This essay will examine the ideas of manliness, hostility, aggression and how these notions are explored in A View from the Bridge a play by Arthur Miller.

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Mohamed Hussein 11T           A View From the Bridge essay          Mr Silverman

 

        

A View from the Bridge

This essay will examine the ideas of manliness, hostility, aggression and how these notions are explored in ‘A View from the Bridge’ a play by Arthur Miller. The play is set in the 1950s based on the American working class community in Brooklyn.

The play ‘A View from the Bridge’ was written by Arthur Miller while doing research on a man called Pete Panto who was executed by the Italian mob for snitching on an Italian immigrant. While researching he came across a story about a man who snitched to the Immigration to prevent the marriage of his niece to one of the two brothers who were cousins with his wife. He was then known around in the Italian communities for snitching, some people rumoured that he was killed by one of the two brothers but was known for a fact.  

Eddie Carbone is the tragic protagonist of ‘The View from the Bridge’. Eddie is a character who has own ideas of what a ‘real man’ should be like. Eddie is a helpful, uneducated longshoreman who lives with his wife Beatrice and his niece Catherine. His ideologies regarding masculinity revolve around physical strength, mean attitude, being breadwinner and earning income through tough labour. He believes that the leader of the house should have control of other people’s actions. Eddie also has hostile characteristics because when his masculinity is questioned he starts to threaten people verbally. Unlike before he did not mind Catherine and Beatrice’s actions. This can be observed when Beatrice asks him when she is going to be “a wife again”. This challenges Eddie’s masculinity as he is unable to please his wife. Eddie’s response to this comment is very threatening as he says that he will beat her if she does not stop asking. Due to his dominant nature Eddie naturally feels threatening by the arrival of illegal immigrants Marco and Rodolpho.

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Marco is the cousin of Beatrice. Marco comes to the U.S to work and make money to send back to his wife and children in Italy. Marco is a hard working Italian man who is a powerful, sympathetic leader. In contrast Marco is a ‘real man’ who is very quiet and responsible with a family to look after. He does not like to start trouble unless he is provoked. His manliness is emphasized when Eddie and Beatrice are talking about Rodolpho, Eddie states that Rodolpho should be like his brother Marco who is a ‘real man’. Marco has got ...

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The language and grammar used, in general, is quite specific and detailed. There are very few spelling mistakes and an adequate variety of sentence structures. Also, there is a lack of commas throughout which would make reading the essay a lot easier but at GCSE level, there is room for manouvre here. As said before, in order to improve, a lot more quotes are required to back up arguments that are made.

The student manages to compare the attitudes and niches of the characters well, with respect to the themes being examined. One aspect that could be improved is evidence, this student will sometimes make assertions such as 'his ideologies regarding masculinity revolve around physical strength' without providing a quote. In my class, this is something that a lot of students found difficult and to attain higher grades, it is a necessity to add a line such as 'which is shown through the line...' to prove to the examiner that you understand the play well.

This candidate clearly understands the plot of the play and the personalities of the characters, however, there are several factors that prevent the essay from reaching the top grades. The student makes good observations and picks out relevant parts of the play, including information about almost all the major characters, as well as adding alternate interpretations at parts, which suggests a wide knowledge of the play. The student needs to focus more on the question title, even if it's just a few sentences at the end of paragraphs, to show how their writen material is relevant to the question itself. This is done occasionally, but should be done to a greater extent.