Critical Essay - "A view from the bridge" .
"A view from the bridge" by Arthur Miller centres around the Carbone family in New York city in 1955. The play focuses on the events leading up to and the arrival of the two "submarines." The arrival of Marco and Rodolpho causes some family disputes that ultimately leads to eddies tragic death at the end of the play. The central character of "A view from the bridge" is Eddie carbone. a second generation Italian - American and a longshore man in the ports of new York. He is very much the "alpha male" in the family and feels threatened by the arrival of Marco and Rodolpho. His position is challenged by these men and Eddie is not at ease with them. Moreover he doesn't trust them and resents there presence as Rodolpho wants to marry Catharine. Throughout the play Eddie is used to portray the various themes by the situation he is faced with in his daily life. Through Eddie we as the reader can gain a greater understanding of the plays main concerns or themes as Eddies actions clearly show what miller is trying to say through the play. In this essay I intend to examine the extent to which Eddie is at odds with the other characters and how effectively this leads to a better understanding of the plays main concerns.
Eddie can be seen to be at odds with nearly every other character in the play, whether this is for a good reason or not doesn't matter. The root of the problem in Eddie being at odds with everyone is his inherent miss trust of the people around him who love and care for him. For example on hearing that Catharine was being offered a job as a stenographer in a plumbing company a few neighbourhoods away Eddie disapproved of it, and was adamant that she should continue her schooling. His reason for not approving was the fact that the people in that neighbourhood are "practically longshoremen." This shows that he cant trust people but in particular is shows that he cant trust him self as he is a longshoreman.