To what extent is Miller presenting Eddie as an isolated figure in Act 1?

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To what extent is Miller presenting Eddie as an isolated figure in Act 1?

Eddie Carbone is portrayed as a very isolated man in many ways. He cares a great deal about his niece Catherine, and she is one of the only people he is very close to: “She looks at him, then rushes and hugs him” and “almost in tears because he disapproves”. In the first few lines of the play, he starts an argument with Catherine about her skirt. When he says, “I think it’s too short”, he is referring to his dislike of her going out and attracting men. He believes that, if she finds a man and gets married, he will lose her and have hardly anyone left. Later on, when Rodolfo and Marco arrive, he shows that he is extremely protective over Catherine. “Look kid, I ain’t her father, I’m only her uncle but-“ and “ I don’t want her hangin’ around Times Square. It’s full of tramps over there” shows that he is like a father to her, and is very strict. When his wife Beatrice disagrees with him, it shows that he is isolated in his views concerning Catherine’s behaviour. When Rodolfo and Catherine start going out together, Eddie gets extremely annoyed and thinks that he’s only going to marry Catherine for a U.S passport. “Katie, he’s only bowing to his passport” and “You marry him and the next time you’ll see him is for a divorce!” once again show that he severely dislikes Rodolfo and doesn’t want Catherine hanging around with him. He feels like he is isolated, as no one agrees with him about Rodolfo.

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        It becomes obvious that Eddie is alone in his hatred of Rodolfo when he teaches him how to box. When Eddie hits Rodolfo, all the characters ‘rush’ to Rodolfo and show him sympathy. When Beatrice says “that’s enough, Eddie” and when Catherine rushes to Rodolfo and shouts “Eddie!” it is clear that Eddie hit him quite hard. As no one shows any sympathy towards Eddie, it shows how isolated he is, and how alone he must feel.

When Eddie is with Louis and Mike, he is bitterly disappointed to find that they too like Rodolfo, and find him hilarious. “He’s ...

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