Discuss the ways in which Arthur Miller writes about justice and the limitations of the law in his play, A View from the Bridge
Justice can be defined as the quality of treating others fairly and reasonably, whereas law can be defined as rules and regulations set out and enforced by the authorities of a state. Those authorities, who developed the legal statutes, see it as pure and total justice. But justice can vary through the minds of different people, coming from different communities, as people are subject to different cultures and traditions, where what is considered ‘right’ or ‘just’ may be very different to that in other places. Conflicts between the American legal system and the Italian-Sicilian traditions of the Red Hook community of Brooklyn are clear in many places in the play, A View from the Bridge, and Arthur Miller makes use of these conflicts to form a major theme in the play of ‘Justice vs. The Law.’
Miller once said that he wanted to make the modern equivalent of a Greek Tragedy. It is imperative to have a chorus in a Greek play; this chorus is made up of spectators, even bystanders, who would watch the drama and comment on it, directly addressing the audience. Miller created Alfieri to symbolize the chorus, but Alfieri also took part in some of the action in the play. He acts as a medium between the characters and the audience. His speeches to the audience, in a monologue form, help to translate themes and ideas running through the play. One particular theme that he tries to emphasize very strongly on is that no single human being can define everything that is truly and entirely just: ‘Only God makes Justice.’ (page 79). Alfieri seems to be pointing out that however passionately one can believe in what is just and right, justice is more of a personal issue, varying from person to person. And from this, it seems that he is saying that there is no one human that can look at a situation and point out the just thing to be done, and be correct; it is only God that can discriminate between justice and injustice.
