Arthur Miller - 'A View from the Bridge',
A View From The Bridge GCSE Assignment Discuss the view that when Arthur Miller wrote 'A View from the Bridge', he created a tragic play which suggests that true justice does not exist and that the law is often inadequate. You may focus in detail on the Key section we have studied, but do make wider reference. Arthur Miller was born in New York, but at the age of 14 his farther's clothing business failed due to the depression, and his family moved to Brooklyn, famous at the time for its Immigrant community. Arthur Miller wrote the play shortly after the end of the McCarthy era, a period when most of American society was worried that communist sympathisers had held government positions, and Joe McCarthy took advantage of these fears, accusing prominent Americans of harbouring or being sympathisers. Miller knew of Americans with Communist ideas, and refused to name them before the Un-American Activities Council (UAAC) was charged for Contempt, a ruling later overturned. These events have had a profound influence on AVFTB (A View From The Bridge), the settings for the play can be drawn from Miller's younger years, the brooklyn terraces and the Dockyard, for example. Miller's experience with the UAAC, especifically the threat of deportation, and his feelings for the immigrants themselves has helped Miller to create an involving storyline with more attention to detail than if
Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge
Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge The above quotation about Eddie Carbone is true to an extent, but then one could argue that it isn't true. To determine that the quotation is true, we need to look at the character of Eddie Carbone, to see whether he is doing the best for his family, rather than for himself. It is also necessary to examine whether he is attempting to install values and support Catherine for her future life or is he just doing what he does for his own personal self. After examining Eddie's character, it will become clearer to us what Eddie's motives are. It is essential to see how Eddie behaves in different situations and depending on how people act towards him and whether they provoke him to behave in the manner that he does. One of the main themes in 'A View from the Bridge' is Eddie's masculinity. It is clearly seen that Eddie's masculinity is very important to him. He has many expectations of how a man should behave, it seems that if any men behave differently from him he dislikes them. The fact that he comes from a Sicilian background is another reason for the version of masculinity he presents in 'AVFTB'. As Eddie comes from a Sicilian background, he believes that the man should be the leader of the household and dominate over women. He has an idea in his mind that there is a way to be Italian looking and a way to behave in the "Italian
Analyse the concept of Manliness and the way it is represented in Miller's 'A View From the Bridge'
Analyse the concept of Manliness and the way it is represented in Miller's 'A View From the Bridge' There are many themes within the theatrical drama of 'A View From the Bridge'. There are also some ideas that add to the drama of the play, keeping the audience full of suspense. The idea of manliness is connected in this play as it relates to the characters, Rodolpho, Marco and especially Eddie Carbone. This idea often causes conflict throughout the play. The theme of Manliness is probably the cause of many of the disastrous happenings and the downfall of Eddie. Eddie, who is the main character of the play, is a simple person who brings about his own downfall. The way in which he does so is that he cannot accept that his niece has fallen in love with Rodolpho whom he despises. When others do not conform to his ideas, 'the guy aint right' it often leads to conflict. Since he comes from a Sicilian background, he sees himself in the traditional role of the male breadwinner, the head of the house and is used to getting his own way. He believes that being the man of the house means he should have authority over his wife and niece, who naturally defer to him. He demands a certain type of respect from everyone. The moment we realise what his beliefs are, we immediately understand this as a threat. Since Catherine and Beatrice conform to his demands he has no problem until the
In what ways does Miller succeed in making the moment when Proctor tears up his confession particularly dramatic?
In what ways does Miller succeed in making the moment when Proctor tears up his confession particularly dramatic? "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller shows many themes of what life could have been like in the seventeenth century. The play is set in the town of Salem, amongst a Puritan society. The characters in the play are deeply religious. Anyone who was considered to be a witch was condemned to death. Any sort of witchcraft was considered as worshiping the devil, which is totally against their faith. The story is based on a series of accusations which culminate in a large court case. The main theme of the play examines whether or not the main character can remain truthful to his faith even if the result is death. This becomes apparent in the last scene of the play (Act 4) when John Proctor, is faced with the confession. Eventually, John gets exasperated with the court, tears up the confession, and destined to be hung. The irony of whether Proctor will sign the confession or tear it up is dramatic since so much of what happened before is based on lies. He can either sign the confession and live a lie, or die for the truth. Proctor says on page 109, "I cannot mount the gibbet like a saint", showing moral reasoning with cause and effect of the confession. This makes the theme more dramatic. Proctor understands that he has done wrong by having an affair with Abigail, and does
Is Eddie Carbone a tragic hero?
Is Eddie Carbone a tragic hero? Before I decide on whether Eddie Carbone is a tragic hero, we must define what the word 'tragic' and 'hero' actually mean. 'Tragic'- A tragedy is a type of drama. A tragedy traces the fall of the central figure, the 'hero', as he grapples with his destiny. Historically, tragedy started in Ancient Greece. Greek tragedies usually formed on a very important and powerful figure (a king or a prince perhaps) who makes an error or judgement or who has a hamartia (fatal flaw) that leads to his tragic downfall. In the context of a tragedy, the word 'hero' means the central character or protagonist (the hero) whom we admire or respect in some way, but who is flawed or imperfect and where his flawed character contributes to his own downfall. A hero is consequently not a perfect character, not even necessarily a pleasant one. His plight illustrates the cruelty of the world, and how one man faces up to his fate. It is important that a tragic hero acquires some self-knowledge, that he faces up to his own predicament, with honesty and openness. Now, in order to find out to what extent Eddie is a tragic hero, we must ask ourselves the following questions: a) do we admire or respect him, b) what is his fatal flaw, c) do we have any sympathy with Eddie, d) is Eddie just pitiable, beneath our contempt, and e) does Eddie ever gain self-knowledge? Does he ever
Saving Private Ryan
'Saving Private Ryan' essay Analysis of how Spielberg creates realism in the opening sequence of 'Saving Private Ryan'. 'Saving Private Ryan' is a post war film directed by Steven Spielberg in 1998 which interprets the story of 'bloody Omaha' through the memories of the U.S. service men who helped liberate France in Omaha beach in 1944. During which 9,000 graves were created for the brave and honourable men who incidentally gave their lives to their country and its people. Steven Spielberg's master piece Saving Private Ryan achieved the recognition it deserved and was awarded 5 academy awards, including the best director award to Steven Spielberg in 1998. The all star cast starring Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore and Edward Burns reinforce the horrors of war. Interpreted through the eyes of a squad of American soldiers, the story is based on World War 2's historic D-Day invasion. Saving Private Ryan earned its awards for bringing back the realism of World War 2 and for portraying what the shocking odds of survival were at the historic battle of Omaha beach on D-Day in June 1944. The film follows Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks), who during the disturbingly real first scene survives the landing on Omaha Beach. Upon arriving at Omaha Beach Captain Miller was faced with many problems. The Germans were awaiting the arrival of the American forces and attacked the ships
To what extent can Miller's play 'A View From the Bridge' be considered a modern tragedy?
To what extent can Miller's play 'A View From the Bridge' be considered a modern tragedy? In his essay 'The Nature of Tragedy' Arthur Miller wrote "Tragedy brings us not only sadness, sympathy, identification and even fear; it also, unlike pathos, brings us knowledge or enlightenment." He describes tragedy as being, "inseparable from a certain modest hope regarding the human animal. And it is the glimpse of this brighter possibility that raises sadness out of the pathetic toward the tragic."? In 'A View from the Bridge', Miller's protagonist, Eddie, gains neither knowledge nor enlightenment. The audience, on the other hand, experiences not only the catharsis of watching the hero destroyed by a fatal and human flaw, but is also able to contrast what happened with what might have been - "a glimpse of this brighter possibility". This is reinforced at the end of the play by the hope of a better future for Catherine and Rodolfo. The commentary by Alfieri and the realistic portrayal of the lives of the characters causes the audience to reflect on contemporary social and political issues. In this sense, the play is a modern tragedy. In 'A View from the Bridge', Arthur Miller uses the conventions of Greek tragedy in a modern setting, he wrote the first one act version of the play in verse, as the Greeks did. The short sentences that evoke the language of people who have learnt
To what extent is it Eddie's view of what it means to be a man that drives the tragedy of A View from the Bridge?
To what extent is it Eddie's view of what it means to be a man that drives the tragedy of A View from the Bridge? The play A View from the Bridge is a modern tragedy which narrates the story of a man, Eddie Carbone, who leads himself to his death as the other characters watch powerless to stop it. Eddie's sense of masculinity and his perception of what it means to be a man drives him to death. Eddie's view of what it means to be a man is shown through his patriarchal views, his dislike towards Rodolpho who contradicts Eddie's views of masculinity and Marco's challenge to Eddie's perception of being a man. However,, there are other factors that led to his death like his incestuous feelings towards Catherine and his belief that Rodolpho is using Catherine to get his papers but these do not contribute as much as Eddie's sense of masculinity to the cause of the tragedy. In the past, Ancient Greeks created tragedies and dramas. Every tragedy had a chorus that guided the audience through the dramatic action through dancing and singing. In the play A View from the Bridge, Alfieri, a lawyer in his fifties, is represented as the chorus. Though he plays a role in the play, he informs and guides the audience through the dramatic action, confirming that the tale is a tragedy. He creates a sense of inevitable doom in the play through his narration. An example of this is in Act 1:
view from a bridge
View from a Bridge Setting: Brooklyn, New York Italians living in American Carbone household. 940-1960 Main characters * Eddie Carbone * Beatrice Carbone * Catherine (niece) * Marco (illegal immigrant) * Rodolfo * Alfieri (Greek Chorus+ Eddie's lawyer) The Carbone family came to America to earn money to pay their debt to the mafia because Italy is a very poor country. The Italians that live in America have their own laws in the country like back in Italy. Alfieri- Lawyer and Greek Chorus He speaks directly to the audience and attempts to make clear the greater social and moral implications of the story What could be asked???? * Relationships * Tension * Characters * Could be asked a director question * Focus on the end of Act I * As we are reading note down any good quotations that you feel support this * Do not tackle Alfieri questions Eddie has a father-daughter relationship with Catherine Eddie is negative about Catherine getting a job. He would like her to finish school and do things properly according to him. The conversation between Catherine, Eddie and Beatrice is about American immigration and how it works. They don't betray their own people because most of them are illegal immigrants. Eddie has strong feelings for her because he has brought her up for his whole working life. This part of story is about Beatrice and how she thinks
View from the bridge
"VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE" The final confrontation in the book "view from the bridge" starts with manly and brutal fight between Eddie and Marco. Eddie has a slight edge in the battle for his reputation by having a knife like in a street fight but Marco has nothing else apart from his physical strength and skill to use against his rival. This makes it intensely dramatic because Marco has got a chance of losing or even dying. At this point, the audience expectation of violence is too high because neither man will settle for half. Violet language is used by both men such as "Animaaaal" to show there anger, emotion and desperation towards each other during the fight. As Eddie is about to stab Marco, his sheer brute force held his hand back and diverted the force of the back to his own chest causing him to die in Beatrice's arms (his wife) creating a dramatic pause at the end of the play. In the play Miller examines issues relating to law and justice because these are two similar things that sound the same but they have different interpretations. "Justice" is what you think is right or what you disserve while "Law" is the rules that are set by the head of a place e.g. heads of school. The prologue suggests that to Miller's on stage Brooklyn community the law is not a friendly thing "The law has not been a friendly idea since the Greeks were beaten" and it is justice which matters
