How does Miller explore the character of Eddie Carbone in 'A View From the Bridge'? Discuss, with close analysis of at least two scenes in the play.

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Rejwana Rajib

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English Coursework

How does Miller explore the character of Eddie Carbone in ‘A View From the Bridge’? Discuss, with close analysis of at least two scenes in the play.

The story of ‘A View From the Bridge’ is set in an Italian neighborhood which has migrants shipping in. The central character is Eddie Carbone, who is a working longshoreman.  lives with his wife,  and orphaned niece, , in Red Hook Brooklyn. They are expecting Beatrice’s migrant cousin brothers from Sicily to arrive shortly. Eddie and Beatrice don’t have any children of their own, but they have raised Catherine as their own.  

Arthur Miller wrote ‘A View From the Bridge’ for social, artistic and personal reasons. He had heard of the story of a man who had betrayed his own community out of jealousy. The story had the ‘cleanliness’ of some Greek tragedies. Miller explores Eddie Carbone’s character as a ‘tragic flaw’. When Eddie’s desires take control, his inevitable fate is to die at the end of the play.  

Eddie Carbones role as a tragic hero develops in the course of the play. He harbors a secret lust for his niece Catherine which eventually causes his destruction. Eddies stubborn attitude about getting his own way and having to suppress his feelings leads him into conflict with his family and community. Eddie doesn’t take other peoples feelings into consideration, he stands firm on what he considers to be right. Eddies pride means so much to him, that everyone who challenged it failed unsuccessfully. The character of Eddie changes from a simple man of honour and respect in his community, to an outcast who is in need to defend for himself in order to restore his pride.  

Miller has said that he wanted to make this play a modern equivalent of classical Greek tragedy. In the ancient plays, an essential part was that of the chorus: a group of figures who would watch the action, comment on it, and address the audience directly. In A View from the Bridge, Alfieri is the equivalent of the chorus, as well as his role as a lawyer in the play. He introduces the action to the audience. Alfieri mentions in the prologue of ‘A View From the Bridge’, that the play is ‘a timeless tragedy’. The play stresses that it is dealing with timeless concerns. Alfieri also says that the audience are about to watch the play run trough its ‘bloody course’. Alfieri stresses that Eddies problems cannot be remedied by American laws.  Alfieri observes that the values of Eddies Italian-American community, particularly its ideas of justice are different from those of the modern America they live in, and its laws. Alfieri provides a bridge between the Italian-America ideas of justice, and those of the American law. The law could not help Eddie with his problems, which is why he took matters into his own hands. The lawyer, Alfieri, explains why it is better to ‘be civilised’ and ‘settle for half’, in consequence restoring the normal moral order.

         Eddie’s character has many different roles in the play. Miller, at first presents Eddie as a very ordinary man; decent, hard-working and charitable, a man no-one could dislike. He is seen as an honorable role in the community. But, he has flaws and weaknesses. His role of being a guardian to Catherine seems to be too overprotective. He is very possessive of her and is jealous that she is Rodolfo’s ‘women’. In act 1, Eddie doesn’t approve of Catherine getting a job. He is afraid of her going to a rough part of the city, and working around other men. The audience can tell that Eddie isn’t only looking out for Catherine’s best interest, but for his needs of her being at home, close to him. This in turn, causes conflict between Eddie and his wife. Eddie also plays the role of a neglecting husband, this is due to the love he has for Catherine. Eddies relationship with Beatrice seems really distant. Beatrice is a jealous wife and is jealous of Catherine. She has every right to be, as Eddie makes it clear that he wants Catherine in the house all day. Beatrice doesn’t want Catherine hanging around, she wants her go out and get a life for herself. She tells Catherine to stop behaving like a child around Eddie and tells her its time to say goodbye to him. ‘You’re a woman that’s all, and you got a nice boy, and now the time came when you said good bye’. If Catherine was to leave the Cabone residents, it would mean Beatrice would be able to get back what was rightfully hers, her husband, Eddie.  

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Eddie’s cultural background is carefully depicted by Miller. Miller presents Eddie as someone who has upheld the values of his community. He is the head of the family and holds strong family values. He has honour in his community as he is seen as a hard working man, who provides for his family. ‘How much can a man make? We work hard, we’ll work all day, all night’. This is said by Rodolfo shortly after they arrive, it shows the culture of hard work and that men are expected to work in order to support their families. The Sicilian community ...

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