Red hook is near Brooklyn Bridge. This bridge is a symbolic reference to the rites of passage, meaning journey, something that the protagonist has to take. The bridge is also a linkage of American and Italian cultures in the play; the bridge is a reminder of the ‘American dream’ and the opportunities available. Marco and Rodolfo move from a place where there is no work to a new place where there is meaning more opportunities. There is more to the title than just a view from the bridge as there is one person who sees the whole community below, some one who can outlook the whole situation. This character is Alfieri. Travelling below the water means that you are hiding as no can see you so therefore you are an immigrant as you are illegal, but if you cross over the water then as every one can see you than you are legal.
The role that Alfieri plays is of a lawyer in the play; he is a representative of the American legislature. "We're only thought of in connection with disasters". Alfieri says this in the prologue. This tells us straight away that the play is a tragedy and that something bad will happen in the play. Alfieri is a character that also comments on actions of other characters whether it be Eddie of one the brothers. "He worked on the piers when there was work", "after they had eaten, the cousins came". In doing this, Alfieri performs a key role of the chorus, as he comments on actions and happenings within the play but can no one else can do that. Alfieri manipulates the audience's view on certain characters. He directs us in our opinions and reactions to characters, such as Eddie. Alfieri acts as engaged narrator. He is the bridge between the audience and the action on stage. Because he can speak directly to the audience he has the power to guide and manipulate the audience in their responses to Eddie and other characters. Alfieri is involved with law as he also plays key role of a lawyer, but some viewers may see it as him as a priest as he give the right advice and characters in the play come and confess to him (Eddie) just like you would to a priest. As a lawyer he can only deal with the case if it can be solved by written law if not his hands are empty for you. Eddie confesses indirectly his inner world to Alfieri, by making criticisms of Rodolfo. For example “he ain’t right he’s a blonde guy like platinum” (page 32/33).
This shows that he doesn’t like Rodolfo so makes excuses against him to make him look bad; this is shown on both his visits to Alfieri. The cause of his dislike towards other men is Catherine, as when she talks to other men Eddie doesn’t like it, as he is too protective over her and makes criticisms against them. The core of Eddie’s inner world is his motive and his denial makes him unaware of this and his fatal flaw’s existence and this is Catherine. There are two things that are stopping him to accept this and this is his culture, which is connected to moral law, so he knows what is wrong and his respect, now this s connected to the community and there law, so if he does something wrong, against the law of the community his will lose his respect.
With in these visits Alfieri says “his eyes were like dark tunnels”. So Alfieri can see his motive he knows that there is something wrong as they say that the eyes are a window to your soul and Eddie’s motive is part of his soul. Alfieri realizes this incest, but he is unable to do anything “sat there as powerless as I and watched it run its bloody course” (as a chorus character he can only observe and as a lawyer he can only deal with what’s in the book) ;( page 4).
This portrays the ideas in a Greek tragedy; the events within the play are unavoidable a lot like the events in 'A View from the Bridge'. From Alfieri's preliminary dialogue, what will happen is clear, and the point is made that man is powerless to stop it ' sat their as powerless as I, and watched it run its bloody course'. This makes it obvious to the audience that the problems that Eddie and the other characters face are difficult.
The main character in Greek tragedies is a good person, usually a king or someone important, who breaks the natural unwritten rules in some way. In 'A View from the Bridge', unlike a Greek tragedy, Eddie is not a king or anyone important, he is an average man, but he is a good human, we know this because he is accepted in his house and society, provided for, being a father-like figure to his wife's niece, Catherine, due to her mothers death. A Greek tragedy is meant to make the audience empathise with the characters on stage so are meant to feel emotions for each and every character depending on what they do. ‘A View from the Bridge’ does this in many times; the audience continually reacts and empathizes with the characters. In a typical Greek Tragedy the theme of the play goes back to prehistoric traditions and this is to do with Justice, family and honour(respect), these themes are obvious in 'A View from the Bridge'. Alfieri addresses the point of justice when he converses with Marco near the end 'this is not god, Marco. You hear? Only God makes justice.' Family and also honour are incorporated right through the play, honour, this is clearly visible in the final act, where Eddie chooses to jeopardize his esteem by reporting Marco and Rodolfo to the immigration agency, his honour is crushed under his own feet when Marco spits in his face and insults him in the street, outside his house. Eddie is aware of the fact that his life will not be worth living in this community without his honour, ‘wiping the neighbourhood with my name like a dirty rag! I want my name, Marco. Now gimme back my name’. Eddie's feelings are exposed to the audience through the dialogue in personal discussions with Alfieri. This permits him to be himself and allows him not to suppress his sentiments, this way he makes his thoughts known. In these discussions, Eddie decides what to do about Beatrice's cousins and also where Alfieri tells him to forget about it and tells him that if Catherine wants to get married he should “bless her and let her go”. At the beginning the audience are told is that the catastrophe cannot be prevented no matter who you are, "another lawyer, quite differently dressed, heard the same complaint and sat there powerless as I, and watched it run its bloody course." This again is another Greek idea but of fate and destiny, which cannot be avoided or prevented. Although we know the outcome we cannot prevent it. In his speech he says how, "There are times when you want to ring an alarm, but nothing has happened", and he also mentions how he “could have finished the whole story that afternoon", which shows that he could have prevented the events, but his position as a reputable lawyer prohibited him from doing so. This would have meant contravention of the client’s confidentiality. There are many ways he could have stopped the calamity, for example by reporting Marco and Rodolfo to the immigration so that they were removed from the country, or he could have not granted Marco bail, which would have prevented Eddie's death. However this wouldn’t fit in the Greek idea of fate and Eddie's destiny would have been altered, which is not right according to early Greek tragedies.
Eddie is a hero but is a tragic one; he is taken down by his fatal flaw. Like many other tragic hero’s he has many obstacles when on the journey to achieve his goal and has a destiny too. This is made obvious when said by Alfieri “Eddie never expected to have a destiny”. So he was never thought to be remembered in any way. But however, due to his relationships with people like Catherine and also Rodolfo and Marco; on whom he called the immigration bureau on, he will be remembered. Due to this deceit, the day he broke the Sicilian code the day, by calling the called the immigration bureau, he is remembered in a bad way. But even in Alfieri post script he mentioned Eddie to be a good individual. In prologue he says something different to the post script about Eddie. In the post script Alfieri is left with mixed feelings. He mourns Eddie’s useless and unnecessary death and on the other hand even though he knew Eddie was wrong he still admires and respects him.
Eddie’s relationship with Catherine is probably known by now, but he has two different relationships with her and only one of them is known to the society the other one is hidden and Eddie is not aware of that too. The one that the societies are aware of is the fatherly overprotective relationship, which is given to Catherine after her mother’s death. And the relationship that the society neither Beatrice his wife or Marco or Rodolfo are aware of, is that Eddie loves Catherine in a way that society does not compromise with. Eddie believes that Catherine is his property; we get this idea from when Rodolfo sings the song “paper doll”. The idea we get from the song is that the paper doll is my property it is something that the “other guys can not steal.” There is another link to this idea; this is “bird in a cage”. This idea also links to Eddie as he is too protective over Catherine. Eddie has imprisoned Catherine just like a bird. He tries to limit what she does, as he believes that she is his property, his ‘paper doll’. Eddie is the padlock to the cage and Rodolfo is the key to let Catherine fly free. Due to this over protectiveness and his undiscovered love for Catherine he begins to find excuses against Rodolfo who loves Catherine dearly, as Eddie feels that his property is being snatched away from him. Catherine does not like what Eddie says to Rodolfo and slowly she changes her view about Eddie and this view is based on the hatred for Eddie as he does not accept Rodolfo.
Eddie’s motive makes Beatrice change her status at home “Eddie when, will I be a wife again?” Even though she is married to Eddie she still doesn’t feel like she is a wife. Eddie is a typical male stereotype, he believes that men have to be built up with muscles and have to do masculine things such as working for the family so they can eat and picking up heavy things etc. This is why he believes Rodolfo is gay, as he enjoys making outfits and singing (this reflects on spiritual law and common law, as this is what we believe interms of nature, we don’t believe men should do a woman’s work or vice versa). The spiritual law within Eddie believes the sexes are heterosexual and if boundaries are to be crossed then you are gay “not right” etc. The female such as Beatrice can adapt to Eddie’s stereotyping as she by nature has been made to do house work. Male stereotyping also includes respect, if you don’t have respect then you’re a good for nothing person and that also women cannot work, this is the reason he refused when Catherine wanted to work besides the reason that he is protective.
There is a whole issue concerning respect and honour, this is if you lose your respect, no one in society will talk to you; you will exist but society will treat you as you don’t. Thus respect is really important, if you want a place in society.
“And now we are quite civilized, quite American. Now we settle for half, and I like it better. I no longer keep a pistol in my filing cabinet." This is said by Alfieri; this means that, because they now settle for half (compromise) killing someone is not necessary, so less crimes are committed. This is said in his opening speech which in reality is after the death of Eddie which happens at the end of the play and at the end of the play Alfieri wished that if only he had settled for half then may be Eddie wouldn’t had a useless death.
The idea of human nature is involved with that as if the human nature was less selfish and more understanding, tragedies such as the above would not happen. There is some involvement of the conflicts of law as laws did clash and if both laws had compromised then it would be easier for people to achieve their American dream without any hassle and also life would be much happier
Marco says ALL the laws are not in the book so he doesn’t say there aren’t any laws in the book. So he is trying to say that some laws are not in the book. I believe that the audience of the view from the bridge agrees with Marco’s statement as spiritual law also exists in the world despite not being written down in the book. Spiritual law is inspired from the bible or any other holy book for example “thou shall not kill” that is a law not in the book of the government, but the same is in the their book, this is killing is a crime and if committed then the offender shall be punished. So even though thou shall not kill isn’t in the book but the same the law is carried out in the material world. Therefore all the laws are not in the book, as the laws in the holy book are also obeyed and carried out in today’s world.
Miller’s point of view, well this that e wanted to get issues in the community across, which in my point of view he did successfully. The stage directions he used expressed emotions, for example when Rodolfo is singing the paper doll song, Eddie becomes restless and angry and this is shown by Eddie getting up from his chair and walking across the stage which is set up as a room, which the family are in. There is also another stage direction used, but this was done by lights. This is when Eddie calls the Immigration bureau. There is only one light on stage and this shines only on the telephone booth, so the rest of the stage is dark. This gives the booth significance and tells the audience that some one is about to make a very important call. And depending on the colour of the light another message can also be sent across to the audience. This is danger is a red light is used and depressing or confused emotions if a blue light is used.
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/dramaviewbridge/3drama_viewbridge_dramarev2.shtml (Google web search- Greek tragedy ( a view from the bridge)
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