A View From the Bridge

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In “A View from the Bridge” how successful is Arthur Miller in creating a strong audience response to his central character Eddie Carbone?

‘A View From The Bridge’ is a play by Arthur Miller set in the 1950’s. The main character is Eddie Carbone, who is an Italian living in America. They let Rodolfo and Marco (his wife’s cousins) stay with them, despite the fact they are illegal immigrants from Sicily. However, when Rodolfo and Catherine fall in love, Eddie’s affection for Catherine his adopted daughter are revealed, and he exposes the immigrants to immigration, and later dies at the hands of Marco. Miller wants us to see Eddie as confused but also arrogant, and as a typical male of the time, facing typical difficulties in his life.

This play is in many ways Eddie’s play, as he is the central figure, and it is about his tragedy, and most of the audience’s emotion is directed towards Eddie, mainly both sympathy and anger. Miller creates a slight hatred for Eddie from the audience by his constant hurtfulness and disrespect for their guest Rodolfo. It is obvious that this is caused by their competition over Catherine, which Rodolfo is winning. One of the early instances is Eddie saying ‘He gives me the heebie-jeebies.’ This is because of Rodolfo’s passions – he likes to sing and dance – which Eddie does not like, but really I think that he is just a real ladies man. When Rodolfo and Catherine start going out, Eddie goes to see Alfieri, and his jealousy is exposed through ‘when I thin of that guy layin’ his hands on her I could – I mean it’s eating me out Mr. Alfieri, because I struggled for that girl.’ Eddie things that it’s not right for Rodolfo and Catherine to be together, and he deserves something, but he cannot accept that Catherine is in love, and really it is his own feelings for Catherine that are not right, she is his daughter and he should be in love with Beatrice. Also in his conversation with Alfieri, he says ‘I gotta sit in my own house and look at a son-of-a-bitch like that – which he came out of nowhere!’ It really starts to turn to hatred now, as he starts swearing in a lawyer’s office, which is supposed to be a place of peace, and where people should be respectful to Alfieri, who is a person form higher in society. Because Alfieri refuses to help him, Eddie loses respect for a senior figure. Eddie is saying that it is his house and Rodolfo is taking advantage of his generosity, which is backed up by Eddie exclaiming ‘he’s stealing from me!’ Eddie believes that Catherine is his property, and that he should make her decisions for her, and she should be his. This provokes a strong response of disgust and hate for Eddie, as it is no-ones right to own another person, and no one should be forced to do anything.

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The audience are also inclined to dislike Eddie due to his love for his adopted daughter Catherine and his overprotection of her. He is jealous of her and Rodolfo being in love. Eddie knows he is wrong, but cannot accept this. He does not want her to go to work, but stay at home to finish school, ‘You can’t take no job. Why didn’t you ask me before you take a job?’ He gives Catherine no freedom, despite her being old enough to make her own decisions, and this makes the audience feel that Catherine is like a caged ...

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