‘sat there as powerless as I, and watched it run it run its bloody course’
This foreboding tone prepares the audience for the tragic events that are going to happen and that he will be unable to change them.
Miller has made Alfieri the modern day equivalent of the Greek Chorus who are usually in tragedies. They comment and explain the action but they are unable to change it.
The audience are aware that something bad is going to happen from the description Alfieri gives of Red Hook’s historical background.
‘Frankie Yale himself was cut precisely in half by a machine gun’
The audience now know that the area used to be quite rough as somebody was killed here. This gives Red Hook a negative feeling. He then says:
‘I no longer keep a pistol in my filing cabinet’
As the audience trust Alfieri and listen to what he says they believe that Red Hook isn’t as dangerous as it used to be but something could still happen. Alfieri then refers to Red Hook as:
‘the gullet of New York swallowing the tonnage of the world’
The gullet is the long tube that carries the food from the mouth to the stomach. This gives the audience the impression that Red Hook isn’t a nice place to live but it is safer than it was. However the audience know that there is still a chance of something happening from the negative descriptions given in Alfieri’s opening speech.
The audience know that the play will be a tragedy because Alfieri keeps mentioning the ‘powerlessness’ that goes with his [profession. He says:
‘sat there as powerless as I, and watched it run it run its bloody course’
By highlighting his powerlessness the audience know that the play will be a tragedy because he keeps saying that he was and is unable to change events. The events that had taken place must have been bad otherwise Alfieri wouldn’t keep saying how powerless he was in changing them. He also says ‘bloody’ which is associated with ‘murder’ and ‘death’. This makes the audience think that murder might occur therefore making the play a tragedy.
When Alfieri introduces the protagonist-Eddie Carbone the audience know that the play will result in tragedy because as soon as he has spoken about the ‘bloody course’ of events we are given the stage direction:
‘[EDDIE has appeared and has been pitching coins with the men and is highlighted among them. He is forty-a husky, slightly overweight longshoreman]’
‘This one’s name was Eddie Carbone’
Says Alfieri. This tells the audience something negative is going to happen because he introduces Eddie just after saying how powerless he is and about how the events are ‘bloody’. The audience understand that the play is about Eddie and that it is going to be tragic.
In the opening scene the audience can sense tension in the relationships between the characters. Eddie and Beatrice appear to be a happy couple but later on in the scene they start arguing. When Eddie and Beatrice are arguing about Beatrice’s, ‘big heart’, he says,
‘Because as soon as you see a tired relative, I end up on the floor’
‘When did you end up on the floor?’
It is clear that Eddie is still upset that Beatrice put her relatives before him, the audience can sense the underlying tension in their relationship because in the first scene when they have their first moment of privacy on stage they start arguing with each other.
Later on in the scene they argue about Catherine’s future. Beatrice complains:
‘[she is angering] I don’t understand you; she’s seventeen years old, you gonna keep her in the house all her life?’
‘EDDIE [insulted]: What kinda remark is that?’
He’s angry that she says this but he knows that she is right. Eddie can’t admit to himself that he likes Catherine and makes up excuses when Beatrice asks him why he doesn’t want her to go,
‘I know that neighbourhood, B., I don’t like it’
Furthermore, Eddie warns Beatrice and Catherine not to tell anyone that they housing illegal immigrants:
‘You-don’t-know-nothin’.’
This creates tension because the audience knows that by housing immigrants they are already breaking the law and by emphasizing this they can feel that someone might tell or that something is going to happen.
Miller has used tension to prepare the audience for the tragedy at the end of the play because it creates a specific atmosphere.
The audience are aware that Eddie is overprotective and that he is far too cautious. He warns Catherine;
‘You’re getting to be a big girl now, you gotta keep yourself more, you can’t be so friendly kid.’
As their relationship is that of uncle and niece this is naturally expected, but when Eddie and Catherine start flirting the audience can sense tension because the relationship is too close and can be seen as immoral. When Catherine is showing Eddie her new skirt he says;
‘Beautiful. Turn around, lemme see in the back. [she turns for him] oh, if your mother was alive to see you now! She wouldn’t believe it’
‘You like it, huh?’
Eddie shouldn’t be asking to see a full view of her and Catherine shouldn’t act like this because he is her uncle. By turning for him she is encouraging Eddie to flirt with her. Eddie’s protectiveness and desire for Catherine can be classed as some of his fatal flaws that lead to his death at the end of the play.
The relationship between Eddie and Beatrice is clearly seen as husband and wife. The first impression that the audience get is that they are a happy couple, but later on in the opening scene the audience can sense the underlying tension in their relationship. When Catherine leaves the room Beatrice says:
‘I mean it Eddie, sometimes I don’t understand you.’
The fact that they are arguing shows that there are problems in their relationship. Later on in the play Beatrice says:
‘When am I gonna be a wife again Eddie?’ And:
‘It’s almost three months you don’t feel good’
As they haven’t had sexual relations for a while, the audience sense that the tension between them is increasing. The increase of the tension between them happens while the immigrants are staying with them. This is when Eddie’s jealousy and denial for Catherine can be seen very clearly, so this is why the tension increases in Eddie and Beatrice’s relationship.
Eddie’s hypocrisy also prepares the audience for the tragedy of the play. He warns Catherine about what could happen if she told anyone about the illegal immigrants with the ‘Vinny Bolzano’ story. He tells Catherine not to tell anyone, but he himself then tells the Immigration Bureau about Marco and Rodolpho. He does this out of desperation because he feels both jealous and threatened by Rodolpho. Eddie betrays both Marco and Rodolpho because of his love for Catherine. The audience can tell that Eddie was jealous of Rodolpho because he kept saying to both Catherine and Beatrice how Rodolpho was after his passport and that there was something not quite right about him.
The audience can see that Eddie has many faults-his hypocrisy, jealousy, unnatural desire for Catherine. As a result they can see the play ending in tragedy because of these flaws. In effect, the ‘Vinny Bolzano’ story forewarns the audience of coming events and highlights Eddie’s hypocrisy. What happened was that Vinny ‘snitched’ on his uncle, his brothers and father got so angry that they beat him up and disowned him. Miller cleverly used this story to foreshadow the events that were going to happen later and to emphasize Eddie’s hypocrisy.
Miller has created an effective piece of drama by using tension, foreshadowing and by developing the characters. I think the opening scene was successful in preparing the audience for the ending of this play because it indicated to the audience what was going to happen and therefore kept the audience interested through the use of tension and through the portrayal of the relationships between the characters.
