"His eyes were like tunnels" is also said about Eddie. This metaphorically conveys that Eddie can only see what he wants - and is blind to the fact that he is hurting Beatrice, Catherine, and others around him. It is also metaphorical in a sense that tunnels are dark, mysterious, and unknowing as to what's at the end of it: Suggesting Eddie's future is dark, and if he carries on going down the metaphorical tunnel of obsession with Catherine, his future will be dark, and could be anything. 'Like tunnels' is also a simile, suggesting that looking into Eddie's eyes might be looking down a tunnel - again, not knowing what's in them, because they're dark and mysterious.
At first Eddie is welcoming to the two Italian immigrants, Marco and Rodolpho. He is lenient, and doesn't seem to be bothered with the law. This shows he could have been a carefree, calm person before his infatuation with Catherine started. This also shows how influential Catherine is over him. This is typical Eddie at the beginning of act one - Kind, generous. He says "Come on in!" when the immigrants first arrive, showing Eddie is being not only kind, by allowing them to stay, but honourable in that he is making efforts with them. The exclamation mark shows he is happy, and puts effort into knowing Marco and Rodolpho. The audience's view of Eddie at this point is that he is an average, hard-working man. His use of typical Brooklyn dialect also hints that he is decidably average, making it easier for the audience to relate to him.
Eddie acts honourably when he says "Katie, I promised your mother on her deathbed. I'm responsible for you." This shows him as caring, and loving towards not only Catherine but her mother too. It also shows him as loyal for upholding a promise to Catherine's mother. He also calls Catherine Katie, a sign of close affection.
Towards the end of act 1, and the beginning of act 2, Eddie starts to act desperately. He is aware of Rodolpho and Catherine's relationship, and has become increasingly more paranoid and unreasonable. "Roldolpho flies at him in attack. Eddie pins is arms, laughing and suddenly kisses him."
This shows Eddie is acting out of jealousy for Catherine. Rodolpho has begun a relationship with Catherine, and Eddie wants her for himself - not necessarily entirely in a sexual manner, but there are degrees of father-like and emotional reasons in Eddie. The audience's reaction to the kiss would be that Eddie was snapping further, as kissing Rodolpho doesn't seem logical or something a right-minded Eddie would do. It may also be a hint at Eddie's earlier claims that Rodolpho is a homosexual; Eddie perhaps thinks he is further mocking Rodolpho. He might even think that Rodolpho would respond to the kiss so he could use that as ammunition to prove to Catherine that Rodolpho was homosexual. Whatever his motive, it is clear that Eddie wasn't thinking straight and this portrays to the audience.
His kiss towards Catherine also portrays how desperate he has got in trying to prove to her that Rodolpho is not right for her, but Eddie himself is. He perhaps thinks that showing her what he has to offer will change her mind and make her go to him rather than Rodolpho. It is Eddie also going for a "one last try" route, once again proving his tragic hero status, in that he can't settle for half in just being around Catherine, and having looked after her, but he wants her fully, forever.
At the time of the Rodolpho/Eddie confrontation, Eddie is also drunk, showing he may be turning to alcohol to hide his problems. It also signals a significant change in his character, as the earlier, more rational Eddie would have seen the holes in his 'theory'. It is the 'tragic hero' on Eddie's part - it shows how far he has fallen.
Miller builds up a dramatic end to act 1 with the Marco and Eddie confrontation. "Marco is face to face with Eddie, a strained tension gripping his eyes and jaw, his neck stiff and the chair raised like a weapon over Eddie's head - and he transforms what might appear like a glare of warning into a smile of triumph, and Eddie's grin vanishes as he absorbs his look."
The stage direction of Eddie ripping up the newspaper is also significant as it shows him trying to distract himself, or alternatively as he watches and rips up the newspaper, it shows him inflicting damage upon the newspaper when really he'd like to inflict that damage on the people before him.
There is a tension between Marco and Eddie, as the two size eachother up and "stare" eachother out. The chair is a symbolism of what is to come for Eddie - While a chair would give him a great blow to the head, the life of obsessing with Catherine would bring upon him. Eddie's grin vanishing is also a metaphor for the whole play - as Eddie's happiness, and normality, fades gradually throughout the play. The stage directions also hint at Eddie being a tragic hero by his strength, his stiff neck all symboling his masculinity and his 'fatal flaw' of thinking he was winning the 'war' between him and Marco and Rodolpho. These uses of symbolism - the chair in act 1, the knife in act 2 - also heighten dramatic tension in the audience, as they are unsure as to what the outcome of each will be.
The final scene shows Eddie as a fully-fledged tragic hero, showing just how far he really has fallen. "Eddie lunges with the knife. Marco grabs his arm, turning the blade inward and pressing it home... and Eddie, the knife still in his hand, falls to his knees before Marco."
This shows Eddie is responsible for his death not only literally, but metaphorically. Literally being that he drew the knife, and led Marco to stab him, instead of killing Marco like he intended. Metaphorically being that Eddie had been 'killing himself' all along, slowly drawing himself up to the point where he broke. The metaphorical way in which he is responsible for his own death is that he became infatuated with Catherine, and went to the lengths he did to try and get her, all of those contributing to the final knife scene.
It also shows how Eddie has a loss of respect - a stark contrast from the highly-respected man at the beginning of act 1. It portrays Marco as superior to Eddie, in that Eddie tried to kill Marco - but failed, and at the same time, Marco managed to kill Eddie, making him better than him. Eddie also shows his loss of respect by saying "I want my name", as if he wants final wishes or to lie to himself, that he is superior to Marco, and that his name still means something, respectfully.
In conclusion, Eddie Carbone is portrayed as a tragic hero using his masculinity - being the "man" of the house, working, in his warped way of 'protecting' Catherine, and also his fatal flaw - that he could not settle for half with Catherine. Also his respect within the community, and within his own family, too proved him as a tragic hero. The audience would probably feel, in a sense, sorry for Eddie, as although he was responsible for his own actions, the audience may not feel he deserved to die. After all, most audience members may know what it's like to be in love, to be obsessed, and may sympathize with Eddie, feeling sorry that he lacked control over his emotions, and that the incident may be surreal to him. I don't think the audience would ever act as significantly as Eddie did, simply because the 'tragic hero' genre is exaggerated and Eddie Carbone's personality was part to blame for his vast actions. I think 'A view from the bridge' links to traditional tragedy in that Eddie's death was a disastrous event, that could have been stopped and it's disastrous not only to Eddie, but Beatrice, and others who loved him.
