"raises a hand to hush"
Rodolpho we read that Eddie
"is coming more and more to address Marco only."
He is made uneasy by the talkative young man with his unusual blonde hair. Later as Catherine becomes attracted to Rodolpho, Eddie immediately seeks to discredit his rival, which is in fact the start of his tragic downfall. In Rodolpho's case, Eddie quickly finds a 'reason' for this. Rodolpho is slightly-built, blonde, a good singer and dancer and he can cook as well as make dresses. For the most part Mike and Louis seem to share Eddie's view, for instance when Mike says:
"He comes round, everybody's laughin',"
The stage directions then indicate seven times that Mike and Louis laugh until finally they 'explode in laughter.' After this Eddie abuses his trust as a wise father-figure to persuade Catherine that Rodolpho is a:
"hit and run guy"
and that he is:
"only bowin' to his passport"
Catherine protests disbelief, but is clearly shaken until Beatrice reassures her.
Extract Analysis
In the final scene of the first act the action dominates the dialogue. The audience can see how Miller has choreographed the action in three stages - dancing, boxing and chair lifting. Also the way in which Eddie, Catherine and Marco all see and react to what is going on in around them makes this a very theatrical scene. For the dancing stage Eddie sees Rodolpho dancing with Catherine, which to Eddie is Rodolpho symbolically taking Catherine away from him. Then Eddie's bitter, sarcastic response also comes in three points:
"He sings, he cooks, he could make dresses… I can't cook, I can't sing, I can't make dresses, so I'm on the water front. But if I could cook, if I could sing, if I could make dresses, I wouldn't be on the water front."
The stage direction here tells the audience that Eddie has been unconsciously twisting the newspaper and that he senses he is exposing the issue. Secondly after the paper rips in two under the strain of too much strain Eddie tries to win Catherine back with by proving his manliness while humiliating Rodolpho.
Reece Ryan 10L Page 3
So he tells Rodolpho about boxing and offers to teach him how to box. This is also a perfect chance for Eddie to take all of the bent up anger and frustration that he is holding and release it on Rodolpho, his rival and adversary. Once the boxing is underway Eddie lands a few soft blows and allows Rodolpho to do the same, saying that Rodolpho is quite good, giving the other characters and the audience the impression that he is having fun and enjoying teaching Rodolpho. But then Eddie strikes harder:
"It mildly staggers Rodolpho"
The three onlookers and the audience can all see what Eddie is trying to do, but his attempt to make Catherine think less of Rodolpho has failed and Eddie is in turn made ridiculous himself by Marco's action. So the third and final action comes from Marco who will not allow or tolerate any harm to his family, neutralizes the one tactic (physical violence) that Eddie can use on Rodolpho. The chair held:
"like a weapon" badman2k3's functionalism .
over Eddie's head symbolizes his impending judgement and punishment and anticipates the way in which Marco, rather than Rodolpho, is to become Eddie's chief adversary.
In first act of the play, Eddie told Catherine and Beatrice the story of Vinny Bolzano, precisely to show the audience his strong belief in loyalty to his family and community. There is also dramatic irony in Eddie's doing exactly the same thing of which he has spoken about with such horror. Eddie has warned Catherine that:
"you can quicker get back a million dollars that was stole than a word that you gave away".
Now he find this to be true, his feigned horror in finding the Liparis share relatives with Marco and Rodolpho, and his suggestion that they are being tracked, which he says just before the immigration officers arrive, is a giveaway to his betrayal. Eddie tries to outface Marco, but the accusation is believed. Lipari and his wife, Louis and Mike, the stage representatives of the wider community, one by one leave Eddie alone, symbolizing his isolation.
The climax of the play so to speak is kind of like the 'showdown' at the end of a western. Marco is coming to punish Eddie and Eddie in return is demanding his 'name' back. Marco believes it is dishonourable to let Eddie live, but has given his word not to kill him. Eddie's pulling a knife means that Marco can see justice done, while keeping his word. Again the action is symbolic of the play's deeper meaning.
Reece Ryan 10L Page 4 Eddie literally dies by his own hand, which holds the knife, and is killed by his own weapon, but Eddie also metaphorically destroys himself, over the whole course of the play. And this is what Alfieri introduces to the audience at the play's opening: the sight of a man destroying himself, while those around him are as powerless as the audience to prevent it.
Conclusion
Eddie is a suitable subject for a modern tragedy because the potential for self-destruction, which is in all of us, in Eddie's case has destroyed him. Apart from this improper love, Eddie is a good man and this love has its origin in the quite proper love of father for child, and Eddie's sense of duty to his family and community. This is shown in the early part of the play in the love and trust Catherine and Beatrice have for Eddie, and of what we learn of his hustling for work when Catherine was a baby. Eddie is a very ordinary man, a decent and well-liked man, and yet the one flaw in his character forces those around him including Alfieri and the audience to watch 'powerless' as the case runs 'its bloody course.
THIS IS EDDIE AND CATHERINE BIT.
'One that loved not wisely but too well.' (Othello v.ii)
The play is set in a slum area in Brooklyn.Between 1861 and 1920, 30 million people immigrated into America. Many people settled by the ports as there was a steady supply of work from the ships and Eddie Carbone is one of these longshoremen.
Eddie is the forceful, irrational protagonist with many complex emotions while his niece (by marriage only) is rather naïve and open. As they live in the same house, they spend most of their time with each other and get on well together as family.
Eddie and Beatrice (his wife) took Catherine in when her mother died and therefore, Eddie feels a great sense of responsibility;
'I promised your mother on her deathbed. I'm responsible for you.'
To Catherine, he is like a paternal figure, and she does love and respect him that way. At first, I also believe that is how Eddie thinks of her.
He provides a good home for her, puts food on the table and sees her through education, I think truly wanting the best for her- to go up in the world. His aspirations are high;
'I broke my back payin' her stenography lessons so she could go out and meet a better class of people.'
His social aspirations for her are obviously higher than his own community- but does that mean he is snobbish of his own class? I think, perhaps slightly.
Eddie's protectiveness of Catherine can be just like a normal father's, as he says about her new skirt;
'I think it too short, ain't it?
But often, this protectiveness can turn into dominance and possessiveness over his niece and his attitude towards her becomes unnatural. Eddie is never completely at ease. He tells her she's 'walkin' wavy', but this is because he is subconsciously sexually attracted to her. He criticises her appearance and behaviour because she is attractive to other men and he does not like that. I think, in a way, he believes she is his and he wants her all to himself- i.e. - if he cannot have her, no one can.
I think to aid this, he tries to keep her a little girl, when actually, she is becoming a woman;
'You're a baby….. when you stand here by the window waving outside.'
The word 'baby' is mentioned constantly as if it will eventually persuade Catherine that she is one. This environment would be suffocating for her.
However, Beatrice isn't blind to all this; 'You gonna keep her in the house all your life?
Eddie (insulted); 'What kinda remark is that?'
She has not had sex with Eddie for quite a while and I think she knows it is because of his desire for Catherine.
When Alfieri makes a joke about Catherine not being able to marry Eddie, he doesn't laugh, as he starts to realise his sexual feelings for Catherine are becoming more apparent. When Beatrice finally says;
'You want somethin' else, Eddie, and you can never have her!' He is stunned with silence, but I think deep down, he knows it is the truth.
Eddie's positive and negative elements are often intertwined, but I think his intentions for Catherine were good; however the feelings he acquired for her should have been dealt with differently.
Catherine's attitude to Eddie is entirely different though. Eddie who lays down the laws heavily influences her, but she seems totally unaware of her sexual appeal generally, but especially to Eddie. Beatrice actually has to tell her about it;
'but you're a grown woman and you're in the same house as a grown man. So you'll act different now, heh?
Although Catherine is rather innocent, but I think that is because she is overprotected, so, in effect, there is a viscous circle.
Catherine's attitude to Eddie is, totally non-sexual, but after Beatrice's talk, she does start to become aware of what could be going on, perhaps a little.
It didn't even cross her mind that she was a potential 'rival' to Beatrice;
'He said you was jealous?' Heidegger enveloped badman2k3's structuralism hypothesis.
When Catherine falls in love with Rodolfo, Eddie cannot stand this, and does everything in his power to stop it, as his subconscious desires tear him apart slowly. He even calls the immigration bureau and risks his respect (which means so much to him) for her.
I feel that both Eddie and Catherine were partly to blame for the tragic end of their relationship and in general. However, Catherine gained her confidence and independence a little more toward the end of the play. Eddie's possessiveness and dominance over Catherine suffocated her into staying a 'baby', but I feel she could/should have been more self- aware, especially of the situation around her.