How Does Arthur Miller Present Eddie's Relationship In A View From The Bridge
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‘A View from the Bridge’ by Arthur Miller
(1286 words ex. headings) ‘A View from the Bridge’ by Arthur Miller is a play, arranged in two acts, centred on the character of Eddie Carbone – an Italian-American longshoreman – his emotional decline and eventual death. Although the majority of the characters have their individual flaws, Eddie’s jealousy is by far the most profound of these, having major effects on the eventual outcome of the play.
Miller establishes Eddie’s jealousy from the very beginning of the play, heavily hinting that the relationship between Catherine and Eddie is inappropriately intimate or at least unusual in its character. We see this when Eddie comments on Catherine’s high heels:
‘...Katie, you are walkin’ wavy! I don’t like the looks they’re givin’ you in the candy store. ... The heads are turnin’ like windmills.’
From this, it is immediately clear that Eddie’s reaction to the way Catherine dresses is stronger than might be expected of a typical…show more content… He does this despite his immense loyalty to the Italian-American community of Red Hook, knowing that he will be estranged from, shunned, snubbed, excluded and despised by his peers. When Marco spits in Eddie’s face, besides asseverating his hatred for him, Marco’s action highlights how Eddie’s uncontrollable jealousy has driven him to commit, in the eyes of the local people, the ultimate crime. For Marco, it is important that he communicate his acrimony. For Eddie, this is the beginning of the end. When Eddie does indeed die, that his own knife is turned against him is deeply symbolic: it serves to demonstrate that Eddie has been the master of his own downfall. His jealousy and covetousness have not only led to his own destruction, but have emotionally scarred Catherine and Beatrice, and condemned Marco and his family to a life of poverty in