as her leaving is the last thing he wants.
Throughout this scene Eddie releases a certain amount of his anger, this may calm him down when he sobers up and realizes what he has done. The kisses will also make him think about how he’s been treating Catherine and whether it is time to let her go.
