a view from the bridge by arthur miller

a view from the bridge by arthur miller

“It’s better to settle for half, it must be”: How does Miller portray his protagonist as a tragic hero?
In 1995 Miller set “A View from the Bridge” in Red Hook “the gullet of New York” and based the play on semi-autobiographical events as his parents were immigrants themselves. Throughout, the play is narrated by Alfieri, the omnipresent lawyer who gives a detailed account of the play. The protagonist, Eddie, is illustrated by Miller as a tragic hero who dies at the hands of fate for being honest.
At the start of the play, Miller indicates that Eddie is a hero but this soon changes and by the end of the play he is no more than an “animal”. Early on in the play Miller shows the audience that the fate of Eddie’s feelings toward Catherine is inevitable. However Beatrice doesn’t acknowledge these feelings till later on in the play, in the quote “when am I going to be a wife again?”. Miller shows the disintegrating relationship between Eddie and Beatrice, and as his concern for Catherine and her “walkin’ wavy” grows we ask ourselves will this manifest into obsession and him losing control?
Miller shows the division and change of Eddie’s love for Catherine by dividing the play into two acts. In act 1, Miller portrays Eddie as a loving husband with a fatherly love for Catherine; however this changes in act 2 where his love dramatically changes into romantic love for Catherine where he is neglecting Beatrice. “When will I be a wife again” symbolises the decline in their relationship as Eddie’s grasp of control begins to slip. The structure of the play also symbolises the opposite sides with Eddie, in act 1, being popular and Louis and Mike seeking his friendship in the quote “wanna go bowlin’ tonight?”. Miller uses these periphery characters in act 2 to illustrate the divide of his friendship and ostracise from society.
Miller manipulates the story of Vinny Bolzano early on in the play which is parable and symbolises the...