A View From The Bridge Essay, Research Paper
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 the chair at
the end of the first act, we understand that he did it to save his
brother’s face and his family’s honor. In addition, the killing of
Eddie by Marco’s own hands at the end of the play, is the final
display of his character. Marco’s character is definitely expressed
more by his actions than by his words. He is very strong, and he is
obviously aware of that, but doesn’t like to show it in words, or brag
about it. In fact, when Eddie was making fun of his brother Rodolpho,
instead of replying to him in words, he chose to use his strength to
get his point across by lifting the chair. In addition, Marco doesn’t
talk about his family much; instead, he works as hard as he can, and
that is enough to show everybody how much he cares about them. As a
final insult to Eddie, Marco chooses to spit in his face in front of
everybody. This is because in the Italian culture, that act is
considered as an extreme expression of anger toward a person, and it
is rarely left without punishment. In addition, the action of going to
the church before facing Eddie shows us that he is very religious and
cares about his soul.
Marco is a very honorable man and believes in his tradition, and
the author shows us that through a number of symbols. For example,
spitting on Eddie’s face once he realizes that Eddie turned him and
his brother to the police is a symbol of disgust and revolt for
Eddie’s actions. In addition, at the end of the play, we are told that
Marco went to church before going to talk to Eddie. This action tells
us that Marco is ready to give up his life and commit a mortal sin to
defend his honor, because what Eddie has done, the breaking of the
«omerta’», the breaking of trust, is something that in his culture
must never be left unpunished.
Throughout the first act of the play, Marco is only referred as a
flat character and the only time we are really aware his persona
and his strength is at the end of the first act, when he lifts a chair
over his head and makes it seem like a challenge to Eddie, as a
response 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. These 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 believe 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.