Part of Alfieri’s role in the play is to create dramatic irony so the audience know more than the characters. Using this method Miller builds tension in the play. With the phrase “bloody course” in his opening speech he shows that there will most probably be a violent and tragic ending. His opening speech sets the scene and introduces the area as quite under-privileged, violent and criminal. Also it introduces the idea of two types of justice, community justice and the law, “A lawyer means the law”. Alfieri is a foil in the play because his education and wealth make obvious the struggle of the longshoreman and their families. “Who have I dealt with? Longshoreman and their wives”, “the petty troubles of the poor”.
Towards the beginning of the story Eddie comes across as a normal very nice man. The story begins with Eddie, Beatrice and Catherine talking about Catherine’s future for a job, and her appearance. Eddie wants Catherine to be working in the city in the skyscrapers. He also comments about her appearance, “You’re walking wavy”. He wants the best for her and is too overprotective. Eddie is a good man simply as he fostered Catherine and still treats her as his own daughter. Alfieri also comments about him in the opening speech, “he was a good man as he had to be in life”, “he worked on the piers when they was work, he brought home his pay and lived”.
Right away from the arrival of the cousins, Eddie sees Rodolfo as a threat as he is young and good looking so he fears he may take Catherine away from him. There are also certain events throughout the arrival of the brothers, such as times when Catherine starts to flirt with Rodolfo. Also when she complements his singing, “it’s beautiful” and she continuously offers him coffee. Eddie realises that Catherine is attracted to Rodolfo when he sings so he gets him to stop by saying the one thing that he would definitely shut up for. “Look kid, you don’t want to get picked up, do ya?” Eddie later notices that Catherine is walking wavy in front of him, so he tells her to take of her high-heels “what’s the heels for, Garbo?” , “Do me a favour will you? Go ahead”. The stage direction shows Catherine is annoyed with him. “Embarrassed now, angered, Catherine goes out into Bedroom, Beatrice watches her go and gets up in passing she gives Eddie a cold look”. Eddie didn’t mind taking in Beatrice’s cousins but only when he finds out Rodolfo and Catherine are in love does he want them out. Rodolfo is the catalyst to his feelings.
Once Eddie finds out that Catherine is in love with Rodolfo, Eddie’s affection for Catherine turns into obsession. So his reaction is to try and discredit his rival in many ways, one is claiming outrageous things like Rodolfo is actually homosexual, he is not right and that he doesn’t belong in the house. Eddie to Alfieri “I’m telling you I know, he ain’t right”. The fact that he happens to be blonde makes him different and not right, not normal. He also claims to Alfieri such things as he is a criminal. This makes the audience feel that Eddie is jealous as inside he may have feelings for Catherine and it feels like Rodolfo is taking Catherine away from him. Eddie then begins to criticise their country, Italy and about their oranges. “I heard they paint the oranges to make them look orange”, doing this he is also insulting Marco. When he goes to Alfieri saying he is gay he makes it seem as if it is a crime. He then comments about Rodolfo being too weak and that he wouldn’t be able to protect Catherine if there was trouble, “a mouse can give you the right kind of fight”.
By this point in the play Eddie’s fate is almost inevitable, he will not admit to his weakness, Catherine although can other characters such as Beatrice and Marco realise what it is. By now Eddie is abandoning values and ignoring advice as increasing desperation is overcome by weakness. This then leads to him snitching. Eddie’s desperation is him kissing Catherine and Rodolfo. Eddie is edging to call the immigration bureau so that Rodolfo can be taken away just like Catherine was taken from him. This temptation of calling the bureau is emphasised by the scene of Eddie kissing both Rodolfo and Catherine. Kissing Catherine is purely out of desperation as Eddie wants Catherine for himself. Kissing Rodolfo is to humiliate him hugely and to also prove he his homosexual. Stage Direction “as she strives to free herself, he kisses her on the mouth”, “Rodolfo flies at him in attack. Eddie pins his arms, laughing and suddenly kisses him”. After that incident Eddie is warning Rodolfo and telling him to leave, “Pack it up. Go ahead, get your stuff and get outta here”.
After calling immigration, Eddie is playing along like normal trying to better things that have been going wrong just waiting for the immigration to come. When immigration come Catherine and Beatrice act the same way, each thinking that it was probably was Eddie who called them. Whilst Marco and Rodolfo are certain that they know he rang. Marco spits in his face and tells him that he has ruined his family and killed his children as he cannot work anymore to earn money therefore he cannot
feed his children. “That one! He killed my children! That one stole the food from my children!” Now Eddie thinks Marco has his name and he wants it back. Eddie tries to persuade the town h is innocent. “Lipari! For Christ’s sake, I kept them, I give them the blankets off my bed!” The whole town dislikes him now, even his two friends Louis and Mike won’t talk to him anymore. Eddie is in complete isolation.
This is now the climax of the play in which there is a confrontation between Eddie and Marco and there will be a violent end. After calling the immigration bureau Eddie has angered Marco. Marco comes for a fight with Eddie, and Eddie is ready as he wants to kill him as he wants his name back. In addition Marco has humiliated him infront of the neighbourhood. “Eddie Carbone!” Marco screams. Eddie runs outside, Beatrice and Catherine try to stop him. Eddie gets a knife out to stab him. “Eddie springs a knife into his hand”. The way that Marco turns the knife into Eddie in a way suggests that he has brought it on himself, and that the knife as an object is his fate. I think that the knife is personified as his actions, suggesting his actions have led to his death. Whilst Eddie is dieing on the floor Catherine says “I never meant to do nothing bad to you”, Eddie replies “Then why? Oh B!” Eddie is making out its all Catherine’s fault, he is dieing and putting the blame on her. The audience sympathise for Eddie as all he wanted was the best for Catherine. Although the audience does not see past Eddie having an attraction to her and trying to make innocent people look like criminals. In Alfieri’s epilogue he states Eddie’s death very expressively. “It is better to settle for half”. He is saying that everyone will get what they want and will also get their comeuppance.
In conclusion Arthur Miller displays Eddie Carbone as a tragic hero in many ways to build tension and make the audience want to know what will happen next. Miller displays Eddie in ways such as making the audience believe that he really is innocent and still a good man, when inside I believe he is actually a very ignorant evil man. This shows Miller is a very skilled writer to pull this off. Using such techniques as making Eddie jealous, desperate, ignorant and still get the audience to sympathise for him throughout the play and believe he is a good man. I found this play fairly enjoyable and thought that the storyline was very interesting, although the story toward the beginning was slightly weak and as if it dragged on a bit until the arrival of the cousins. For a play with a murder, deceit and pure hatred I believe it could have been more exciting.
