‘A View from the Bridge’
In this essay I will be discussing a play written by Arthur Miller in 1955 “A View from the Bridge”. The play is set in the American 1940’s, just after the Second World War. Located in Red Hook (Brooklyn), a very poor area, described by Alfieri as, “the slum that faces the bay on the seaward side of Brooklyn Bridge”. It tells the story of two illegal Sicilian immigrants (Marco and Rodolfo) who managed to migrate into America, in a time where they restricted any immigration from entering their golden gates. In search for the American dream, the immigrants thought that they could earn a decent living and provide for their family back home. However, deprived from their humanity by poor labour given by the American government, they were underpaid; on the other hand it was beneficial to the Americans, boosting their wealth and economic power. The conditions that they had to endure were appalling. Living in the cheapest, worst housing in the city and they were usually confined with many other immigrants in the same house.
Most of Miller’s work on the play was experienced by himself. He had worked as a longshoreman which gave him the opportunity to be friend with some of the immigrants that worked with him. He deals with political and moral issues and weaves in ideas from Greek tragedy, which features individuals who become entangled in a terrible fate.
To begin with, Alfieri conceivably is one of the most important characters in this play. Alfieri is the symbolic bridge between American law and tribal laws. Alfieri, an Italian-American, is true to his ethnic identity. He is a well-educated man who studies and respects American law, but is still loyal to Italian customs. The play told from the viewpoint of Alfieri, the view from the bridge between American and Italian cultures who attempts to objectively give a picture of Eddie Carbone and the 1950s Red Hook, Brooklyn community. Alfieri's view is also the "view from the bridge" referring to the title of the play. Eddie and those who are around him are those which are "on the water front". This inevitably gives Alfieri the knowledge about everything there is to know in the play. He also represents the difficult stretch, embodied in the Brooklyn Bridge, from small ethnic communities filled with dock laborers to the disparate multi-ethnic wealth. Alfieri attempts to present an un-biased and reasonable view of the events of the play and make clear the greater social and moral implications in the work. From his narration, it seems that Alfieri has decided to tell the story for his own reasons as much as anyone else's. He does not find a conclusion after telling the Carbone story, but tells it nonetheless and he speaks and reveals his honest view of the facts. He is cast as the chorus part in Eddie's tragedy. Alfieri informs the audience and provides commentary on what is happening in the story. The description of the people within the play and narration at the beginning of every scene change helps to distinguish the short chapters of the tale. Alfieri is fairly inconsequential in the action of the play in general, but more importantly frames the play as a form of a modern fairy tale. Alfieri admittedly cannot help Eddie Carbone, but must powerlessly watch the tragic events unfold before him. There is no illusion of reality, Alfieri purposely breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience during the reenactment of the story. In the brief scenes in which Alfieri speaks to Eddie, we gain an insight into him being wiser than Eddie and knowing what’s best for him. He keeps telling Eddie that he should not interfere, except to let Catherine go, "and bless her". As Eddie ponders about the betrayal, Alfieri reads his mind and time after time warns him, "You won't have a friend in the world...Put it out of your mind". Alfieri as the narrator never needs to leave the stage. Stage directions refer to him not by exits or entrances but to the light shining down or up on Alfieri.
