A View from the Bridge Final Coursework Essay Example For Students

A View from the Bridge Final Coursework Essay A View From the Bridge Final Coursework Essay By Salman Ramjaun 10GE How does Arthur Miller present the ideas of Manliness, Hostility and Aggression in ‘A View from the Bridge? ’ ‘A View from the Bridge’, a play written by Arthur Miller was set in Red Hook, Brooklyn in the 1950s; this area consisted of many Italian immigrants who came to Brooklyn to work. The tragic hero of the play named, Eddie Carbone is a 40 year old man, an American of a Sicilian background; He is described as a husky, slightly overweight longshoreman. He is an ordinary man and is part of the local Italian community. He is the master of the household and both Beatrice and Catherine are undoubtedly used to him laying down the rules; Eddie sees this as a ‘macho’ thing to do and he expects all men to do the same which is why he cannot accept Rodolfos gentle talents. Furthermore, conflict is demonstrated when the cousins of Beatrice, Rodolfo and Marco, arrive. As narrator, Alfi eri discloses the eventual tragedy, he talks about justice and how sometimes, justice is dealt within outside the law. He says he has a timeless story to tell one that ran a â€Å"bloody course,† he sets the scene and introduces the characters; he is telling the audience the story of the play in flashback. Miller uses several forms of masculinity to show the audience that in different circumstances and cultures different forms of masculinity are possible. This is shown to the audience by comparing both extremes of masculinity and what they both involve. In the longshoreman culture respect is as much a part of a man as is his own image. This leads to those members of the community going to extraordinary lengths to keep their reputation in order to stop them being emasculated in the eyes of the community. In the beginning of the play, Eddie is keen to show that he is very manly, â€Å"You call that a spider? You oughta see what comes outa the bananas sometimes. † In the Sicilian culture this is not so true and a form of masculinity that has certain feminine qualities is shown to the audience; and this is shown as Rodolfo does not conform to Eddie’s ideas of manliness; Marco challenges him and he is threatened. A View from the Bridge’ is a modern day tragedy based around the character of Eddie who begins as a good, honest, working class longshoreman with mixed feelings towards his niece, Catherine. However, tensions flare with the arrival of his wife’s cousins, Rodolfo and Marco, both of who are illegal immigrants, brings about jealousy and anger that finally leads to Eddie’s own dea th. He is constantly self-interested, wanting to promote and protect his innocence. In Eddies world, he imagines protecting Catherine from marriage or any male relationship and wants her for himself. Eddie constantly looks out for himself at the expense of others and is ruled by personal love and guilt. There are several moments in the text where the audience is given clues that Eddies love for Catherine may not be normal. For example, when Catherine lights Eddies cigar in the living room, it is an event that gives Eddie unusual pleasure. This possibly warm and affectionate act between Eddie and Catherine has phallic suggestions. Depending on interpretation by the characters, this moment may have more or less sexual undertones. Eddies great attention to his attractive niece and impotence in his own marital relationship immediately makes this meaning clear that Eddie has feelings for Catherine. Although Eddie seems unable to understand his feelings for Catherine until the end of the play, other characters are aware. Beatrice is the first to see this possibility in her conversation with Catherine; Alfieri also realizes Eddies feelings during his first conversation with Eddie; Eddie does not comprehend his feelings until Beatrice clearly expresses his desires in the conclusion of the play, You want somethin else, Eddie, and you can never have her! Eddie does not realise his feeling for Catherine because he has constructed and imagined a world where he can suppress his urges; Eddie transfers his energy to a hatred of Marco and Rodolfo and causes him to act completely irrationally; this affection for Catherine is Eddie’s flaw and he cannot deal with this attraction. Eddie’s wife Beatrice responds t hat she has other worries, in particular, Eddies sexual impotence; she asks, When am I gonna be a wife again, Eddie? Beatrice and Eddie have not had a sexual relationship in three months and Eddie will not talk to Beatrice about the problem, and he only says that he is worried about Catherine. Partly because of this, she supports Catherine and encourages her to be independent. She helps Catherine persuade Eddie to let Catherine go out to work and, later, tells Catherine she must stand up for herself, It means you gotta be your own self more. The arrival of Beatrice’s cousins creates the conflict between themselves and Eddie; Miller introduced other men to the household who challenge Eddie’s status. †A Thousand Years of Good Prayers† by Yiyun Li Sample EssayAfter Eddie has punched Rodolfo while teaching him to box, he shows how he can lift a chair above his head with one hand. The stage directions tell the audience the chair is raised like a weapon over Eddies head; he is warning Eddie that he will defend Rodolfo if necessary. This shows the audience that his strength is far greater than Eddie’s and leads to conflict with Eddie. Marco is a masculine trait which is very important in Italian families; he feels a duty at the end to use the Sicilian code on Eddie because Eddie calls the Immigration Bureau on them. He comes to see Eddie at the end to do what he sees as his duty, even when Alfieri had warned him that only God makes justice; he kills Eddie. Manliness, hostility and aggression are very important throughout A View from the Bridge. The play clearly shows how manliness can easily lead to hostility and progress to aggression. Eddie finds it difficult to understand and even express his feelings and this often leads to hostility and aggression. Arthur Miller’s views on manliness are a strong, flawless and a family man and these traits are perhaps mixed throughout the characters. The character of Alfieri can be seen as a voice for Miller’s views. Marco’s view on manliness is that he is a family man; Rodolfo is that he is vain and has feminine qualities; Eddie is that he is overprotective of his family. None of these characters seem the perfect embodiment of manliness – each is flawed. It may he Miller is saying you can’t find a perfect model of manliness. These points make this a compelling play as the backgrounds of the characters have a tough life which make them strong minded. By Salman Ramjaun.