The language is frank, forceful and indicative of what the characters mean and what they are incapable to converse openly, which may draw from the fact that they have an insufficient language to convey themselves or they just do not desire to put there ideas into words which we can see is recurrently the case between Eddie, Beatrice and Catharine.
The characters live in a very close community where justice and honour is very important also the law does not matter in this community – they make there own rules, and at the beginning Eddie ironically tells of the story of Vinnie Bozano who told the Immigration bureau that his uncle was staying as an illegal immigrant with him. He was then disowned from the community. This shows us the callous response that the district has against any person who ruptures this code.
Arthur Miller wrote the play as, what he called a modern version of a Greek tragedy and therefore has taken aspects from the old stories, where they would tell of kings and noble men achieving greatness only to squander everything and ultimately die, to tell the tale of an ordinary man doomed right from the outset to endure the tragic cost of his personal weakness.
While the play is divided into two acts the different scenes within the acts are effortlessly identifiable and are by and large denoted by a direct address from Alfieri to the audience.
The question asks me to “explore” the “functions” of Alfieri in the play and doing so I have found two focal functions Alfieri is used for in the play, these are:
- To act as a character interacting and conversing to other characters in the play.
And secondly
- As a chorus set aside the stage to converse directly with the audience.
Although it would appear that each function would pose individually it is not the case as it isn’t fully possible to separate these functions completely as they overlay each other.
Firstly I am going to “explore” Alfieri’s function as a character in the play.
Alfieri is the first and last person we here from in the play, he introduces it at the beginning and sets the shadowy scene and addresses the audience directly with disregard for other characters on the stage for instance the first word Alfieri says is
“You wouldn’t have known it, but something amusing has just happened. You see how uneasy they nod to me? That’s because I’m a lawyer.”
He draws in the audience in by asking them questions and including them in the goings on of the play. He continues to tell us an exposing account of what the life used to be like and what it is like in that particular community, he does not skimp on the detail as is general when someone is talking, much the opposite indeed he launches into graphic detail about the past and murderers and the importance of justice in the Italian community. Alfieri also mentions the community as “swallowing the tonnage of the world.” Which is quite ironic since Red Hook is a harbour town and tonnage is another word for cargo, his words also paint a very vivid mental impression and thus formulate the idyllic upbringing for the tragic events, which unfurl before us.
Alfieri re- tells his story as he watches over the affair that come to pass as also he wonders in another lawyer somewhere else is sitting back, “powerless as I”, observing the event “run its bloody course”.
Alfieri is also someone in whom Eddie confides in at crucial moments for example the first time Eddie went to see Alfieri was after the arrival of Rodolfo and Marco and also once Catherine and Rodolfo’s relationship had grown. Alfieri tells Eddie out right that there’s “nothing illegal about a boy falling in love with an immigrant”. This disturbs Eddie and we go on to find desperateness in his voice. In this scene Eddie is confronted with the suggestion of his own relationship with Catherine and marriage, this also rattles Eddie although this is not the only cause of loathing, the indication and surmising from Eddie’s peers of Rodolfo’s sexual legacy angers Eddie and leads to him questioning Rodolfo’s motive for marriage.
We learn something about Aflieri’s character here also, which is the Italian-American lawyer. The fact that he is a lawyer lends some respectability and the confidentiality tells us he is trustworthy, we can see from this that alfieri is in a very judicious position in the play for here he can instruct Eddie as to what to do as an Italian-American who embraces fully the laws of the country which they have become a citizen. Alfieri is however aware of the morality and culture of the Italian society from which both Eddie and himself have grew up in. it is Alfieri’s ability to see this story from both the Italian and an American which makes his viewpoint particularly significant. Arthur Miller uses Alfieri to unite these two cultures; the underprivileged, immigrant, labouring district on one side and the American law permit him state on the more prosperous, academic communities of Manhattan. And from this we can see as having “A view from the bridge”.
Arthur Miller refers to the Greek tragedy more with its powerful speeches and references to fate.
Theatre has always been a predominant forms of entertainment none more so than that in ancient Greece, from which all western drama has originated. The ancient plays would concentrate on the plot of the story over the characters and in order for the plot to be portrayed accurately they would employ a chorus.
It was the job of the chorus to stand apart at the side of the stage while the actors were acting and then at important moments during the play he would step out from the shadows and give the audience a commentary of what had happened and where the play was going. This was to ensure that each spectator got the same interpretation of the play; which was the same as that of the writer.
In “a view from the bridge” Arthur Miller uses Afieri as the equivalent of the old chorus, Arthur Miller has also said that he intended the play to be a modern day equivalent to the classical Greek tragedy.
The Greek tragedy is, by definition, a play in which the main character (the tragic hero or protagonist) commits an offence, often unknowingly, due to some flaw in his character. He must learn his fault, suffer and perhaps die. In this way, gods are vindictive and the moral of the universe is restored.
In “A view from the bridge” our tragic hero is personified as Eddie Carbone.
Eddie is essentially an uncomplicated undemanding untaught man who “worked on the piers when there was work, he bought home his pay, and he lived”; he is also seen to be humorous, gentle and generous in anticipating the unlawful arrival is wife Beatrice’s cousins. We also find out that Eddie is overprotective of his 18-year-old orphaned niece, Catherine. We see from Eddie that he is not a king or nobleman regarded with such high esteem however he does command respect and admiration for his family. He is a character with whom the audience can equate with and this makes his weakness all the more real to us.
The play reveals a deep and sympathetic understanding of how people think, behave and react to the world around them, in particular when they find themselves in situations which threaten to overwhelm and defeat them, as is common with the majority of Arthur Miller’s plays.
At the start of the play Alfieri utters and intriguing statement “now we settle for half”. This announcement exposes the Italian community as being very proud and that justice is fierce, what this leads to is that no one will settle for half of what they believe is right. Alfieri says this in the past tense leaving us to question whether due to the events Alfieri witness determine whether people settle for half.
