Eddie resorts to violence under the pretence of teaching Rodolpho to box merely as an excuse to hit him. Forced to watch Catherine and Rodolpho getting close as they dance together Eddie’s sarcastic comments about Rodolpho’s manliness clearly show his hostility to Rodolpho
“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 tells us that Eddie has been
"unconsciously twisting the newspaper"
he is tense, like a spring waiting to uncoil and this finally happens and things are brought to a head when he offers to teach Rodolpho to box and what starts out as a seemingly harmless sparring session leads to Eddie hitting his opponent with needless force a fact which is noticed by everybody in the room. Marco rises from his seat and Catherine quickly rushes to Rodolpho’s side Eddie aware that he has taken things a step to far and tries to cover his tracks by saying that he punched too hard by accident
"I didn't hurt him. Did I hurt you, kid?”
However Eddie has overstepped the mark and in an attempt to humiliate Rodolpho he angers Marco who is careful not to verbally threaten his host, actions speak louder than words. Marco challenges Eddie to lift a chair when it is in a certain position but Eddie fails the challenge. Marco then successfully lifts the chair above his head powering over a frightened Eddie. The stage directions describe Marco as
“He kneels, grasps and with strain slowly raises the chair higher and higher, getting to his feet”
they go on to describe how
"Marco is face to face with Eddie, a strained tension gripping his eyes and jaw, his neck stiff, the chair raised like a weapon over Eddie's head-and he transforms what might appear to be a glare of warning into a smile of triumph"
Marco is obviously giving a warning to Eddie to not continue to mess around, and make fun of his brother by showing him the danger he invites. The audience can tell at once that this is a very dramatic point in the play; Catherine and Rodolpho who have resumed dancing immediately stop. The stage direction
"Rodolpho and Catherine have stopped dancing"
in the middle of this hostile situation shows that they are aware that Marco has also taken things a little too far. Miller also describes Eddie when Marco is glaring at him
“His grin vanishes as he absorbs his look”
this action by Eddie clearly shown both Marco and the audience that Marco has achieved what he set out to do, give Eddie a warning and this is highlighted by the fact that as soon as Eddie’s expression turns to one of fear Marco looks at him and his own expression changes into a victorious smile.
The feelings revealed in this act of the play an important part in the relationships between the characters in the remainder of the play. The hostility and anger felt by Eddie magnifies. Eddie’s obsession with his niece finally leads him to hit Rodolpho when he becomes aware that the two have slept together. In the end Catherine finally decides to marry Rodolpho and Eddie decides that he has no choice but to inform the Immigration Bureau that he has been hiding two illegal immigrants. Eddie takes this action despite earlier comments that
“It’s an honour”
to give the men refuge. In breaking his code of honour Eddie loses everything the respect of his neighbours, his friends and his family and in the final scenes of the play he comes head to head with and angry and betrayed Marco, cowardly brandishing a knife Eddie attacks Marco but in self defence Marco turns the knife on Eddie fatally stabbing him.
Arthur Miller cleverly sets the tone of the play during the hostile scene in Act 1. The domestic harmony that exists at the start disappears and the audience learns quickly about Eddie’s obsession and his obvious frustration and anger towards his niece’s admirer. Miller uses stage direction to show the audience the true extent of the raw emotions felt by the characters and to show the drama and crisis which finally climaxes in the death of the main character.
