Alfieri’s speeches begin and end the play, as well as appearing at key stages throughout. His speeches use dates and words like ‘he’ when talking about Eddie, as if assuming we understand what he’s talking about, which makes the audience feel more involved. Alfieri’s intended purpose is to be a choric-type figure, as part of Miller’s re-working of Aristotle’s idea of a tragic hero and a Greek chorus. Alfieri’s character suits the way Miller wants the play to be a modern day version of a Greek tragedy in which a central character is led by fate towards a destiny that cannot be escaped. Alfieri unusually acts as a ‘bridge’ between the audience and the cast, as he speaks directly to the audience in a foreboding manner whilst looking back on the events that have already happened, but then entwines himself into the play and acts as if he doesn’t know the final outcome.
Alfieri’s dramatic role is that of one who warns the audience, presenting portents throughout his speeches. By the end of his first speech the audience knows that the events they are about to observe will reach a ‘bloody’ conclusion. This speech begins the whole play. He warns the audience as he emphasizes the difference between justice and law, and then says that ‘Justice is very important here’, which suggests that someone has taken it upon themselves to create justice. Alfieri tells the audience how ‘yet every year there is still a case’ which suggests a case somewhat out of the ordinary. Warnings are also given throughout his other speeches, for example ‘my first thought was that he had committed a crime’, which inevitably shows that something is wrong. Alfieri also serves as a commentator, telling us about the situations that occur. One of his speeches begins by reading ‘on the twenty-third of that December a case of Scotch whisky slipped from a net while being unloaded’. Alfieri’s speeches are written with the purpose of building tension between the audience and the characters that keeps the spectators in suspense from the outset. He uses phrases like ‘I normally go home before six…..I knew why I had waited’, which amplify the anxiety. ‘Almost transfixed I had come to feel… I looked in his eyes more than I listened’ makes us feel that he was frightened by the man’s intensity, and that there was something entriguing about the way he looked.
Alfieri is used as a technique for the audience to understand Eddies thoughts, feelings and plans, as he is not a main charcter within the story, but the only character in whom Eddie confides. Eddie asks Alfieri for advice by saying ‘so what do I do?’ that demonstrates that he appreciates his opinion. Alfieri encourages us to like Eddie despite his faults. Eddie is portrayed as being a normal man with normal problems, ‘a man works, raises his family, goes bowling, eats, gets old and then he dies’. He says he is a ‘good man’, and the audience appreciates his opinion as he knows Eddie on a personal level.
Alfieri ends the play with a speech, in much the same way as he started the play, by setting the scene. He explains that ‘most of the time now we settle for half’, implying that the incident relating to Eddie has changed certain things and how justice was percieved in their community. He talks about the ‘truth being holy’, which gives the impression that there was something divine about Eddie’s naivete. Alfieri persuades us to feel sympathetic towards Eddie by saying ‘he allowed himself to be wholly known and for that I think I will love him more than all my sensible clients. Sympathy is also gained for characters as the story is told in effect to a series of flashbacks that heighten the sense of tragedy as the play progresses, ‘and so I mourn him’ just encourages the idea of tragedy. I think that the fact Alfieri portrays Eddie to be a good man whom he had a liking for, gives the impression that Eddie was not to blame for the events that took place as he didn’t mean for it to end in the way it did.
In assessment of Alfieri the intended purpose of his character is achieved. His character doesn’t go into depth about his personality, but succeeds in making the play more interesting and building suspense throughout.
