Arthur Miller Explores the Idea of Justice in A View From The Bridge

How does Arthur Miller explore the idea of justice in A View From The

Bridge.

The play ‘A View From The Bridge’ by Arthur Miller is set in the

American Sicilian community of Red Hook, in Brooklyn.

Community bonds and strong codes of justice are very important in the

community. Betrayal of your family or your community is the worst

crime you can commit. For instance the story of Vinny Bolzano that

Eddie told to Catherine and Beatrice.

The story that Eddie told Catherine and Beatrice was the story of

Vinny Bolzano. It was about a boy aged about fourteen years old who

told the police that his family were hiding his uncle, who was an

illegal immigrant. When his family found out that it was Vinny who had

told the police about the uncle they disowned him. The whole community

turned against him. They even kicked and beat him.

“grabbed him in the kitchen and pulled him down the stairs – three

flights his head was bouncin’ like a coconut.”

Not betraying your family was so important to Eddie as you would be

going against the community codes and this was not done. If it were,

the community would disown you.

Honour and reputation are also very important to the community. Eddie

says to Catherine

“You can quicker get back a million dollars that was stole than a word

that you gave away.”

Eddie is saying that once you have lost your reputation you will find

it nearly impossible to get back.

In the play the character Alfieri role is to act as the narrator and

to move the play along in time. He knows what will happen in the play.

For instance he knows that Eddie Carbone will be killed at some point

within the play. He refers to this in his very first speech. “This

ones name was Eddie Carbone” “and watched it run its bloody course.”

When reading or watching the play you will know that Eddie will be

killed some time within the play but you do not know when, this

creates dramatic tension. So you’ll know that they wont be a happy

ending but you’ll be curious as to how the play will end.

He also makes lots of references to the law particularly in his first

speech. “a lawyer means the law” “the law has not been friendly.” The

second quote comes from Alfieri in his first speech and he is saying

that in the community Red Hook, where he works, a lawyer is thought of

as unlucky. This is because they are only connected with disaster.

Because the community of Red Hook is a poor community and nobody has