In Arthur Miller’s play ‘A View from the Bridge’, t he men are portrayed as alpha males in the 1950’s demonstrated by the main character Eddie. Men are the providers of the family and women look after the home. Eddie is an archetypal man who works in a job as a longshoreman displaying his strength and dominance. The family live in a confined space in Brooklyn leading to tension amongst characters. Eddie dies at the end due to his lack of respect for others and lack of self-knowledge driven by his masculinity.
One factor that provokes conflict is Eddie’s control over others, especially women who were perceived as weaker in the 1950s. An example is when he tells Catherine not to wear a short dress, leading to her change and not arguing back.
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This leads to Eddie being jealous when he assumes Rodolpho is not ‘good’ enough for Catherine implied by his view ‘I don't know...he was just humorous.’ This implies that Eddie is definite that Rodolpho is a homosexual. He thinks this so Rodolpho would not be able to be attracted to Catherine. This also proves that Eddie believes that Rodolpho is undeserving for Catherine due to his jealous and mocking behaviour which was bizarre in Italian culture. There is a contrast between Eddie and Rodolpho highlighted by Eddie’s macho role performing physical labour and Rodolpho’s light-hearted approach to life conveyed by the attributes which Eddie states ‘he sings, he cooks, he could make dresses". This is the latter which is being perceived as an effeminate. Eddie claims “If you came in the house and you didn’t know who was singin’, you wouldn’t be lookin for him you be lookin’ for her.” Miller expresses Eddie’s thoughts of Rodolpho being different in his eyes illustrated by the word ‘her.’ The words ‘wouldn’t be lookin for him’ expresses aspects of Italian culture and how men were seen. This expresses Rodolpho’s effeminate nature which is seen as being unusual. This type of character juxtaposes with Eddie as Italian born males were viewed as very ‘macho’ at the time. Eddie also claims, “he sings on the ship” aggressively. Also, …show more content…
This is expressed by the turning point in the play which is expressed in this stage direction when Marco challenges Eddie to lift a chair with one hand, at the end of Act 1: “the chair raised like a weapon over Eddie’s head.” It also conveys a shift in domestic power from Eddie to Marco who is a newcomer in the house. This suggests that Eddie is losing his position as the assertive figure in the household. The preposition ‘over’ expresses that Marco is emerging from his shell and is dominant over Eddie. Even Eddie is aware of this when he tries to lift the chair and fails displaying that Marco is stronger than him. However, Eddie tries to cover this up by saying ‘It’s on an angle, that’s why, heh?’ He refuses to accept the younger Marco is stronger than him. Marco illustrates his dominance due to Eddie punching his brother. This conveys Marco as a leader taking Eddie’s position which implies Eddie is losing control of his household. This scene foreshadows the fight that leads to Eddie’s fate. The role of Eddie as a dominant male has been overtaken by Marco to cement the conflict between
In the same scheme, both in the movie and the book, the father is presented as abusive and alcoholic on many occasions. In words, the book gives a detailed account of the damages inflicted on Eddie by his father’s violence: “he went through his younger years whacked, lashed, and beaten.” (Albom 105) In the film, t...
Flannery O’ Conner’s short story, “A good man is hard to find”, explains emotional reactions, betrayal, and violence. The misfit is an example of a devil figure. This character archetype is best seen when we see the misfit’s true colors shine as he murders the grandmother and her family. O’ Conner uses setting archetypes best when she uses a clear bright sky or an open dirt road, which can mean a variety of outcomes. This helps understand the many plot twists in the story. We best see symbolic archetypes as the three bandits including the misfit. They represent a mock of the holy trinity and represent evil. “The fall” is a good archetype that shows the misfit’s lack of innocence when he betrays the grandmother. This best explains the whole
This whole play by Arthur Miller shows how our community will turn on each other to save ourselves no matter if it’s right or wrong and it’s true in our society today. It also shows how a good man regained his happiness and holiness by standing up for what’s right against the lies and sacrificed himself for the truth.
... lives incapacitated. Whereas it is Eddie's own chracter traits that are exposed by the characters and circumstances. His active role in his downfall caused "the situation slid inescapably toward disaster"₈ Both protagonists are victims of tragedy brought about by the individual characters themselves as well as external elements.
Exploring the Themes of Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge East of Staten Island is Brooklyn, the second largest borough and the
In the play ‘A View from the Bridge’, an Italian-American family take in two illegal immigrants. The youngest of them, Rudolpho, falls in love with the niece of Beatrice, Catherine. Eddie Carbone, the main character, is driven by desire and lust, which eventually brings upon his own downfall. He calls the Immigration Bureau to arrest the two immigrants in an attempt to get his niece back, and so the scheme fails, and the play ends when Marco murders Eddie in a mere act of self-defence. Miller uses the character of Alfieri to increase dramatic tension throughout the play, doing so by introducing the idea of inevitability in the play. He establishes the character as a chorus, a component of early Greek theatre and tragedies. Alfieri basically expresses to the audience what the main character, Eddie Carbone, could not say, such as his fears or secrets. By knowing what will happen, and knowing how the play would end, whether a happy ending or sad, the principle of certainty and inevitability is revealed. Alfieri isn’t even capable of changing anything, altering the future, which also increases dramatic tension in the play. Throughout, Alfieri’s roles are obvious; he’s both the family lawyer and also the narrator of the play.
Usually in novels grappling with identity crisis, there is a downfall like for Brick’s struggle to be true to his sexual identity in Tennessee Williams’s play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. It was in a time when America did not tolerate same sex relationships, so each character acted in accordance with the sexual identity given to their genders. For Seymour, he is heavily praised like some kind of God for his...
In the time of William Shakespeare where courtship and romance were often overshadowed by the need to marry for social betterment and to ensure inheritance, emerges a couple from Much Ado About Nothing, Hero and Claudio, who must not only grow as a couple, who faces deception and slander, but as individuals. Out of the couple, Claudio, a brave soldier respected by some of the highest ranked men during his time, Prince Don Pedro and the Governor of Messina, Leonato, has the most growing to do. Throughout the play, Claudio’s transformation from an immature, love-struck boy who believes gossip and allows himself to easily be manipulated is seen when he blossoms into a mature young man who admits to his mistakes and actually has the capacity to love the girl he has longed for.
In summation, Shakespeare defines and upholds traditional male gender stereotypes. Through the actions of Macbeth and his fellow characters, Shakespeare paints a clear picture on the canvas of verse of what a man should look and act like. From facial expressions views of death, a Shakespearean portrait of masculinity is a fully realized one. Although this work of literature is hundreds of years old, its assumptions about there being a universal idea of what it means to be a “man” are still relevant to today’s world. Everyday, men in the 21st century still live like Macbeth does, always striving to be a “true” man.
Although neither take a significant role in the novel, Jack and Leon Tallis are critical starting points to understanding the expectations of masculinity. Beginning with Jack Tallis, we are not told outright, but it seems masculinity includes being the provider for the family, even if that means long nights away from the home. Emily has come to expect the “phone call from the department to say that Mr. Tallis had to work late and had to stay up in town” (96). But, this also implies Jack Tallis is having an affair, suggesting being involved with multiple women and sexual superiority is a right of those claiming masculinity. From the example set forth by Leon, readers can also assume the “gift of avoiding responsibility” and the ability to “float free” is also bestowed upon men if they so desire it as an option (96). From this limited view of masculinity readers are shown both freedom and power as key
Appelbaum, Robert. “’Standing to the Wall’: The Pressures of Masculinity in Romeo and Juliet.” Shakespeare Quarterly 48.3 (1997): 251-72. JSTOR. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.
The ideology of male dominance has existed since the beginning of mankind. In the play A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, it is especially apparent that Stanley, who is a working class man, feels the need to assert and reassert this principle of power constantly. Williams makes clear, through the character of Stanley, that the yearning for others’ recognition of their power and capability is the motive behind men’s masculine inclinations.
...ed for Antonio to come off as being homosexual or if our modern general definition of homosexuality has influenced how we view Antonio. However, Shakespeare’s plays always seem to have shocking themes that are not meant to be seen without a close analysis. This analysis is able to prove why Shakespeare chose the word “ love” over any other word in order to invoke a certain homosexual feeling regarding Antonio and Bassanio’s relationship. Through this art of placing themes that Shakespeare uses, it is easy to see how homosexuality was intended to be placed as an underlying theme of The Merchant of Venice.
commenting on events; he also plays a part in the play as a lawyer and
A view from the Bridge was written by Arthur Miller in 1955 and set in