Arthur Miller's Creation of Tension and Conflict at the End of Each Act in A View from a Bridge

Arthur Miller's Creation of Tension and Conflict at the End of Each Act in A View from a Bridge

Arthur Miller creates a lot of tension towards the end of act 1 in a

variety of different ways. Firstly and most obviously, he uses the

dialogue of the characters to add tension to the play. For example

when Rodolfo says 'Lemons are green', a very simple and seemingly

meaningless comment, which would generally not provoke an outburst by

anyone, however Eddie takes to this as Rodolfo is mocking him, and so

Eddie lashes out with anger and frustration, feelings which have been

bottling up inside of him throughout the introduction of Rodolfo

earlier in Act 1, by shouting 'I know lemons are green for Christ's

sake…I said oranges are painted I didn't say nothin' about lemons.'

This proves to the audience about Eddies feelings towards Rodolfo

aren't that of love but of hate and resentment, by turning what was a

nice and normal convosation hostile, and uncomfortable, and these new

feelings are reflected in everyone else's attitude towards Eddie at

this particular moment in time, for example Beatrice who is obviously

used to Eddies outbursts, being his wife, tries to divert their

attention by discussing with Rodolfo about his family in Italy, and if

they were getting the money he was sending to them ok. This works but

you can sense by watching it being performed, that the characters are

aware of Eddie and how he is feeling, and are careful in what they

say.

It is interesting to watch this particular part of Act 1 being

performed as it is gripping, with Eddies fiery passion towards Rodolfo

enthralling the audience and keeping us on the edge of our seats, with

us thinking that Eddie may loose his temper again and makes us wonder

what might happen next with the complex relationship of the two

characters Eddie and Rodolfo.

Arthur Miller plays are famous for their stage directions just as much

as the sensational and gripping dialogue both of these play a key role