Discuss the role of Alfieri in Arthur Miller's 'A View From The Bridge'.

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Nilesh Thanki 10A4                

Coursework                July 2003

GCSE ENGLISH LITERATURE

Discuss the role of Alfieri in Arthur Miller’s ‘A View From The Bridge’.

In Arthur Miller’s ‘A View From The Bridge’, the character Alfieri has two roles. The first being the narrator of the play and the second being is that he is the symbolic bridge between American law and tribal laws. He is an observer and commentator.

    The play is told from the viewpoint of Alfieri. He is the second most important character in the play behind Eddie Carbone. Alfieri represents the law as he is a lawyer is Red Hook, an area in New York. He respects American laws but does not forget about his Italian background and their traditions. Alfieri informs the audience and provides commentary on what is happening in the story. This is the equivalent of a chorus in an Ancient Greek theatre. This was when a group of people would explain and narrate the play and give their opinions on it also informing the audience of what is happening. By telling the audience details of place, date or time, he enables the action to move swiftly from one scene to another. This is achieved without the characters having to give this information. In between scenes, typical plays have stage directions such as ‘enter…’ or ‘exit…’, but in ‘A View From The Bridge’ Arthur Miller uses directions such as ‘the lights go down on…’, ‘the lights rise…’ Each time the lights fade, Alfieri appears to give his chorus and brief the audience on what is happening. This shows again than he is telling the story and knows what has happened, what is happening and what will happen.

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The Brooklyn Bridge is symbolic of a pathway of opportunity to Manhattan and also the link between American and Italian cultures. The bridge, which is very close to the Red Hook community, is a constant reminder of American opportunity and industry. From the bridge, the community is viewable below and, like the title of the book; one can see the entire community and seek greater meaning from his viewpoint. Alfieri is symbolic of the person on the bridge looking down upon the Red Hook community or, perhaps, he is the bridge himself, allowing the people to cross into Manhattan and ...

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