Select the character of either Eddie Beatrice or Catherine from “A View From the Bridge”. Explain how an actor/actress playing your chosen character could show the changes that occur in that character during the course of the play.

Authors Avatar

Miraj Shah 10LD

English Coursework

Select the character of either Eddie Beatrice or Catherine. Explain how an actor/actress playing your chosen character could show the changes that occur in that character during the course of the play.

A view from a bridge was set in the 1930s, a time of desperation for the Italians. Emigration from southern Italy was a result of backward social conditions and outright poverty. Italy was mostly an agricultural country, yet most of the land could hardly be called fertile. The dry air and soil of southern Italy are the conditions that contributed to the low crop yield. This play works well with the setting because it shows how desperate Marco and Rodolfo were to immigrate to America and how Eddie had destroyed all of there hopes and dreams due to his jealousy of Catherine and Rodolfo’s love. The main factor influencing Rodolfo and Marcos emigration was employment. They couldn’t find a job in Italy.  At that time millions of Italians were immigrating to America to make money to send home to their families in Italy. The reason why it was considered a crime for fellow Italians to report illegal immigrants to the immigration office was because this was seen as stealing from the immigrants’ families. You were stealing by not letting them work in America and not letting them make money to send home to their families. It was a shock to the neighbourhood that Eddie would stoop so low that he would make Rodolfo and Marco go back to Italy. This is why Arthur Miller set the story at this time, so that this story would be more dramatic and more tragic. Most Italians decided to immigrate to Brooklyn because it was easy to live in. Flats were not that expensive, so most Italians were living there. They could afford just enough for basic survival, food and clothes. The rest of the money went back to their families in Italy.

Join now!

I have chosen Catherine for this essay. If an actress were to play her part I would choose Natalie Portman. I would choose her because she could come off to be a 17-year-old girl and her innocent nature, like Catherine’s would come through. She is attractive which makes it easier to believe that she is Catherine and would therefore allow the audience to sympathise with her character. At the same time, she would also be able to show a strong character, which she would have to be at the end of the play.

This is ...

This is a preview of the whole essay