A View from the Bridge Essay: Play That Was First Staged in 1955
A View From the Bridge Essay
‘A View From The Bridge’ is a play that was first staged in 1955. It was written by Arthur Miller. Arthur Miller was born into a Jewish family in New York in 1915, whose grandparents had come to America from Poland. When the family business failed, they moved to Brooklyn, where A View from the Bridge is set. There, Miller worked in a warehouse to earn money for his university fees. He began to write plays when he was in university and continued to write them after he graduated and became a journalist. In the play, loyalty dictates the events very strongly as because of Eddies mixed emotions for Catharine he chooses to be more loyal to her than to all of his family. Miller shows the importance of loyalty through Eddie telling Catharine the ‘Vinnie Bolzano’ story. Catharine’s reaction shows the audience that in Italy, family loyalty is the most important thing as Catharine is both shocked and horrified that Vinnie snitched on his own Uncle this is why she shockingly says ‘The kid snitched?’. Miller uses this as an opportunity to tell the audience that the Italian American community is very loyal, which makes Eddie’s betrayal even more shocking. Because Vinnie snitched on his Uncle he could never show his face in public because every one despised and loathed him this is why Beatrice says ‘I never seen him again’. This also shows that the Italian American Community has a very ‘if you snitch on one of us, you snitch on all of us’ mentality. Another way that Arthur Miller portrays the importance of loyalty in the play is the references Eddie uses to Catharine’s Mother. this quote shows that Eddie tries to use the promise he made to Catharine’s Mother as an excuse for being so strict and this is why he says ‘I promised your Mother on her death bed’. This is why he doesn’t want her working in the dodgy part of town; where as it is because of the emotions he feels toward Catharine and he doesn’t want her to have another
‘A View From The Bridge’ is a play that was first staged in 1955. It was written by Arthur Miller. Arthur Miller was born into a Jewish family in New York in 1915, whose grandparents had come to America from Poland. When the family business failed, they moved to Brooklyn, where A View from the Bridge is set. There, Miller worked in a warehouse to earn money for his university fees. He began to write plays when he was in university and continued to write them after he graduated and became a journalist. In the play, loyalty dictates the events very strongly as because of Eddies mixed emotions for Catharine he chooses to be more loyal to her than to all of his family. Miller shows the importance of loyalty through Eddie telling Catharine the ‘Vinnie Bolzano’ story. Catharine’s reaction shows the audience that in Italy, family loyalty is the most important thing as Catharine is both shocked and horrified that Vinnie snitched on his own Uncle this is why she shockingly says ‘The kid snitched?’. Miller uses this as an opportunity to tell the audience that the Italian American community is very loyal, which makes Eddie’s betrayal even more shocking. Because Vinnie snitched on his Uncle he could never show his face in public because every one despised and loathed him this is why Beatrice says ‘I never seen him again’. This also shows that the Italian American Community has a very ‘if you snitch on one of us, you snitch on all of us’ mentality. Another way that Arthur Miller portrays the importance of loyalty in the play is the references Eddie uses to Catharine’s Mother. this quote shows that Eddie tries to use the promise he made to Catharine’s Mother as an excuse for being so strict and this is why he says ‘I promised your Mother on her death bed’. This is why he doesn’t want her working in the dodgy part of town; where as it is because of the emotions he feels toward Catharine and he doesn’t want her to have another