Arthur Millers A View From the Bridge Essay -- Arthur Miller View Br

Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge Today hostility is viewed upon as wrong, when "A View From the Bridge" was written, hostility made up part of the day-to-day running of people in this era. Today women are treated as equals and any discrimination is taken incredibly seriously, in the time the play written, women had very few rights and were constantly stereotyped and abused. Manliness, hostility and aggression play an important role in the play, 'A View From the Bridge'. Each character has a different view on what it means to be manly and what manliness is. Eddie, the main character around which the play revolves, has a very specific view of what manliness exactly is. When other character's views clash with his own ideals, he reacts, violently in most cases. Another character, Marco, demonstrates masculine characteristics and makes Eddie feel threatened, these connect the ideas of manliness, hostility and aggression. I will look at this particular area, and others later in the essay. The play, itself, is set in the Red Hook, slum area of Brooklyn, New York during the 1950s. It focuses around the immigration of Italian people, searching for the American Dream, however many if these 'dreams' were shattered with the tragedy and poverty that befell the people of that area. The area of Red Hook is also renowned for its infamous gangsters such as Al Capone, John Torrio and Frankie Yale. Another character in the play, Alfieri, plays a similar part to a chorus, similar to ones in Greek plays, narrating the play and commenting on events; he also plays a part in the play as a lawyer and a family friend. He is essential to the structure of the play as he opens and closes it and at other times moves th... ...get it, Catherine." Women in this era, were forced into these roles, they had few rights and were treated poorly. I believe that the play is well written and it was a success. The author had spent a number of years in these conditions and knew what it felt like for these people. The characters in the play were well formed and each person was totally independent from the others. However at the end of the play, just before Marco stabs Eddie, there is little suspension, leaving much to be desired for the ending. The play does also relate to many of today's issues. People are still quite homophobic (however homosexuals are becoming more and more integrated into today's society) and due to large amounts of immigrants coming into the country people of Britain are becoming more xenophobic towards those societies. Much in the same way as the era Eddie lived in.