To What Extent Is Eddie Responsible For His Own Death In 'a View From A Bridge'?

2620 words - 10 pages

In this essay, I hope to prove that Eddie Carbone, the principal male character in this play, is to some extent responsible for his own death. However I am also hoping to ascertain fate and destiny's involvement with the time, place, and situation in which he died. Factors which may have influenced Eddie's opinions of certain circumstances will also be explored, such as social and historical backgrounds, communication between characters, relationships, fate and destiny, tragedy, and mirroring of Arthur Miller's own life.Eddie Carbone was brought up in early twentieth-century Red Hook, a neighbourhood in Brooklyn. Brooklyn is in New York, one of the biggest cities in the United States and Red Hook is just one of the slum localities that it is made up of.P.12: 'This is the slum that faces the bay on the seaward side of Brooklyn Bridge.'- Alfieri.Eddie grew up through the Second World War and the Great Depression. He experienced the Wall Street Crash too, where many thousands of people suffered starvation and poverty. At the beginning of the play, we find ourselves in a place where the 'American Dream' no longer means very much. All the land which was available to people hundreds of years ago has now all been bought and so people can no longer have their own houses on their own land. The United States had become what most other countries are in the world. It was fully inhabited and there was no free space. People congregated in cities as there was work in factories and offices. Agriculture and land ownership was no longer an option for most people- they didn't have the money. Eddie Carbone is a good example of the average person; he is a longshoreman, a man who works on the docks. It isn't a permanent job, he gets work when it's there. If there is no work then he doesn't get any money that day. All of this could become very worrying for a man as from day, he didn't know if he could feed his family or not.P.39: 'Sometimes we lay off, there's no ships three, four weeks.'- EddieEddie and Beatrice are married and Catherine is their niece. Catherine lives with them because Beatrice's sister Nancy died and there was no other family member to look after them. Catherine is almost a daughter to them and they have no other children of their own. Rodolpho and Marco are Beatrice's cousins though they have never met. The two brothers have some from Sicily (as illegal immigrants) to find jobs in America. Apparently many people at that time thought that the American dream was still alive when it wasn't really and assumed that there were still many jobs on offer. Most illegal immigrants had to work for the people that brought them over to America for a period of time as longshoremen. The immigrants earned more than they did at home and so thought that the dock work was well paid. It wasn't and they were being exploited because of their ignorance and the fact that they wouldn't be able to get a job elsewhere.At the time, the whole of the United States was also under...

Justification for Eddie as a Loveable Character in A View From The Bridge

1224 words - 5 pages she seems like a traditional wife/mother figure, in keeping with the era in which this play was written. However, we soon learn that she is more aware of the emotion between Eddie and Catherine than we first thought, and her view helps alert the audience as to what is happening. She tries to prevent the inevitable from happening by getting Catherine to ?be your own self more?, trying to get her to stop acting like Eddie?s wife (bringing in beer

Edward Ii - To What Extent Is Edward Responsible For His Own

2074 words - 8 pages the aggravation. Edward’s relationship with his son was however a good one. His son felt his opinions were valued and Edward did generally listen to them, with one or two exceptions, ‘Ill win his highness quickly; A loves me better than a thousand Spencers.’ My own conclusions, in answer to the question, are that Edward II was to some extent responsible for his fate. However I also believe he was partly just not suited, personality wise, to being a King. This I do not think he can be held reasonably responsible for. I believe that, in the end, Edward was a victim of his own birth.

Eddie Carbone as a Tragic Hero in A View from the Bridge

1359 words - 5 pages A View from the Bridge is a dramatic tragedy, which follows the life of a dockworker, Eddie Carbone, in 1950s America who is the main focus of the play. He represents the average, everyday man in society, but his character draws parallels to many tragic heroes in the past shown in Greek tragedies, Shakespeare’s plays, etc. (e.g. Hamlet and Macbeth). A tragic hero is the hero in the story who has positive and negative traits and their negative

Eddie Carbone in A View From the Bridge by Arthur Miller

1242 words - 5 pages prevent. I think Eddie is mainly responsible for his own downfall but Catherine could have played some part in causing it because of her getting together with Rodolfo. Eddie never liked Rodolfo from when he first met him he always thought he was weird. Rodolfo also may be responsible for eddies downfall because he never asked eddies permission to get together with her. Marco is Beatrice’s cousin and after Marco and

Two Key Scenes Between Eddie and Marco in A View from the Bridge

2288 words - 9 pages weak and even if they do apologize, they still will not have their ‘good’ name back. Earlier on in the play Eddie tells Catherine about Vinny Bolzano, a boy who snitched” on his own uncle to the Immigration Bureau. This is a hint as to what Eddie may do later on in the play. The story of Vinny Bolzano is a precursor of what is to become Eddie’s fate. This also prepares the audience for the fact that Eddie may do something that is

Eddie's Death in Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge

1866 words - 7 pages and lasciviousness for Catherine and his hatred toward the brother caused him to define his "bloody death". Eddie is responsible for his own death because he ultimately is fighting against himself with his desires for his niece. Although this performance was very predictable from the start based on the fact that the introduction of the play was delivered in a form of a chorus, displaying the fate of the play and its characters, I think that the play was very enjoyable in interesting.

A view from the bridge: To what extent can the play be said to be about competing notions of justice?

1356 words - 5 pages of him, but a fatal error in judgment- he let his emotions stir up problems for himself. These notions of violence are of course followed up by Marco, in the ending scene.As mentioned earlier, Alfieri is the opposing law in A View from the Bridge. For all that Eddie does wrong, it should be noted that he did go out of his way to help people: the reason for his doing so is unknown to us. However, Alfieri does not help anyone. He is not what the

"Shylock's Downfall". To what extent is Shylock responsible for his downfall in the play The Merchant Of Venice?

2757 words - 11 pages : mark what Jacob did." (Act 1, Sc. 3). Again Shylock demonstrates his intelligence later in the meeting when he downplays his bond as a gesture of friendship;Is not so estimable, profitable neither,As flesh of muttons, beefs, or goats. I say,To buy his favor, I extend this friendship:If he will take it, so; if not, adieu;And, for my love, I pray you wrong me not. (Act 1, Sc. 3)The final point to consider is that Shylock was unprepared for Portia's

Macbeth is Responsible for His Own Destruction

899 words - 4 pages ambition are the catalysts for his fall from grace. An interference with fate and destiny is sure to cause chaos. Macbeth’s greatness as a soldier is met with surprise when he is greeted as, ‘thane of Cawdor,’ which he receives with much pleasure. However, he notes that the witches first prophesy, ‘All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!’ has in fact been realised which Banquo also sees as he exclaims, ‘what ,the devil speaks, ‘ alluding to

Macbeth is responsible for his own downfall

713 words - 3 pages Macbeth is responsible for his own downfall. Do you agree?In the beginning of the play Macbeth, the witches confronted Macbeth and Banquo and prophesied that Macbeth would be "Thane of Glamis", "Thane of Cawdor" and " King hereafter". As from then, we acknowledge that Macbeth is a weak character. Macbeth could have dismissed the prophecies as fantastical like Banquo did. But instead Macbeth chooses to believe in those miss-interpreted

Macbeth is Responsible for his Own Downfall

1078 words - 5 pages his own fault and, if indeed, the lions share of the blame can be placed on Macbeth, what does this mean for his sense of self? The idea that Macbeth was originally a good man at the start of the play is confused at best. We first here of him through the witches in the very first scenes, which gives him an automatic association with the powers of evil present in the play. After this, we hear him described as 'noble' but in this same description

To What Extent Is Oedipus Responsible For His Own Downfall?

1230 words - 5 pages A special attribute of Greek tragedy is that the central character is known to have a tragic imperfection that contribute to the fall of the character. In the play Oedipus Rex this characteristic is not an exception. Nevertheless, until what point was Oedipus responsible for his own downfall? There are many theories that can give an answer to this question. Was it destiny or a manipulation of the gods? Or was it a punishment for his

To What Extent Is Othello Responsible For His Own Downfall?

1536 words - 6 pages believes he can trust. His perception and conclusions are replaced by fury and hatred. However, the Othello is too late to realize what he's done, and consequently this results in many lives lost, including his own. Othello allowed his passions to rule over reason, and for that he paid, to him, the ultimate sacrifice.Although Othello was naive and wrong to put his trust in Iago without the presence of any real evidence, he did so partly because of

Eddie Carbone In Arthur Miller's A View From The Bridge

2247 words - 9 pages , for example, “nuttin’” and the spelling of many words end with apostrophes. In "A View from the Bridge", Miller describes a situation in which a man is forced by his emotions to betray himself and his local society, to betray something he had believed in his whole life. The man in question is Eddie Carbone, a poor and hard-working longshoreman of Sicilian origin. His character is defined both by his society's values and by his forceful and

Eddie Carbone In A View From The Bridge

1485 words - 6 pages motivating force Later on in the scene, Catherine and Rodolfo begin to dance. When they come to an end, Eddie subconsciously twists the newspaper in his hands into a tight roll. The other characters are aware of what he is thinking, but they wait for his answer. Unsurprisingly, Eddie fails to clearly express his thoughts on Rodolfo; during his attempt to mock Rodolfo's femininity and expose him as weak, he manages only to