How does Miller use Alfieri to inspire Sympathy forEddie?
How does Miller use Alfieri to inspire Sympathy for Eddie?
How successful is he?
In his play "A View from the Bridge", Arthur Miller intends us to feel sympathy towards the protagonist, Eddie Carbone. Miller wants the audience to view Eddie positively, however Eddie displays negative personality traits like aggression, violence and over-protectiveness therefore there is a conflict between how Miller wants us to feel, that Eddie is a tragic hero, and how he actually does behave. The narrator Alfieri is deployed to often defend or explain Eddie's actions. After Eddie has shown a negative characteristic, Alfieri is deployed to get the audience back on Eddie's side. Without Alfieri, the audience would dislike Eddie and would immediately reject him. The audience's views towards Eddie are constantly shifting throughout the play.
Miller, like many playwrights, was influenced by Greek theatre. Alfieri's role is similar to the way the chorus operated in Greek tragedy because he comments on the action throughout the play. Our first impressions of Alfieri are positive. In the ancillary text, he is described as,
"a lawyer in his fifties"
which suggests that he is an educated and mature man. Alfieri is well dressed in a suit and is very well mannered. It is extremely important that the audience likes and trusts Alfieri if he is to influence the audience's views of Eddie during the play. This is why Alfieri is dressed smartly and looks experienced right at the beginning of the play. He speaks directly to the audience in an approachable and friendly way using the personal pronoun "you" which shows that he is trying to build a rapport with the audience right from the start of the play. Alfieri is articulate and trustworthy so the audience will listen to him. Miller places Alfieri's office "at the right, forestage" because he wants Alfieri to be able to communicate easily with the audience and become a bridge between the audience and the characters. In Alfieri's first speech, Eddie's past is mentioned so that the audience will understand that Eddie is a product of his cultural background. We are told that Eddie was part of an Italian community in Sicily where there were Italian family values and traditions, which Eddie was used to. Also in Sicily, there is their own code of law which meant it would have been extremely violent and brutal, there would of been no work available and many people would of been deprived and poor. This confuses Eddie when he comes to America where there was a different law. Eddie lives in,
"the slum that faces the bay on the seaward side of Brooklyn Bridge"
which shows that he suffers poverty like all Italian Immigrants in Red Hook in Brooklyn. Eddie migrated from Sicily, where the conditions were even worse, looking for work and a better life in America, the so-called land of opportunity.
What he arrived in was a hostile and racist community towards Italian Immigrants due to lack of work and money and fear which was exacerbated by the Wall Street Crash, The Great Depression. Therefore, there was hostility in America and great economic turmoil. It was a very violent society as well,
"Frankie Yale himself was cut precisely in half by a machine-gun on the corner of Union Street"
which may suggest why Eddie places himself as man of the house and wants total control of Catherine later in the play. We are given all this information about Eddie's background before we are actually told about him so that the audience understand and sympathise with Eddie.
When Alfieri next appears, he has to defend Eddie because he has displayed a number of negative qualities. Therefore the audience would feel quite negatively towards Eddie at this point and Miller ...
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"Frankie Yale himself was cut precisely in half by a machine-gun on the corner of Union Street"
which may suggest why Eddie places himself as man of the house and wants total control of Catherine later in the play. We are given all this information about Eddie's background before we are actually told about him so that the audience understand and sympathise with Eddie.
When Alfieri next appears, he has to defend Eddie because he has displayed a number of negative qualities. Therefore the audience would feel quite negatively towards Eddie at this point and Miller uses Alfieri to change the audience's view.
Firstly, Eddie's reaction to Catherine's new job,
"What job? She's gonna finish school"
shows Eddie's controlling nature. Catherine is a doting daughter, who seeks Eddie's approval with everything,
"What do you want me to do?"
which may suggest that this is why Eddie disapproves of Catherine's job because he knows that she listens to him. Also, Eddie's objections to Catherine's new job are implausible,
"You'll never get nowheres unless you finish school";
the real reason he does not want her to get the job is because he is scared of losing her. This causes our view of Eddie to shift again as he is showing a positive quality, however this contrasts with the other aggressive, moody traits of Eddie. Eddie also talks to Catherine about her "walkin wavy" which suggests that Eddie is also domineering and possessive. At this point Alfieri defends Eddie by highlighting excuses for Eddie's behaviour. He explains that Eddie had a hard life and his problems,
"He was as good a man as he had to be in a life that was hard and even"
and that Eddie is an ordinary man with limited intellect and opportunities,
"He worked on the piers when there was work, he bought home pay, and he lived"
which therefore counteracts the audiences hostility and redresses the balance between Eddie's positive and negative traits. Alfieri is sympathetic towards him at this point and does not romanticise Eddie but explains that he is ill equipped to deal with life's problems. Alfieri finishes by emphasising the fact that the "cousins came" which creates an ominous mood as the cousins are the source of Eddie's problems.
Both Alfieri's second and third speeches are very short. Miller interrupts the action with Alfieri's speech because Eddie has exhibited negative characteristics. If the play moved onto the next scene without Alfieri there would be no chance of making the audience feel sympathetic towards Eddie because he would have shown too many negative qualities without Alfieri explaining his actions.
Eddie behaves nastily towards Catherine saying,
"What's the high heels for Garbo?"
and behaving like a bully by humiliating her in front of Marco and Rodolpho. He does this because he has one fatal flaw, which is jealousy. Eddie does not want Catherine to get friendly with Rodolpho so he belittles her in front of everyone which is extremely spiteful. At this point in the play, the audience would probably dislike Eddie as he has been aggressive and has begun to pick a fight with Rodolpho, who is a harmless, inoffensive character,
"[He is sizing up Rodolpho and there is a concealed suspicion]"
which shows that Eddie has begun to see a threat from Rodolpho towards Catherine but it is really nothing.
The introduction of the theme of destiny,
"Eddie Carbone never expected to have a destiny"
affects the audience's view of Eddie because they begin to question what Eddie's future will be. Alfieri describes Eddie as an ordinary man who is unprepared for anything out of the ordinary and the challenges in life.
"A man works, raises his family, goes bowling, eats, gets old, and then dies".
This will make the audience wonder whether Eddie's course in life has changed from Marco and Rodolpho arriving and whether he has truly got a destiny. In this speech, Alfieri emphasises "trouble" which creates suspense, as the audience now knows that something is going to happen during the course of the play. Miller uses this technique at the end of Alfieri's speeches to create tension and to change the view of the audience, as they know something sinister will happen to Eddie. This will make the audience feel sympathetic towards Eddie once again. By "fading" the lights on Alfieri, Miller creates an eerie and menacing mood.
Having established Alfieri's trustworthiness in his choric role, Miller allows the audience to view Alfieri in character, the community lawyer from whom Eddie seeks advice. Although Alfieri does not explicitly state that he sympathises with him, this is a vital scene in terms of influencing the audience's perception of Eddie. Alfieri asks lots of questions and for the first time the audience sees Eddie struggling to explain his emotions,
"Lemme just bring out what i mean".
Eddie's argument is flimsy because there is nothing wrong about someone being homosexual or in Eddie's words "ain't right" and his thoughts are irrational. He goes to Alfieri seeking advice and wants him to sympathise because he cares about Catherine,
"I struggled for that girl".
This is a positive quality Eddie has shown but there are consequences of this trait. His feelings could be sinful but we can not be entirely sure what his true feelings are towards Catherine. Eddie is definitely confused in this scene and Alfieri's rational response,
"I understand you. But the law is very specific"
to Eddie's irrational appeals,
"there's no law that a guy which he ain't right can go to work and marry a girl"
affects the audience by either making them feel pity or sympathy for Eddie because of his desperate situation. Eddie does not understand his own feelings,
"I shouldn't look out for her good?"
which suggests he truly does not understand what he wants and what he does not want. He also is not in control of his feeling as he is making many accusations,
"The guy ain't right"
which shows the audience that Eddie is very narrow-minded and ignorant and this will cause the audience to dislike Eddie once again.
In Act Two, there are two significant scenes in terms of Alfieri evoking sympathy for Eddie. One of these is the drunken scene where Eddie kisses Catherine and Rodolpho. Eddie behaves unacceptably in this scene as he has turned to drink in his emotional turmoil,
"takes out a bottle from one pocket, puts it on the table. Then another bottle
from another pocket, and a third from an inside pocket."
This stage direction suggests that he is totally confused and has no other ideas to expose Rodolpho as a homosexual and this will affect the audience's view of Eddie by making them feel pity for Eddie. During the scene, Eddie loses his temper as Catherine tells Eddie that she is moving,
"I think i can't stay here no more"
which shows Eddies terrible behaviour has affected Catherine so much that she has to move out to get away from him. Eddie then surprises the audience by,
"as she strives to free herself he kisses her on the mouth"
which maybe suggests that Eddie does have incestuous feelings towards Catherine. Rodolpho is also horrified at Eddie's actions but Eddie goes one step further by shocking the audience by kissing Rodolpho,
"Eddie pins his arms, laughing, and suddenly kisses him"
which shows Eddie's desperate measures that he is going to, to prove to Catherine that Rodolpho "ain't right". Both of these kisses from Eddie were meant to do something. Eddie wants to humiliate Rodolpho and embarrass Catherine and he achieves his goal. However the audience see Eddie as a coward and a bully because Catherine now turns against Eddie,
"I'm going with him Eddie".
Eddie's second visit to Alfieri is not a surprise as he is desperately in need of some support and advice,
"Tell me what to do".
It suggests that Eddie is seeking guidance and is not equipped to deal with the situation himself. This will evoke some sympathy for Eddie because he is showing that he does not want to lose Catherine and that he has emotion but some of the audience may have pity for him because he has run out of desperate ideas for his irrational accusations. During the scene, Alfieri repeats the simile that he used earlier in the play,
"his eyes were like tunnels".
This emphasises the fact that tunnels are straight normally and Eddie's problem with Rodolpho has become an obsession and he has not changed his view on the situation. Alfieri's language and tone becomes tougher and stronger,
"This is my last word, Eddie, take it or not"
which suggests Alfieri with Eddie but his firmer tone has no effect on Eddie. Alfieri also begins to lose some control,
"Calling desperately"
which shows he is frightened and is worrying about what Eddie is going to do after he leaves. Alfieri warns Eddie directly,
" I'm warning you, the law is nature"
which might make the audience concerned about Eddie's future actions. Eddie is beyond help at this point even though Alfieri tells Eddie that he has no rights lawfully. Although not illegally, Eddie's decision to inform is clearly wrong. This is a turning point in the play and the impact on the audience is negative,
"I want to report something. Illegal Immigrants".
The audience will lose their respect for Eddie because he has broken the traditional code of Italian family loyalty.
The final words in any play are significant as they always leave the audience remembering the play or thinking about what would happen after. Alfieri's final words are no different. Alfieri delivers his final speech, after tragic events. Firstly, Eddie has informed on Marco and Rodolpho, which has caused his family and community to turn against him,
"[Lipari, the butcher turns and starts up left with his arm around his wife]"
which suggests that the neighbours have the traditional code of loyalty and they despise Eddie now because he has broken it. Secondly, Marco finally kills Eddie after their raging feud,
"[He dies in her arms]"
which shows how much trouble Eddie had caused to make Marco even think about killing him. Catherine and Beatrice have both been positive characters throughout the play and the audience will view them positively. Therefore sympathy could be inspired for Eddie as the two positive characters, Catherine and Beatrice, are prepared to forgive Eddie after he dies and this could cause the audience to also feel sympathy towards Eddie,
"Eddie, I never meant to do nothing bad to you".
This could, however, discourage sympathy because some of the audience may find that Eddie has made Catherine and Beatrice feel guilty even though it was Eddie's mess.
Alfieri's final words fit the final action of the play because he is talking about Eddie's decisions and it fits because Eddie's choices have led him to death. Alfieri concludes that it is better to "settle for half" but he admires and loves Eddie for refusing to compromise. Alfieri does not deliver his conclusion confidently which is shown in Miller's use of punctuation "-" and "...." which shows his hesitancy and the lack of confidence in his belief. Alfieri's tone sounds almost confessional in his final speech as he pours out his feelings after Eddie's death. The audience will be left thinking about what will happen after the play and it will leave them remembering it because of Alfieri's final words. There is an element of contradiction to Alfieri's final words because he believes that it is wise to compromise and yet he loves Eddie who refused to. This shows that it is not possible to have a fixed view on Eddie throughout the whole play. Miller uses Alfieri to constantly shift the audience's view of Eddie by deploying Alfieri every time Eddie shows a negative trait.
I think Alfieri finally does inspire sympathy for Eddie although some people may not sympathise with him but completely dislike him because of his negative behaviour. This is Miller's intention throughout the play because of his use of Alfieri. I do not sympathise with Eddie but i pity him because he knew no better and he was a product of his cultural background. Eddie was not fully equipped for the predicament he faced and his limited intellect led to a tragic event at the end of the play.