View From The Bridge Critique Essay, Research Paper
Arthur Miller s A View from the Bridge is a modern tragedy set in 1950 s Brooklyn about a man s obsession with his niece, and what that obsession ultimately brings about. Eddie Carbone, the protagonist of the play also happens to be the antagonist, because he ultimately is fighting against himself with his desires for his niece. I believe that this play was very predictable from the start; this is why I really did not enjoy it all that much. A View from the Bridge had some interesting parts but to me it was really boring and just didn t go anywhere.
To me this play did not go anywhere because I did care for any of the characters. The way that Arthur Miller wrote this play makes it hard for you to care about any of the characters; therefore I also do not care what happens to them. There is Eddie, who comes of as arrogant to me; he is the one that I disliked the most. I really saw no point to his behavior, if Miller had given us more of a reason as to why he had such strong feelings toward Catherine then at least we could have learned what made him tick, but as it is I can not see that. I see no purpose for Alfieri; I think that this play could go on just fine without him. I do see the need for a narrator, but I don t think that Alfieri should have been included in the play itself, I believe this cheapens his position as the narrator.
Beatrice and Catherine are two characters that I did not like all that much. I saw no practical purpose for Beatrice in this play, she had no effect on this play at all. I would have liked the Beatrice character a little more had she had more of an impact in the play. The Catherine character was likeable but I believe that she is a big reason why Eddie self-destructs.
The way that Rodolpho acted made me not care about his fate. I do believe that Eddie was at least part right when he said that Marco was just looking to get married to become a citizen. I think that part of Rodolpho loved Catherine, while another part loved the idea of becoming a citizen. Also the Rodolpho character was a little too perfect for me with his blond hair and singing and dancing. I think that Miller was pushing a little too much when creating this character.
Marco had no significant action in the play until the end. The Marco character is likeable to a point. I liked the way that he carried himself throughout the play, until he accuses Eddie of killing his children . He was being a little too dramatic for my tastes, also he really had no proof that Eddie had turned them in. This incident makes me dislike him some, but he was working for his family, which made him easier to like than Rodolpho. Overall I had generally bad feelings towards most of the characters in this play, that contributed to me not liking it all that much.
Having only two acts, the structure of this play is quite simple. In the first act Eddie tries to prevent Catherine and Rodolpho from falling in love. In the second act Eddie finds that he has failed at this, and thinks his best course of action would to call the INS and report Marco and Rodolpho. This is the action that ultimately set in course the final set of events. This play is one of simple format, and that allows you to follow along very easily the events within the play.
I believe that this play has not one but two climaxes, one for each act. In the first act the climax comes when Eddie decides to teach Rodolpho how to box, and he beats him up a little, then Marco picks the chair up over Eddie s head and holds it like a weapon, but gives him smile, this event is a precursor to what happens in the second act. The climax of the second act, and the main climax of the play comes when Marco confronts Eddie, and Eddie is fatally stabbed by Marco with his own knife. The way that Miller sets this up with two climaxes is done very well, and is one of the high-points of this entire work.
One thing that I noticed throughout this entire play is Miller s use of symbolism. There are many spots in this play that have symbolism in them. The most obvious of course is Eddie getting killed by Marco with the knife still in his hands. This is undoubtedly a symbol of his own self-destruction. Another piece of symbolism located in the text is when Marco holds the chair over Eddie s head; this symbolizes the destruction that Eddie will bring on himself later in the play. There are many pieces of symbolism located throughout the play, but the one that I believe to be most important is when Rodlpho dances with Catherine, symbolizing him taking Catherine from Eddie.
Overall I would say that this play was average at best. The events in characters in this play were just a little too convenient for me. I have read some of Miller s other plays such as The Crucible and Death of a Salesman; I believe this play to be below those standards. However I also saw those plays on the stage, perhaps if I saw A View from the Bridge on stage, I would get a different perspective of it.