‘The round dining table’ is a visual metaphor for the American Dream and the fact it is in ‘Eddie’s apartment’ shows he is going to be brought into the heart of the community searching for the dream. Moreover, the table is at the centre of the stage, which means that this search for the American Dream is going to be the heart of this story. In addition, the table shows how this story is universal and that the tension and conflict between different perspectives of justice historically recur because of man’s fatal flaw; self interest.
The ‘rocker down front’ is another visual metaphor, but this time for the instability within the play, which is created by the clash between the American and Italian law and justice systems. This rocker is to be a central motif of the play, as it is seen as Eddie’s and other people sit on it during the course of the play, indicating that they take his place, this connects to him losing his ‘name’. Moreover, the rocker shows the cyclical nature of the storyline of the play.
The play begins and ‘Louis and Mike, longshoremen, are pitching coins against the building left.’ This is an example of gambling within the poorer communities of the 1940’s and shows one of the common themes throughout the play - the thought of exploiting someone or winning at someone else’s expense. Moreover, it shows how people were willing to risk everything if it was of self-interest, showing man’s fatal flaw. This is also echoed later in the play when Eddie tells the authorities about Marco and Rodolfo.
There is a mysterious opening to the play, ‘A distant foghorn blows’, which engenders ambiguity for the characters and their views on law and justice, as well as signalling danger for characters in taking law into their own hands, in order to get their justice.
Alfieri comes onto the stage after a foghorn blows; implying that it is alarming to see him on the scene. This in turn implies that something bad has happened, or is going to happen. This could mean that it is going to involve the law and justice system, making Alfieri an immediate link that could bring together both American law and Italian justice.
Alfieri talks about both Italian and American law in his opening speech to the audience. He talks about how meeting a ‘lawyer or a priest in this town is unlucky’ showing that many people have things to hide and the place where it is set has a large underground life. This life can be seen to be a paradoxical world that mirrors some things that happen in normal life. Eddie will end up being brought into this paradoxical underworld during the course of this play, as he will have more and more secrets to hide. In addition, the fact that there is such an extensive underground world shows that people do not always fit into laws set down by civil or religious codes. This does not make their sense of justice wrong, just that they have different views; this is because of man’s fatal flaw, self-interest. Moreover, due to his Italian and American links, Alfieri is seen to be a bridge between the two societies and is used throughout the play to convey the conflict of Italian and American views of law and justice.
Alfieri mentions ‘Al Capone, the greatest Carthaginian of them all’ is his opening speech. Al Capone was a gangster who lived in New York in the 1910-20’s. He was part of one of the biggest New York gangs and was renowned for some of his more violent tactics. Gangsters usually break up communities, this shows that in the play, at some point the line of the law or justice is going to be crossed by a character in the play. Gangsters are also prime examples of having man’s fatal flaw, as they do everything in order for their empire to get bigger. This also shows how immigrant communities sometimes do not get the service from American law that Americans do and this links into McCarthyism.
A View from the Bridge is a Greek tragedy, and Alfieri mentions how ‘the law has not been a friendly idea since the Greeks were beaten’ this implies that Italian law is more based on what is justice for the crime. Contradicting American law, which is based on books and rules, which are to be followed by judges and jurors. This is one main clash between law and justice in the play - it is not only a clash between the law and justice in America in the 1950’s, but it is also a clash between Italian and American culture.
Alfieri says ‘Now we settle for half and I like it better’ this implies that people are more compromising, so it is not as hard to be a lawyer. In addition, it foreshadows the splitting of the community in ‘half’. Moreover it shows how there are two different views on whether justice is being served and this depends on whether law from the country or justice for the individual should be more important.
Implying that what is going to happen in the story is common, Alfieri says ‘Every few years there is still a case…’. This also links in with the story of ‘Vinny’ and how he betrayed his family to the immigration authorities. This is foreshadowing what Eddie is going to do later in the play, but also shows that American law encounters problems with Italian justice regularly.
Alfieri does a lot of narrating in the opening of the play, he speaks right at the beginning, and then he talks after Eddie, Catherine and Beatrice have just met Marco and Rodolfo. These are the keys points in the opening. The beginning introduces everything and gives the audience a clue as to what will happen during the rest of the play and then he talks at the end of the significant points in the play to amplify the importance and sometimes give more insight into what was going on to build up more tension.
Alfieri is a neutral character during the play, he does not prevent Eddie reporting Marco and Rodolfo, as he knows the course of the play, but he knows the consequences. He tries to mediate between the characters in the play. He is the connection that links Italian justice with American justice. He is used by Miller to show how the two communities do not fit together and they will always be conflicting each other.
Though Alfieri knows that he will not succeed he tries to reason with Eddie when he comes to his office and Alfieri’s ‘first thought was that he had committed a crime.’ Eddie is thinking about betraying Rodolfo and Marco to the immigration authorities, in order to get Catherine back from Rodolfo. In Italian communities, betraying a fellow compatriot is committing a crime. This is, again, where Alfieri is used by Miller as a bridge between the Italian and American communities and their different courses of justice.
Eddie complains about Rodolfo when he goes to see Alfieri the first time. Eddie claims that ‘he ain’t right’. He then goes on the explain how ‘he ain’t right’ and describes it as ‘if you close the paper too fast - you could blow him over.’ This then shows to Alfieri that Eddie just believes that Rodolfo is effeminate, or that Eddie is trying to persuade himself that Rodolfo is, so that Rodolfo does not take Catherine away from him. During this whole episode, Alfieri is trying to persuade Eddie that what Rodolfo is doing isn’t that bad and that Eddie is just over-reacting. However, Eddie does not listen and just keeps convincing himself that Rodolfo is bad and he is going to lose Catherine because of him. This is all to do with the paranoia, which was spreading during the 1950’s due to McCarthyism about how people were being persecuted due to self-interest, which was not just. This paranoia and self-interest ends up in tragedy for Eddie Carbone.
Alfieri is again seen to be the pacifist after Eddie has reported Marco and Rodolfo. Marco says ‘In my country he would be dead now.’ This implies that the Italians would have taken the law into their own hands and killed him for betraying his family. This, again, is where Alfieri is the bridge between the Italian and American communities and how they each deal with the situation. Moreover, he is seen to understand Marco’s thinking, but he knows that if Marco is allowed out on bail, then Eddie is dead already. Marco believes that ‘such a promise [not to kill] is dishonourable’ and therefore it takes Rodolfo begging him for Marco to promise; but this is a promise he will not keep due to the fact that he disagrees with American justice, and believes he has the right to impose Italian law on Eddie.
All the characters react differently to the betrayal by Eddie; Catherine starts to hate Eddie, though she loved him earlier in the play. This is shown when Beatrice decides not to go to the wedding, because Eddie does not want her to, and Catherine says ‘How can you listen to him? This rat!’ This shows that the law and justice system has split the family, and Catherine believes that Italian justice is right and American law does not do enough and also degrades Eddie and his name, linking to the main theme.
Beatrice, however, tries to act like Eddie has not done anything seriously wrong and he just needs to apologise to be forgiven. She also takes the stance that standing up to Marco, as Eddie wants to, will not get him anywhere, and shows this when she says, ‘you know how they get, what good is it?’ This shows how she disagrees with what Eddie did, and can see why Marco wants to do what he is going to do, but she is not completely sure, and this shows the conflict of law and justice, not just within the play, but within a character.
Rodolfo tries to reason with Eddie and does not blame Eddie for what he did to him and Marco. Rodolfo also blames himself, as he believes that if he had asked Eddie before he started going out with Catherine then it would have been much easier for Eddie to understand and get used to. He shows all this in one line ‘It is my fault, Eddie. Everything. I wish to apologize. It was wrong that I do not ask your permission. I kiss your hand.’ Rodolfo, at this stage, is trying to make friends with Eddie, so that he will accept the marriage. By showing that he agrees with American law, that giving the immigrants in was the right thing to do, he is hoping that Eddie will see sense, but Eddie just gets more infuriated.
‘Name’ is a big theme throughout the play and comes up more after the betrayal of Marco and Rodolfo. Eddie talks to Beatrice about wanting to get his name and respect back. The significance of this is that his name is very Italian, and him betraying the Italian immigrants has ruined his reputation, and he needs forgiveness from the Italians, in order to get the respect of his community back. This also shows the conflict between Italian and American communities.
The climax of the play is inevitable and has been predicted by Alfieri since his opening speech. Alfieri talks about it many times, also he seems to know what is going to happen when he is talking to Marco in the prison and also when he talks to Eddie, the few times he does. All the times he talks to both Eddie and Marco, he seems to be trying to prevent what is going to happen later in the play. But, he is unable to do so, because of how that story is set from the beginning, and also how the story is repetitive, as ‘every few years there is still a case’.
Alfieri makes a final speech directly after Eddie has died; this speech brings closure to the play and gives us last impressions of the characters. Furthermore, Alfieri says in his final speech ‘Most of time now we settle for half and I like it better.’ This makes the play cyclical, as he mentions ‘settling for half’ in his opening speech. This then links with the line ‘every few years, there is still a case.’ This is a connection because it shows that these incidents go in a cycle too, and therefore it is going to happen again to someone else.
Moreover, Alfieri uses a few Biblical words in his final speech such as ‘confess’, ‘holy’ and ‘purely’, this shows that Alfieri believes only God can give justice to issues, and not either community.
In Addition, Alfieri says at the end ‘And so I mourn him – I admit – with a certain…alarm.’ This infers that Alfieri does not blame Eddie for what he did, and even believes it was the right thing, but is not sure whether he should believe that or not.
In conclusion, Miller seems to convey the message that the law stays in each separate country, but justice stays with the person. However, the law is justice in some countries, but in most law and justice are completely different, and therefore sometimes the people have to go the wrong side of the law, in order to get on the right side of justice.
A View from the Bridge – Coursework
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