The Dramatic Function of Alfieri's character in A View from the Bridge
A View from the Bridge’ is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1955. In the 20th century, America’s industry, agriculture, and the economy were growing rapidly. This attracted many immigrants all around the world, many being Sicilians. These immigrants came to America with the thought in their mind that they'd become rich or happy which was known to be" the American Dream". During World War 2, Miller worked as a ship fitter in the Brooklyn Navy Shipyard where he interacted with many Sicilians and ‘made connections with their family-centred concerns full of Sicilian dramas’. This eventually led him to write the play ‘A View from the Bridge’. This play is a modern tragedy as it is about Eddie Carbone meeting his end due to his flaws. Alfieri begins as a narrator (like the Greek chorus), but also becomes a character as the play progresses. This enables Alfieri to elaborate the play and helps the audience to view Eddie as a tragic hero. Without Alfieri, ‘A View from the Bridge’ would be incomplete. Alfieri position also links back to the title of the play because he can see both American and Sicilian side.
Alfieri starts the play off, as a narrator, however, later on he plays the role of becomes a character. This enables Miller to foreshadow the plot with more efficiency as well as clarify Eddie’s position and highlight the inevitability of the tragedy. When he says he ‘heard the same complaint and sat there as powerless as I, and watched it run its bloody course’ this tells the audience that later in the play something tragic is going occur. Not only does this demonstrate that the tragedy is inevitable but also Alfieri functions like a chorus in Greek play as he narrates and gives information about the plot, which makes it very obvious to the audience that it is a tragedy. Later on, when Alfieri becomes a character, he starts to converse with Eddie and by the end of the conversation; we know that Eddie is going to call the immigration bureau. This gives the audience
Alfieri starts the play off, as a narrator, however, later on he plays the role of becomes a character. This enables Miller to foreshadow the plot with more efficiency as well as clarify Eddie’s position and highlight the inevitability of the tragedy. When he says he ‘heard the same complaint and sat there as powerless as I, and watched it run its bloody course’ this tells the audience that later in the play something tragic is going occur. Not only does this demonstrate that the tragedy is inevitable but also Alfieri functions like a chorus in Greek play as he narrates and gives information about the plot, which makes it very obvious to the audience that it is a tragedy. Later on, when Alfieri becomes a character, he starts to converse with Eddie and by the end of the conversation; we know that Eddie is going to call the immigration bureau. This gives the audience