English Coursework

Jamie1996

Hi,

Could any one tell me what grade they think this piece of coursework on A view from the bridge is

Thank you, honest answers pleassee. :smile:

Discuss Eddie Carbone as a tragic hero

Eddie Carbone is an ordinary man living through our own times unfortunately he has a major character flaw which is his downfall. The Greek philosopher Aristotle described a tragic hero as 'Is one who is neither villainous nor exceptionally virtuous, moving from happiness to misery through some frailty or error in judgment.' Eddie does not fall because of pride ego or ambition it is due to a frailty in his character.

The lawyer Mr. Alfieri is a chronic figure doing the chorus of the play and also acting as a bridge between the audience and the characters. He is seen as a bad omen superstition from the community believes if you meet a lawyer it is bad luck. This gives us clues to alert us as the audience to what might happen. In Alfieri's prologue the themes of justice and superstition are brought up. This is a lot like the Shakespearian play Macbeth as the witches at the beginning of the play is a bad omen. Eddie is a longshoreman in New York he lives with his wife Beatrice and his young niece Catherine. You can see from the first seen that Eddie is very shielding over Catherine his frailty is revealed by suggesting her skirt is 'too short'. Catherine tells Eddie about a job opportunity but Eddie is strongly opposed to it, this shows his frailty as he is too protective over Catherine. Eddie makes the excuse that the job she is taking is in a unsafe area. Both of the women try to sway him and Eddie easily gives in to before. Catherine's reaction makes Eddie feel good as she is pleased so is he. Eddie warns the two women to not discuss about the two immigrants that are about too come. The mood at the dinner table changes as they talk about the immigrants. Marco and his younger brother Rodolfo arrive to stay at Eddie's house. Eddie is aware of the attraction between Rodolfo and Catherine. Eddie is also aware that Catherine is wearing high heels and insults her 'What's the high heels for, Garbo?' Eddie tries to break up the relationship between Catherine and Rodolfo but instead he is parting himself further and further away from his niece this is ironic.

In the second half of the play you see Eddie's destiny sealed. In one afternoon Eddie come home drunk to find that Catherine and Rodolfo have made love. In his drunkenness he kisses both Catherine and Rodolfo this is ironic because it distances her away from Eddie. He does it to Rodolfo to show that 'the guy ain't right' as he has been saying all along. Eddie has been using this as an excuse to stop the relationship between Catherine and Rodolfo. Eddie as a last act of getting rid of Rodolfo is going to inform the immigration about the illegal immigrants. Alfieri warns Eddie of the consequences 'You won't have a friend in the world' but Eddie does it any way.

Here we see a strong example of prophetic irony as he told the story of Vinny Bolzano and now he was doing something that he was totally against. Eddie's plan rebounds on him not only Marco and Rodolfo are discovered by the immigration but so did the Lipari cousins. Eddie is horrified by learning this fact and is accused by Marco 'That one! He killed my children!' Eddie is waiting for Marco to admit he was wrong by accusing him at this moment Beatrice says something to Eddie. 'You want somethin' else, and you can never have her!' At this point Eddie goes wild because maybe inside he knows Beatrice is right. When Eddie faces Marco he makes giant mistake which in the end kills him. Marco turns Eddies own knife in his hand against him and dies by his own knife a symbol of the tragic hero destroying himself with his or hers own frailty. Alfieri ends the play with stating that it is 'better to settle for half'.

Here the writer Arthur Miller is warning us as the audience not to make the same mistake as the characters in the play did. He is sending out a didactic message which warns us. Hero's are seen as people who are brave or talented in some way they have the world at their feet. Eddie though is a normal guy with a job a loving wife and niece compared to other people he has it good.

Alfieri says about Eddie 'His eyes were like tunnels' to me this means the effects of the play have made Eddie have one destiny. As soon as the Rodolfo and Marco had arrived Eddie had sealed his fate. The quote refers to Eddie's eyes which mean he only had one purpose of living and that was to be with his niece Catherine. But his world is turned around when he meets Marco and Rodolfo and due to a character flaw it leads to his demise.

Reply 1

daniel-sweet

I personally would give it a Grade B. You have made a load of valid points but haven't fully explained them. You could also have used more quotes. However, the standard of writing is excellent! Good Luck in your exams!

Reply 2

Jamie1996

Original post by daniel-sweet

Hi Daniel,

In regards to your post in my thread, what grade would you give this below

sorry for taking up your time! but I need someone to check it this is why I have resorted to TSR

In A View From The Bridge, Miller effectively created a modern Greek tragedy, with Eddie Carbone, as his tragic hero: the protagonist that contributes to their own downfall through a fault, or a weakness in their personality, despite starting of with the correct intentions.

The audience is aware of Eddie Carbone's unfortunate fate at the start of the play. His status as the main character in the play, and the fact that Miller aimed to create the play as a modern Greek tragedy tells us that Eddie's fate in this case is in fact unavoidable. This idea is introduced to the audience straight way, in Alfieri's opening monologue, when he says: "And this one's name was Eddie Carbone" (4) the use of past tense suggesting that Eddie Carbone is no longer alive, foreshadowing the end of the play and his inevitable downfall and eventual death. Alfieri feels a sense of helplessness as he tells the story, as he "lost his strength somewhere" (48) which suggests that the play will end violently or dramatically, and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

Despite this, Eddie begins as a caring, simple 'longshoreman' who cares little for anything outside his work and family. We immediately see his good side as he offers his hospitality to those in need of it. He is already taking care of his niece, and allows Marco and Rodolpho into his home. He puts his family first, even when it does mean that he "ends up on the floor"(8). The fact that Eddie starts off as a good and generous man helps give him the 'tragic hero' image, and helps make his downfall more dramatic.

Miller also presents Eddie as a tragic hero by suggesting that the play is going to "run its bloody course" (4), foreshadowing the horrific ending of the play. Eddie describes Vinny Bolzano who "snitched to Immigration" (13) early on in the play, which led to him being isolated from his own community. Since such a great importance is put on this fact early on in the play, it suggests that something similar is fated for Eddie as well, and since Eddie is aware of how much shame this act would bring him in his community, it shows how prepared he is to ruin Catherine and Rodolpho's relationship.

Eddie's adherence to his traditional Sicilian values as opposed to the modern lifestyles that Catherine and Rodolpho prefer to live suggest that there will be much conflict between the characters, which can only result in Eddie's demise. Eddie criticises his niece for "walkin' wavy"(6) and is hesitant about her getting about a job, despite him now being in a society where short skirts and high heels are widely accepted and are even "the style now"(5). Conflict between Eddie and Rodolpho in this matter is also evident when Eddie condemns Rodolpho's spending: "a snappy new jacket he buys, records, a pointy pair of new shoes" (28).

It is evident as the play moves on that Eddie's feelings for Catherine go much beyond a parental love, and are clearly inappropriate feelings; he is determined to pursue the impossible. These feelings, when realised by other characters, only worsen the situation. When Beatrice realises his feelings for Catherine, she claims: "You want somethin' else, Eddie, and you can never have her!"(62) His relationship with Beatrice, understandably, dramatically worsens due to this. Eddie's love for his niece is further suggested by his hate for Rodolpho, and his constant determination to separate Catherine and Rodolpho. He immediately dislikes Rodolpho as suggested by his "concealed suspicion"(22), which

coincides with Catherine's immediate attraction to Rodolpho, and her obsession with his good looks and blond hair: "he's practically blond"(17). Eddie is constantly criticising Rodolpho, even suggesting that he may be homosexual, in efforts to pull him and Catherine apart: "and with that wacky hair, he's like a chorus girl or sump'm" (23). However, the more Eddie tries to tear them apart, the closer Catherine and Rodolpho become, and his refusal of living in a world in which the outcome is not the one he desires, means that the conflict between Catherine and Rodolpho and Eddie can only be resolved with his downfall.

As Eddie lets his feelings for Catherine overpower his actions, he begins to become less in contact with the real world. His constant outward and obvious hatred for Rodolpho leads to a severely weakened relationship between himself and Catherine: "I can't stay here no more" (47). The relationship between them becomes so weak that Catherine even says that Eddie "comes when nobody's lookin' and poisons decent people" (61). His relationship with Beatrice also deteriorates, as they argue over Catherine, as Eddie refuses to give her the independence Beatrice believes she deserves.

Eddie's presentation as a tragic hero is an evident one: although he starts off as a decent man, as any tragic hero would, the hero's flaw, which in Eddie's case, is his uncontrollable love for his daughter, leads him into taking disastrous measures, and eventually, taking his own life.

Reply 3

JDMUFC

I would award this a high C grade. Well done.

This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Reply 4

daniel-sweet

Good evening Jamie,

I am terribly sorry for the late reply. I have only recently got back into using TSR...
I'm not sure if you would still like me to grade your essay but I have read it anyway.
I would award your piece a very high B. You have explained all of your points well and to their potential.
You used a lot of quotes varying in length which made your essay flow and easy to read

Keep up the good work!

Daniel

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