Transcript Slide 1

A View from The Bridge
Themes
Naming Names
Respect and Reputation
• Arthur Miller was called to testify in front of the House Un-American
Activities Committee to name names of communist sympathizers in
1956, the height of the McCarthy Era. Miller refused to do so and
was heralded by the arts community for his strength of conviction
and loyalty. In 1957, Miller was charged with contempt, a ruling later
reversed by the U.S. Court of Appeals.
• Miller, like Eddie Carbone, was faced with the problem of choosing
to be American or not, specifically by naming names of people who
were doing (what were considered then) unlawful acts. Miller's own
struggle with this issue is very present in A View from the Bridge.
Unlike Eddie Carbone, Miller chose to be loyal to his fellow artists,
but like Carbone, Miller went against the cultural consensus at the
time. Miller, in the play, has reversed the scene—rather than the
mass culture supporting the extrication of possible communists,
Miller chose to script a community that accepted and protected
unlawful people. The consequences and eventual repercussions of
naming names, for Eddie Carbone, are drastic. Miller used this play
to strongly condemn the McCarthy trials and those who named the
names of innocent artists.
The irrational human animal
Sex
• Eddie loses control of his actions in the play. Driven and
possessed by incestuous love for his niece, Eddie
resorts to desperate measures to protect his identity and
name in the community. Alfieri's commentary often
remarks on this theme. Alfieri seems constantly amazed
by Eddie's actions and his own reactions to the events of
the play. Alfieri sees his own irrational thinking, just as he
recognizes Eddie's irrational behaviour. The human
animal becomes irrational when he acts fully on his
instincts—just as Eddie does in the play. Alfieri proposes
that humans must restrain some of our instinctual needs
or wants and use reason instead . Nonetheless, Alfieri
still admires the irrational—the unleashed human spirit
that reacts as it will.
Allegiance to community law
Justice and Judgment
• There is great conflict between community and American law in the
play. The community abides by Sicilian-American customs protects
illegal immigrants within their homes, values respect and family, is
hard working and knows the shipping culture, has strong association
with their name, believes in trust and wants revenge when a
member has been wronged.
• Some of these values, however, come in conflict with those of the
American system of justice.
• Eddie Carbone chooses to turn against his community and abide by
the law of the state.
• He looses the respect of his community and friends—the name and
personal identity he treasures.
• Eddie Carbone, with a stronger allegiance to the community, reverts
back to another custom of Sicilian-Americans: revenge. Not only is
Eddie pulled back to the values of his community, but the final victor
of the play is symbolic of community values—the Italian, Marco.
• Is Miller suggesting that the small community is stronger than
American law?
Motifs
Homosexuality
Men and Masculinity
• Although specifically articulated, homosexuality or what makes a
man "not right" is a persistent theme of the play. Eddie obviously
identifies Rodolfo as homosexual because Rodolfo sings, cooks and
sews a dress for Catherine. Eddie also questions Rodolfo because
he does not like to work and has bleach blonde hair that makes him
look more feminine. Eddie gives Rodolfo several tests of his
masculinity. In the first he teaches Rodolfo how to box and the
second, more blatantly, Eddie kisses Rodolfo on the lips. Many
critics think that this kiss is a sign of Eddie's own suppressed
homosexual feelings, an easy parallel with his kiss with Catherine.
Miller seems to take no stand either way, and the sexuality of
Rodolfo or Eddie is unclear. However, the stereotypes of the gay
man and societal implications of being gay are obvious. Louis and
Mike, when talking about Rodolfo, clearly think there is something
wrong with him and Eddie speaks directly to Alfieri about the specific
things that bother him about Rodolfo.
Womanhood
Women and Femininity
• The idea of what makes a woman or what defines a
woman is very prevalent in the text. Catherine and
Beatrice talk specifically about the terms in their
conversation in Act I. Beatrice thinks Catherine needs to
grow up and become a woman. To do this she needs to
decide by herself whether she wants to marry Rodolfo.
She needs to stop walking around the house in her slip
in front of Eddie, and not sit on the edge of the tub while
Eddie shaves his beard. In essence, being a woman
means reserve and modesty in front of men, and
independently making decisions.
• The idea of independence or separation from Eddie is
coupled with the decision to find another male to attach
to, a husband. Catherine's attempt at womanhood is
deciding to marry Rodolfo and follow his rules rather
than Eddie's.
Community
• The Italian Community is a powerful context for the play; it dictates
very specific norms and rules for the family that controls the actions
of the characters.
• All of the characters are forced to reconcile between American
culture and the Italian community culture that surrounds them. The
cultural and moral difference between the two provides one of the
great conflicts in the play.
• The tight community around them also creates great tension in the
Carbone family because they are constantly being watched. The
neighbours knew when Marco and Rodolfo arrived, saw Marco spit
in Eddie's face and Eddie die by Marco's hand.
• The community is the watcher; the group controls and monitors the
behaviour of every member. Although Eddie takes a substantial turn
away from the community by calling the Immigration Bureau, he still
needs acceptance and spends his last moments fighting Marco for
his good name in the community.
Symbols
High Heels
• For Catherine, high heels are representative of womanhood,
flirtation and sexiness.
• She has just started wearing high heels around the community and
to school and obviously enjoys the attention she gets from men.
• They are also symbolic as a rite-of-passage to womanhood. As
Eddie strongly disapproves of her wearing them, Catherine
purposefully rebels against her uncle every time she puts them on.
• The high heels give her sexual power over men—they look, stare
and gawk at her beauty. Eddie thinks the heels are threatening for
the same reasons Catherine loves them.
• Eddie is fearful that, if she looks attractive, some man will ask her
out and she will leave the house.
Brooklyn Bridge
• The Brooklyn Bridge is symbolic of a pathway of opportunity to
Manhattan and also the linkage between American and Italian
cultures.
• The bridge, which is very close to the Red Hook community, is a
constant reminder of American opportunity and industry. From the
bridge, one can see the community below and, like the title of the
book, one can see the entire community and seek greater abstract
meaning from his viewpoint.
• Alfieri is symbolic of the person on the bridge looking down upon
the Red Hook community or, perhaps, he is the bridge himself,
allowing the people to cross into Manhattan and modern, intellectual
American culture.
• Alfieri attempts to unite the American laws with Italian cultural
practices and negotiate a place in between the two. Alfieri, narrating
the story from the present looking back to the past, has the same
vantage point as one looking from the bridge. He is able to process
the events and see the greater societal and moral implications it has
for the community as a whole.
Italy
• The origin of the majority of the people in the Red Hook
community, Italy represents homeland, origin and
culture. What the country means to characters greatly
varies.
• Catherine associates Italy with mystery, romance and
beauty.
• Rodolfo, on the other hand, is actually from Italy, and
thinks it is a place with little opportunity that he would like
to escape from.
• All of the characters, as much as love the benefit of living
in the U.S., still strongly hold to Italian traditions and
identify it as home. Italy is the basis of the cultural
traditions in Red Hook and unites the community in
common social practices and religion.
Act 1 Analysis 1
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A View from the Bridge is a play largely concerned with discovery.
As Alfieri warns, no one can ever know what will be discovered.
There are two secrets in the play:
Eddie's incestuous desires for his niece and the two illegal
immigrants hiding in the Carbone home, Marco and Rodolfo.
The gradual exposition of these secrets destroys Eddie, as he is
incapable of dealing with either discovery.
An inarticulate man, Eddie is unable to realize, speak or understand
his own feelings for Catherine and cannot forgive himself for
exposing Marco and Rodolfo.
Eddie's feelings toward Catherine manifest themselves into fierce
protectiveness and eventual rage at Rodolfo.
Because of his inability to deal with his feelings, Eddie instinctively
reveals his second secret—Marco and Rodolfo—which completes
his undoing.
Act 1 Analysis 2
• The relationship between Eddie and Catherine seems very normal
at first. Eddie is an overprotective guardian of his niece. However,
through the Eddie's actions and various clues from other characters,
Eddie's romantic feelings toward Catherine are revealed.
• The first indication of Eddie's sexual desires is Eddie's delight as
Catherine lights his cigar.
• Eddie's great attention to his attractive niece and impotence in his
own marital relationship makes this association clear.
• Although Eddie seems unable to understand his feelings for his
niece until the end of the play, other characters have an awareness
of his thoughts.
• Beatrice is the first to express this possibility in a later conversation
with Catherine ("You think I'm jealous of you, honey?").
• Alfieri's also realizes Eddie's feelings during his first conversation
with Eddie, who says, "There is too much love for the niece. Do you
understand what I'm saying to you?"
• Eddie, himself, does not seem to comprehend his feelings until
Beatrice clearly articulates his desires in the conclusion of the play,
"You want somethin' else, Eddie, and you can never have her!"
Act 1 Analysis 3
• Eddie's jealousy of Rodolfo causes him to reveal his
second secret.
• Eddie betrays Rodolfo and Marco out of his love for
Catherine, but will not acknowledge this love. Because
Eddie never completely denies his feelings to either
Beatrice or Alfieri, but rather brushes them off, it seems
he may be unconsciously aware of them.
• This unconscious knowledge of sexual taboo drives
Eddie into a self-serving and destructive madness that
he cannot control.
• Eddie's greatest fear is not Marco, Rodolfo, or even the
loss of his name. What Eddie fears most is the
disclosure of his secrets—he fears what he knows about
himself.
Act 1 Analysis 4
• Beatrice and Catherine are weak characters.
• In the Italian-American society of Red Hook
Brooklyn, Miller portrays the women as virtually
helpless and unable to affect the fate of their
husbands or any male figures.
• Although much of the action centres on Eddie's
love for Catherine, Catherine does not have a
significant impact on the events of the novel.
• Beatrice, more outspoken than Catherine, also
has little impact on the story.
Act 1 Analysis 4
• Catherine appears weaker than Beatrice in the play.
• Catherine is, of course, like a daughter to Beatrice, but Catherine is
unable to properly articulate her feelings and emotions until the end
of the play.
• Catherine is described as a somewhat flighty girl and she does not
know that it is inappropriate to walk around in her slip in front of her
uncle and watch Eddie shave in his underwear.
• Until Catherine's relationship with Rodolfo, she has no great
convictions besides wanting to work as a stenographer before she
graduates.
• Catherine is oblivious to Eddie's lust for her. She constantly seeks
his approval and forgiveness, even at the very conclusion of the
play.
• Catherine only finds her independence from Eddie when she finds
another male patriarchal figure to replace him. Happy and safe with
Rodolfo, Catherine can finally separate herself from Eddie.
Act 1 Analysis 4
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Beatrice is the tirelessly forgiving character of the play.
Beatrice is the mature female figure, but requires the same male approval
that Catherine seeks.
Beatrice is jealous of Eddie's relationship with Catherine and openly
addresses Eddie's sexual impotence and lack of physical affection for her.
Beatrice seems more aware of her need for Eddie's approval than
Catherine does, she is equally desperate for it. Also different from Catherine
is that Beatrice recognizes this neediness almost to a fault. Nonetheless,
Beatrice's willingness to forgive Eddie leads her to even accept him after
Eddie is disgraced and he admits his desires for Catherine. In the original
version of the script, Eddie dies at Catherine's feet, but Beatrice's greater
role in the revised script makes this an improbable ending—Eddie must
return to Beatrice because she is the only one left who truly needs his
approval, since Catherine now has Rodolfo. In these final moments,
Beatrice seems to have power over Eddie—for the first time he seeks out
her forgiveness and love.
Act 1 Analysis 5
• While the inner lives of these characters can be
extrapolated from the text, Beatrice and
Catherine remain fairly two-dimensional. The
women have no apparent inner-life than their
concern with male figures. Miller allows the
audience little insight on the thoughts of Beatrice
and Catherine, we are unsure why Catherine
loves Rodolfo or how Beatrice occupies her time
outside of cooking and cleaning for Eddie. The
women solely exist to further the dramatic
content of the play and have little meaning or
consequence as individuals.
Quotations
Just remember, kid, you can quicker get back a
million dollars that was stole than a word that you
gave away.
• Eddie speaks this quote in Act I, while eating dinner with Beatrice
and Catherine. This quote reveals the irony and madness of Eddie's
character. In the beginning of the play, Eddie tells the story of a
young boy who called immigration on his relatives. Eddie lectures
Catherine about how they must tell no one about Marco and
Rodolpho, the illegal immigrant cousins the family will be hiding.
However, in the end of the play, Eddie obviously calls Immigration
on these cousins, just like the boy. Miller sets up Eddie so
vehemently against betrayal that his transition to the betrayer seems
illogical. The set-up requires Eddie to undergo a drastic change, if
not complete breakdown, within the play to make such a transition.
The force of this transition reveals not only his self-destructive
madness, but the deepness of his unspoken love for his niece. This
quote also reveals that Eddie knows his own fate—he knows what
will happen to him, but cannot escape his fate. Much like Alfieri,
Eddie watches himself make decisions he knows will not only ruin
his reputation in the community, but also possibly kill him. Eddie may
know the consequence of what he does, but remains powerless or
too mad to stop it.
His eyes were like tunnels; my first thought was
that he had committed a crime, but soon I saw it
was only a passion that had moved into his body,
like a stranger.
Alfieri
• In this quote, found in Act I, Alfieri describes Eddie's appearance at
their first meeting, to the audience. Alfieri almost seems to fear
Eddie as a paranormal beast, a remnant of the great Greek or
Roman tragedy. Alfieri truly believes that Eddie was possessed with,
"passion that has moved into his body, like a stranger," and was
unable to control him. The passion that Alfieri describes is the
passion for his niece Catherine. The passion, unreleased and
suppressed in his unconscious was a stranger to Eddie's conscious
self that actively denied any thoughts of incest or otherwise. This
quote also reveals the style of Alfieri. Alfieri tells the tale of Eddie
Carbone as if he is a legend. Eddie is described with dramatic and
literary descriptions that are unusual in the dramatic form.
"He degraded my brother. My
blood. He robbed my children, he
mocks my work. I work to come
here, mister!"
• Marco has many reasons to hate Eddie and so
feels completely vindicated in punishing him. He
feels that his honour is at stake if he does not
act - it is his duty. Alfieri recognises Marco's
need to do what he sees as right: You're an
honourable man. It is ironic that in fulfilling his
need to do what is 'just' to Eddie, Marco actually
breaks his promise to Alfieri not to harm Eddie,
which in itself could be seen as dishonourable.
"But the truth is holy."
• These words from Alfieri's closing speech
ensure that we leave the theatre with a lot to
consider. As a lawyer, Alfieri is concerned with
the 'truth' all the time in his search for justice,
and here he gives truth religious status, setting it
above the characters. Yet during the play we
saw how different characters read the truth in
different ways - Eddie, fatally, was never able to
admit (perhaps not even to himself) the truth that
he loved Catherine.
"Oh, there were many here who
were justly shot by unjust men."
• This comes from Alfieri's opening speech.
The law does not always deliver justice sometimes people take the law into their
own hands. Alfieri accepts that unjust men
- criminals - sometimes do just or fair acts.
It makes us consider the question of
justice, which the play goes on to explore.
"I'll tell you boys it's tough to be alone,
And it's tough to love a doll that's not your own."
• It is ironic that Rodolfo's song, a favourite
of Catherine's, is actually a comment on
how Eddie feels. Eddie is alone in his
secret love for Catherine - he will not even
admit his feelings to himself. Catherine is
'not his own' not only because she has
another boyfriend, but because she is
Eddie's niece and his love is incestuous.
Question
SQA Intermediate 2 2008
Choose a play in which there is significant
conflict between two characters.
Describe the conflict and show how it is
important to the development of the
characterisation and theme of the play.
MODEL INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPHS
Establish the context of your chosen text and question.
Be sure to use the key Q words and to refer to both parts of the Q.
Example 1:
2011 Higher Paper Critical essay
Q4
Choose a play in which there is significant conflict between two characters.
Describe the conflict and show how it is important to the development of the
characterisation and theme of the play.
Arthur Miller’s ‘A View from the Bridge’ is a play set in the Red Hook District
of Brooklyn in the 1900s, which focuses on the main character, Eddie
Carbonie, and his all-consuming passion for his niece and his honour. He
finds finds himself in conflict between himself and one of the two Italian
immigrants he is sheltering, when Rodolfo becomes romantically involved
with Catherine , his niece, Eddie finds himself at odds with Rodolfo and the
plot brings the situation to a head when Eddie phones the immigration
authorities about the two men. Miller uses this friction between the
characters to explore the themes of Justice and respect and the further
conflict between American law and the law of the community. Miller clearly
explores the nature of his experience of justice in 1956 at the hands of the
un-American activities committee in his stark portrayal of a man who looses
his sense of himself and abandons his principles.
• Intro
• Describe the conflict
•
Plan
Explain how Eddie gets himself into bother with Beatrice, Catherine, Rodolfo and eventually Marco.
• First main theme point –
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Justice describe how this conflict comes to a head because Eddie is breaking the law in America. You might also
bring in the conflict between what is ‘right’ and what is ‘legal’ and the difference between the community law and
the Law of the land. Remember to point out what you think Miller is saying about these ideas.
• Second
•
Here you might approach the sexual tensions in the play both between Eddie and Catherine and Eddie and
Rodolfo. Eddie can’t pursue his feelings about Catherine and Catherine can’t stay his girl. The theme of manliness
and the accusations of homosexuality all come into the conflict and lead to Marco’s foreshadowing the fatal
resolution to the play.
• Third
•
Alfieri's thoughts on justice and the law and what they say about the truth and the
conflict.
• Fourth
• Fifth
• Conclusion