The Character of Marco in A View from the Bridge

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The Character of Marco in A View from the Bridge

After reading Arthur Miller's play "A view from the bridge," I am convinced that the most striking character is Marco. He is an Italian immigrant that moved illegally to the United States with his brother Rodolpho to work as longshoremen, since at the time (the play was written in 1955) his country of origin, Italy, was going through a major economic depression because of the outcome of World War II. In the play, we are told that Marco's plan is to make enough money to survive and be able to send some of that money to his wife and his three kids back in Italy, who are starving. Marco physically resembles the Sicilian stereotype, with dark skin and dark hair. He is also very strong and he could easily "load the whole ship by himself."(pg.541) In this play, the author uses plot, dialog, actions and symbolism to emphasize Marco's honor which, in my opinion, is his prominent characteristic.

Throughout the play, we can clearly see that the plot helps us develop Marco's character in our imagination. For example, he is an illegal alien, and this might give the reader a less honorable view of him, and it might justify Eddie's action. But the fact that Marco left his family to give them support and to save his oldest son who is "sick in the chest," (pg. 535) makes the reader forget about his illegal stay and makes his status rise to the one of a hero.

In this play, Marco's actions lead us to the discovery of a violent side which he uses to defend his honor in a number of occasions. For example, when he challenges Eddie to lift...

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...e for mocking Rodolpho. But only in the second act his character is fully exposed and we see his image transform into a round character. In this play, Marco is portrayed as the victim, since he hasn't done anything to Eddie but he still gets arrested. In addition, although his brother Rodolpho gets away with it by marrying Catherine, he has no other choice but to go back to his hungry wife and sick children in Italy. This thoughts, and knowing that Eddie has no regrets for what he has done makes him furious, and at the end of the play he seeks revenge.

I belive this play would not be complete without this character. If Marco would have not existed, it would have left Eddie unpunished and alive, and this would be in conflict with the very conception of drama which drives this works.

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