The Downfall of Eddie

Alfierie is an intermediary. He is able to narrate the story to the audience but also be part of the play. This is much like the chorus in Greek tragedies.

Alfierie's first prologue is set after the play has actually finished in chronological order. The whole play is a memory of his.

The play is about Eddie Carbone's eventual death and events leading to it. Eddie is a longshoreman. He, his wife (Beatrice, b for short) and his niece Catherine live in a slum part of New York near Brooklyn Bridge. Eddie is a typical Italian man, he believe that he should be all powerful and that the women should stay at home while he goes out and gets the money. Eddie is very possessive over Catherine, he is almost incestuously possessive of her. He doesn't want her to get a job. He wants to be the only one brining in money and Catherine is capable of brining in more or about the same amount each week as Eddie. This will mean that she would become more independent and there for she would have to grow up and that would mean that Eddie wouldn't have so much control over her. This is what brings eddies downfall, not letting Catherine grow up.

When Rodolpho and Marco arrive Eddie seems to get on quite well with Marco because he thinks that he is much like him but he does not seem to like Rodolopho because he sees that he likes Catherine and subconsciously is scared that she likes him too. This turns out to be true. So Eddie then shuns Rodolpho. But Marco sees this and then with the chair incident threatens him but no with any words. Marco is able to put Eddie I his place for a bit. Lifting a chair up by one leg with one hand on the bottom is quite hard and takes some strength. Marco proves to Eddie that he is stronger than he is. He has almost become an enemy of eddies by now. After Eddie and Rodolphos fight when he and Marco our kicked out, that is when Marco and Eddie become enemies.

Justice is the key factor in the final outcome of "A view from the bridge". Without the need for it, the conclusion would have been totally different (and boring).

The character that affects the story the most is most certainly Eddie. Even to start off with he is a man that demands respect- his "name" is important to him and he will fight to get it back (like when he claims that Marco took and dishonoured his name).

In his eyes, justice must be done, in scene one, he gets Beatrice to tell Catherine the story of Vinny Bolanzo- the kid who caused injustice by "snitching" to immigration about some illegal immigrants. Even though it is illegal, Eddie and most of the community see it as injustice. Vinny was brutally punished and shamed.

Eddie has his strongest feeling of injustice when Rodolpho arrives. Eddie has been a father to Catherine all her life and "gave her the food out of his mouth". He paid money to her so that she would meet a better class of people and there are subtle hints that he is attracted to her as well. He is justified to feel jealous and spiteful towards Rudolph when he comes over from Italy and wins Catherine's heart. He feels betrayed by Catherine that she has suddenly run off and lives her own life (this also could be attributed to his fear of Catherine growing up, and that she is not his little baby anymore.

Because Eddie thinks that Rudolph is gay, he thinks he is committing a great injustice by marrying Catherine just for his citizenship papers. So he feels that he must bring his own justice upon him

He tries to imply justice on Rodolph by legal means; so he goes to Alfieri. Alfiery calmly tells him that Rodolpho has not done anything illegal by proposing to Catherine, and the only thing he has done wrong was the means by which he entered the county. Eddie decides to take it upon himself to get rid of Rodolpho, using whatever it takes.

Unfortunately for Marco, he is the innocent victim of Eddies attempt to rid New York of Rodolpho. He quickly realises that Eddie is to blame for the appearance of the immigration officers and get slightly ticked off. He feels that justice need to be brought on him as he "killed his children". If he did something similar in Italy, he would have to pay for the crime in a fight. He comments on America in the prison scene- "I don't understand this country". Eventually he challenges Eddie, but Eddie pulls a knife on him. In the end though, as it is fated to happen, it is Eddie who ends up being killed

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