Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge
Today hostility is viewed upon as wrong, when "A View From the Bridge"
was written, hostility made up part of the day-to-day running of
people in this era. Today women are treated as equals and any
discrimination is taken incredibly seriously, in the time the play
written, women had very few rights and were constantly stereotyped and
abused.
Manliness, hostility and aggression play an important role in the
play, 'A View From the Bridge'. Each character has a different view on
what it means to be manly and what manliness is. Eddie, the main
character around which the play revolves, has a very specific view of
what manliness exactly is. When other character's views clash with his
own ideals, he reacts, violently in most cases. Another character,
Marco, demonstrates masculine characteristics and makes Eddie feel
threatened, these connect the ideas of manliness, hostility and
aggression. I will look at this particular area, and others later in
the essay.
The play, itself, is set in the Red Hook, slum area of Brooklyn, New
York during the 1950s. It focuses around the immigration of Italian
people, searching for the American Dream, however many if these
'dreams' were shattered with the tragedy and poverty that befell the
people of that area. The area of Red Hook is also renowned for its
infamous gangsters such as Al Capone, John Torrio and Frankie Yale.
Another character in the play, Alfieri, plays a similar part to a
chorus, similar to ones in Greek plays, narrating the play and
commenting on events; he also plays a part in the play as a lawyer and
a family friend. He is essential to the structure of the play as he
opens and closes it and at other times moves th...
... middle of paper ...
...get it, Catherine." Women in this era, were forced into
these roles, they had few rights and were treated poorly.
I believe that the play is well written and it was a success. The
author had spent a number of years in these conditions and knew what
it felt like for these people. The characters in the play were well
formed and each person was totally independent from the others.
However at the end of the play, just before Marco stabs Eddie, there
is little suspension, leaving much to be desired for the ending. The
play does also relate to many of today's issues. People are still
quite homophobic (however homosexuals are becoming more and more
integrated into today's society) and due to large amounts of
immigrants coming into the country people of Britain are becoming more
xenophobic towards those societies. Much in the same way as the era
Eddie lived in.
One of the goals in the play is to raise awareness about domestic violence. This is done effectively through the events that are played out in the
the play. It looks at the person he is and the person he becomes. It
Context: This part of the text is included at the beginning of the drama, telling the audience about Salem and its people. The author explains how a theocracy would lead to a tragedy like the Salem witch-hunts. This is the initial setting and is based on the principle that some people should be included and some excluded from society, according to their religious beliefs and their actions. This is basically the idea that religious passion, taken to extremes, results in tragedy. Miller is saying that even today extremes end up bad- communism, like strict puritans, was restrictive and extreme. It only made people suffer.
likelihood of victory is small.” It is a person’s mental or moral strength to resist extreme
can see his importance in the title of the play; he is named in the
Persecution has been a round for sometime and can be traced historically from the time of Jesus to the present time. Early Christians were persecuted for their faith in the hands of the Jews. Many Christians have been persecuted in history for their allegiance to Christ and forced to denounce Christ and others have been persecuted for failing to follow the laws of the land. The act of persecution is on the basis of religion, gender, race, differing beliefs and sex orientation. Persecution is a cruel and inhumane act that should not be supported since people are tortured to death. In the crucible, people were persecuted because of alleged witchcraft.
Lies play a central part in the play as the story is based around lies
Rodolfo, "I'm not a baby, I know a lot more than people think I know."
Writers may use literature as a vehicle of social criticism. In which ways does Arthur Miller criticize society?
places in the play in a number of different ways. The way Miller as a
witty he did know his place as a servant and throughout the play the servants
in 1955. It is based on the story of a man named Eddie who is brought
anymore? I just want him to approve of me and it makes me so upset
“Figure it out. Work a lifetime to pay for a house. You finally own it, and there’s no one to live in it.” This line was from the 1949 play Death of a Salesman. In his early years Miller wrote plays, but none of them were produced. Death of a Salesman was not his first success, but was still widely admired. He grew to become one of the century’s greatest American dramatists. However this title was not easily achieved. After growing up in Harlem and working the Brooklyn Navy Yard to becoming a Pulitzer Prize winner, Arthur Miller is held with high respect. Miller had a lifelong dream. That dream was to become a famous playwright. With a lot of hard times and struggles, he reached his goal.
In the play he takes on the role of a character as well as taking on