A STUDY OF THEME DEPICTED THROUGH THE MAJOR CHARACTERS AND PLOT AS SEEN IN ARTHUR MILLER’S
A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
ADITYA CAHYO NUGROHO Student Number: 06 4214 016
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
i
A STUDY OF THEME DEPICTED THROUGH THE MAJOR CHARACTERS AND PLOT AS SEEN IN ARTHUR MILLER’S
A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
ADITYA CAHYO NUGROHO Student Number: 06 4214 016
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
iii
vi
Do. Or do not. There is no try.
(Star Wars: Episode V
–
Empire
Strikes Back)
Yesterday is History,
Tommorow is a Mistery,
but Today is a Gift.
That‘s why it is Called a ―Present‖
vii
My undergraduate thesis is
devoted to my beloved
viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I want to give my greatest thank to my Lord, Jesus Christ for his
revelation so that I can do and finish my thesis. Thank you for Your blessing and
enlightenment during my thesis working as there is no God but Him. In Him I
believe, through Him everything is possible. You are my savior and my eternal
advisor. I believe in You now and forever.
Second, I give my deepest gratitude to my advisor, Dra. Sri Mulyani, M.A.,
Ph.D. for her guidance and believe in my work. Then, I greatly thank my
co-advisor, Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. for his correction and suggestion on
my thesis writing. I thank them for their time to read, correct and critized my
thesis.
I also sincerely expressed my gratitude to all lecturers in Sanata Dharma
University especially to English Letters lecturers, for their patience in guiding me
through this study.
My biggest thank goes to my beloved parents, B. Budi Sardjono, B.
Widiyanti and my brothers Anton Harmoko and Andi Haryanto, M.Sn. for their
support, patience and care. Thank you mom, ―you‘re my sun, my moon, my
guiding star, you are my everything‖ (Barry White).
Thanks to all my friends in English Letters Department 06, to all my After
20 teammate, Dhika, Acong, Atom, Hasan, Gentur, Handoko, Helfi. I also give
thanks to my KKN friends: Cemara, Firma, Monica, Paul, Tirza, and Willy thank
you for all the lovely days in my life. I also thank all my friends whose names
x ABSTRACT
ADITYA CAHYO NUGROHO. A Study of Theme Depicted through the Major Characters and Plot as Seen in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2013.
This research deals with one of Arthur Miller‘s works A View from the Bridge. In this study, the writer focuses on the theme finding. To support this research the writer uses two intrinsic elements, character and plot. Those two elements are used to answer the three objectives of this research. These three
objectives are the description of the major characters‘ characterization, the
description of plot and the contribution of major characters‘ characterization and plot in determining the theme of A View from the Bridge.
This research is based on the library research and intrinsic elements. The formalistic approach is used to analyze the internal element based on the other internal elements of the literary works. It also supports the main subject of this research, A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller. Some studies related to this research and the main subject A View from the Bridge,are also used. In order to answer the three objectives, the writer also uses some theories. They are theory of character and characterization, theory of plot and theory of theme.
By studying major characters‘ characterization, the writer reveals the characteristics of Eddie Carbone, Marco and Alfieri. Eddie is a complex character in A View from the Bridge. He is considered as a round character. First, he is a caring person but changes into overpotective, then becomes possesive in conjunction with the arrival of Beatrice‘s cousins. Subsequently he changes into a jealous person because he does not like the relationship between Catherine; her
niece and Rodolpho; one of Beatrice‘s cousins. Marco‘s characteristics are affected with Eddie‘s characterization. At first, he is respectful to Eddie but in the end he loses his respect and become disrespectful related to Eddie‘s jealousy to Catherine and Rodolpho relationship. The last major character is Alfieri, he is a well-educated and reliable person.
The plot is divided into four parts, introduction, complication, climax and denouement. From the plot the structure of the play can be seen. Based on the plot, Eddie‘s jealousy to Rodolpho made Marco suffer because he reports Marco and Rodolpho to the Immigration Bureau. Marco lost his job so he cannot beatify his family. Eddie wants his justice as Marco accuses him as a betrayer and Marco wants his justice as what Eddie does to him. On one hand, Eddie reports them because they break the Immigration laws. On the other hand, Marco wants to revenge Eddie because he breaks the community law. Both of them break the law and both of them seek for justice. Alfieri can not do anything. As an Italian-American lawyer he is attached to both laws. Based on the analysis of the major
xi ABSTRAK
ADITYA CAHYO NUGROHO. A Study of Theme Depicted through the Major Characters and Plot as Seen in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2013.
Penelitian ini berkaitan dengan salah satu karya dari Arthur Miller A View from the Bridge. Karya ini merupakan salah satu drama yang menarik karena banyak berkenaan dengan aspek kehidupan manusia yaitu cinta, benci, dan harga diri yang tertuang di dalam ceritanya.
Dalam penelitian ini penulis fokus pada pencarian tema. Untuk mendukung penelitian ini penulis menggunakan dua dari intrinsik elemen yang ada dalam drama ini yaitu tokoh dan plot. Keduanya akan digunakan untuk menjawab ketiga objek dalam penelitian ini yakni pendeskripsian karakterisasi para karakter utama, pendeskripsian plot dan kontribusi karakterisasi para karakter utama dan plot dalam pencarian tema di A View from the Bridge.
Karena penelitian ini berdasar pada penelitian pustaka dan intrinsik elemen yang terkandung di dalamnya. Maka, pendekatan formalistik digunakan untuk menganalisa salah satu intrinsik elemen dengan menggunakan intrinsik elemen yang lain. Hal ini juga didukung dengan beberapa studi yang berkenaan dengan penelitian ini dengan subjek utama penelitian yaitu A View from the Bridge. Selain daripada itu penulis juga menggunakan beberapa teori untuk mendukung penelitian ini. Teori yang digunakan antara lain teori tokoh dan penokohan, teori plot dan teori tema.
Pendeskripsian sifat-sifat karakter utama yaitu Eddie Carbone, Marco dan Alfieri telah penulis temukan. Pertama, Eddie Carbone, dia merupakan karakter yang kompleks, karakternya bersifat dinamis. Pada awal cerita dia seorang yang peduli, namun berubah menjadi overprotektif lalu berubah menjadi possesif bersamaan dengan setibanya sepupu Beatrice dan akhirnya menjadi pencemburu karena dia tidak suka dengan hubungan Catherine dan Rodolpho. Penokohan Marco dipengaruhi oleh sifat-sifat penokohan dari Eddie. Pada awalnya dia sangat menghormati Eddie tapi pada akhirnya dia tidak hormat lagi dengan Eddie. Yang terakhir, Alfieri, dia seorang pengacara yang terpelajar dan dapat dipercaya.
Di dalam lakon ini, plot dibagi menjadi empat bagian yaitu perkenalan, kerumitan masalah, klimaks, dan penyelesaian. Dari plot ini dapat dilihat bahwa kecemburuan Eddie telah membuat Marco sengsara, pelaporan Eddie kepada biro imigrasi telah membuatnya kehilangan pekerjaan dan kesempatan untuk membahagiakan keluarganya. Eddie menginginkan keadilan atas tuduhan Marco bahwa dia seorang pengkhianat, di lain pihak Marco ingin keadilan atas apa yang dilakukan Eddie terhadapnya. Eddie melaporkan mereka karena mereka melanggar hukum keimigrasian sedangkan Marco ingin membalas dendam karena Eddie melanggar hukum komunitasnya. Keduanya melanggar hukum dan keduanya mencari keadilan. Alfieri sebagai pengacara Italia-Amerika tidak dapat berbuat banyak karena terikat oleh kedua hukum itu. Tema yang didapat dari penelitian tentang tokoh dan plot adalah ―hukum tidak selalu menghasilkan
1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
Literary work can be viewed as a portrait of human life. Both fiction and
non-fiction will capture some aspects of human life. The story of human life
basically can be found in some literary works; like poetry, play, drama,
play-script, and novel. Some stories contain human feelings such as sadness,
happiness, anger, gloom, and many more.
Moody in Literary Appreciation: A Practical Guide to the Understanding
and Enjoyment of Literature in English, states thatliterature brings us back to the
realities of human situations, problems, feelings, and relationships. (1968:3)
Related with Moody‘s perspective that literature serves the reality based on
human life, William J. Grace in Response to Literature, also states that
Literature gives us a special knowledge of life that is not identical with that of real experience but provide a provitable supplement in terms of intellectual and critical values. It is actually possible for a well-read person to make a mature evaluation of life without having had a great deal of direct experience. (1965:7)
The quotation above means that literature is the mirror of life. Since literary work
is a reflection of human life, it may bring the readers to the reality of the human
situation without having its experience. In other words, the readers could
Another theorist, like Hudson in An Introduction to the Study of Literature
also states that literature is a representation of human life, with its own problems
and solutions.
Literature is a vital record of what men have seen in life, what they have experienced of it, what they have thought and felt about those aspects of it which have the most immediate and enduring interest for all of us. It is thus fundamentally an expression of life through the medium of language. It is important to understand; to begin with, that literature lives by virtue of the life which it embodies (1958: 10).
According to Rohrberger and Woods, there are four modern literary genres.
They are the short story, the poetry, the novel and the play or drama. Each genre
has its own form (1971: 19). The play or drama is a literary work, which is
written to be played on the stage. In other words, drama is not only the
representative object of human life by its story but also gives pleasure and
mentality amusement by its performance. As Reaske states, a drama is a work of
literature or a composition which delineates life and human activity by means of
presenting various actions of a group of characters. (1988:5) Drama has some
elements in its story; there are characters, plot, setting, and stage direction.
Characters are the most important element in drama; when people see a play; their
attention will focus on the character.
In Drama and Performance: An Anthology, Gary Vena and Andrea Nouryeh
say that drama requires imagination to understand the content more than in most
other forms of literature. In drama, we can see what is explicitly said and done.
Therefore, the explication of the implied and the unspoken are understandable.
Dramatically fiercely extends the characters‘ action and conflict through time and
understanding drama, we have to understand how dramatic scripts work in setting
the stage, developing the characters, and advancing the story. It is also described
that ―most plays move forward through the resolution of conflicts that develop
between characters. These conflicts create tension and become the catalysts for
further physical or psychological action‖ (Vena and Nouryeh, 1996: viii-ix).
Drama is a special and unique form of writing in the world of literature. It is
different from other literary works like poetry, novel, or fiction. Drama has
different processes in telling the story by using stage directions and dialogue to
describe the environment or the characters in the story. Drama is meant to be
more than language on a page. It needs not only to be read but also to be
performed. Through its performance, the audiences will be helped to understand
more about the story (Vena and Nouryeh, 1996: viii).
Drama is a type of literary work that is usually created for a play
performance. The advantage given by a technical performance, however, requires
the limitations of the material it can present. A play must be able to hold the
attention of a group audience. A higher demand than in prose fiction is placed for
a well-defined plot, swift exposition, strong conflicts, and dramatic confrontation.
Unless the play is very brief, it must usually be divided into parts separated by an
intermission or intermissions, and each part must work up to its own climax or
point of suspense. It must be written in such a way that its central meanings may
In drama characters are the implementation of human being in real life with
their emotions and behaviors or it can be said that drama is the imitation of life.
Barranger writes in Understanding Plays that
Drama's characters are images of active human beings. To be credible, their manner and dress must fit their period, place, and social class. Their speech must suit their age, sex, personality, class and circumstances. Their actions must be rooted in situation. The playwright's success depends on skill in developing characters and events together in believable and convincing patterns of choice and behavior (1994:339).
The above quotation also means that drama cannot be separated from human
life. In drama the author tries to comprehend the character‘s life with the human
life in some aspects.
In Understanding Plays, drama is described as the reflection of ourselves; it
leads us to discoveries and reflections about our personalities, circumstances,
desires, anxieties, hopes, and dreams. It is able to show the ways in satisfying our
willingness in relationships or confronting despair in death. The characters in the
play have struggled to show love and affection to one another. ―Great plays
confront us with life‘s varieties, conveying the hope, courage, despair,
compassion, violence, love hate, exploitation, and generosity experienced by all
humankinds ‖(Barranger, 1994:7).
Barranger also states that drama is unique among the representational arts in
that it represents 'reality' by using real human beings -actors- as characters- to
create its fictional universe (1994:338). It means that drama is a reality‘s
manifesto. According to Reinert in Drama: An Introductory Anthology, ―Drama is
distinguished from the other forms of literature not just by performability but also
quotation means that drama is diverse in how it‘s performed, how to characterize
the characters, and how the message of the play infiltrates the audiences.
In the analysis, the writer wants to find the theme. The focus of the analysis
is to find the identical relationship between characters and plot in ways to find the
theme of the story. Theme is the interesting element in which it can show what the
story is about and it gives the reader the deep understanding and taught about
human‘s life. According to Stanton in An Introduction to Fiction, at finding the
theme, the readers must go deeper to the characters‘ characteristics and the plot.
(1965:21)
As the subject of the study, the writer analyzes the major characters and the
plot through Arthur Miller‘s A View from the Bridge. A View from the Bridge is
one of Arthur Miller‘s masterpieces and Arthur Miller was an excellent
playwright.
He produces some great plays and biography such as The Man Who Had All
the Luck, opened in 1944 and his next play, All My Sons, received the Drama
Critics' Circle Award. His 1949 Death of a Salesman won the Pulitzer Prize.
Among his works are A View from the Bridge, The Misfits, After the Fall, Incident
at Vichy, The Price, The American Clock, Broken Glass, Mr. Peters' Connections,
and Timebends, his autobiography. Miller's writing has earned him a lifetime of
honors, including the Pulitzer Prize, seven Tony Awards, two Drama Critics
Circle Awards, an Obie, an Olivier, the John F. Kennedy Lifetime Achievement
degrees from Oxford University and Harvard University.
(http://www.neh.gov/about/awards/jefferson-lecture/arthur-miller-biography)
The writer is interested in reading this play, because of the dramatic figure
of the story. The major characters of the play, Eddie Carbone, Marco and Alfieri
are the main attention to the story. How their relationship is the main object of
analysis. Therefore, the writer wants to analyze the theme of the play based on the
major characters‘ life. Moreover, by analyzing this play in ways to find the theme
through the major characters‘ characteristics and the plot, hopefully the readers
noticed the message that can be learned in this thesis.
B. Problem Formulation
Referring to the background of the study above, there are three main
questions formulated that will be discussed in this study. The questions are:
1. How are the major characters portrayed in Arthur Miller's A View from the
Bridge?
2. How is the plot described in Arthur Miller‘s A View from the Bridge?
3. How do the major characters and the plot in Arthur Miller‘s A View from the
Bridge convey the theme?
C. Objectives of the Study
Based on problem formulation above, the purpose of this study is to convey
the theme depicted through the major characters‘ characteristics and the plot of
the play. The objective can be found by answering the three questions in the
The first one, the writer analyzes the characteristics of Eddie Carbone,
Marco and Alfieri as the major characters in this play. Then, the writer moves to
the next objective. The second objective, the writer tries to know how the plot is
described. The third or last objective, the writer tries to know the contribution of
the major characters‘ characteristics and the plot in Arthur Miller‘s A View from
the Bridge conveys the theme of the play.
D. Definition of Terms
In this part, the writer tries to give some definitions in order to help and to
answer some formulated problems above, so the readers can understand the
explanation within this analysis. Therefore there are some key terms that are used
in the next parts to avoid ambiguities and misunderstanding in meaning.
1. Character
In A Glossary Literary Terms, Abrams states that a character is a person
presented in a dramatic or narrative work, which is interpreted by the reader as
being endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what
he says, the dialogue, and what he does, the action (1981: 20). In understanding
the characters, the readers should pay attention to the behavior of the characters.
2. Plot
In The Anatomy of Drama, Marjorie Boulton states, ―A plot has a beginning,
which leads, through middle to an end; it makes some kind of pattern; the
probability must appear not only in events, but also in their sequence; a plot
contains motives, sequences, and relationships‖. (1968:45) In other words, plot is
3.Theme
In A Handbook to Literature, theme is a central or dominating idea of a
work. Holman and Harmon also added information that a theme is the abstract
concept that is made concrete through its representation in person, action and
image in the work. (1986:502)
According to Barnhart (1956:2173), the word ―theme‖ means a topic or a
subject. In Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, Perrine defines the theme of a
piece of fiction is its controlling idea or its central insight. It is the unifying
generalization about life or implied in the story. He said that to derive a theme of
a story we must ask what its central purpose is, what the view of life it supports or
9 CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
The deeper understanding of a play arouses people to be more sensitive
toward the reality. As each of the experience of a play, make people more aware
or careless with the real situation. A View from the Bridge is one of the famous
Arthur Miller‘s works. As explained in A Guide to A View from the Bridge.
After graduating from university he worked as a journalist and began writing plays but he also worked in the Brooklyn shipyards for two years and met many Italian workers and their families. Miller learnt a lot about the struggles of Italian immigrants when he worked in the shipyards. It was this experience that gave him the idea of writing A View from the Bridge told by a longshoreman. (Sean Sheehan and Tony Buzan, 1999: 1)
The quotation above means that A View from the Bridge is a play that shows
a real situation in which Arthur Miller faces. The story of the play is the story of
Italian immigrants‘ life.
Related to Nila Krisnawati‘s thesis entitled Eddie’s Personality Changes as
the Effect of His Incestuous Love as seen in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge, she said ―Arthur Miller can prove himself as a talented social playwright
through his work in A View from the Bridge ―(2006: 22). It is a proved that A
View from the Bridge has given a great influence in his work, or it can be said that
Arthur Miller is not only great novelist but also great in the playwright.
Arthur Miller‘s A View from the Bridge is a kind of classic dramaturgy that
has an adequate pattern of tragic hero (Greek tragedy). In this drama, Arthur
character of this play he has a responsibility in controlling and monitoring his
society. Hogins in Literature said that ―A View from the Bridge was originally a
one act-play written in the genre of naturalism‖ (1975: 882). It can be said that the
characters in this play are more realistic. Miller related the relationships of the
neighborhood characters to a rigid code of ethics that influence each of the
characters‘ actions and reactions.
Arthur Miller states in An Introduction to Literature by Sylvan Barnet,
Morton Berman, and William Burto that:
If I is true to say that in essence the tragic hero is intent upon claiming his whole due as a personality, and if this struggle must be total and without reservation, then it automatically demonstrates the indestructible will of man
to achieve his humanity….It is curious, although edifying, that the plays we
revere, century after century, are the tragedies. In them and in them alone, lies the belief – optimistic, if you will – in the perfectibility of man. (1993:652)
The quotation above reveals that most of the audience often senses triumph
rather than despair in tragedies. The tragedy in the play occasionally related to the
death of the main character or the protagonist ones.
Drama from Ibsen to Brecht, said that ―A View from the Bridge emphasizes
one personal being broken and destroyed by guilt‖ (Williams, 1971:274). The
crisis is related to the relationship of a party illegal Italian group-Brooklyn
waterfront. Eddie Carbone‘s breakdown and guilt relate to the relationship with
his community in Redhook. The breakdown leads to a sin against his community,
when he reports the two brothers that lived in his apartment to the Immigration
Bureau. As a part of the community he betrays his own group because he cannot
Another review says, ―Miller decided to make this play because he was
interested in the tale of someone who can be driven to make ‗a sacrifice of
himself for his conception, however misguided, of right, dignity and justice‘.‖
(Sheehan and Buzan, 1999: 2)
The above quotation remarks that A View from the Bridge was a play that
draws from a longshoreman‘s life that fell into his guilt, as his wrong decision. In
this play, Arthur Miller tries to explore further about the audiences‘ reaction
toward the play from the beginning to the end.
This research serves some elements of the study that differ with the previous
study. Most of the previous studies focus only on the extrinsic elements such as
the author, the societal and historical perception. This thesis tries to develop the
previous study that has been done before; and this research only focuses on the
major characters and plot as the intrinsic elements of the play in order to reveal
the theme of the play.
B. Review of Related Theories
1. Theory of Characters and Characterization
In Drama: An Introductory Anthology character is aware of themselves only
as people in real life are aware of themselves and they are only constituent
moving parts in shape patterns of action, because of that what happens to them
can seem more meaningful than the random events that befall ourselves. (Reinert,
1964: xxvii) It can be said that the characters are the implementation of human
According to Perrine in Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense an author
describes his or her own characters based on his or her styles, there are two types
of presentations: direct and indirect.
An author may present his characters either directly or indirectly, in direct presentation he tells us straight out by exposition or analysis or has someone else in the story tells us what he is like. In indirect presentation the author shows us the character in action, we infer what he is like from what he thinks or says or do. (1974: 68)
Based on their psychological behavior, there are two kinds of characters
namely flat and round characters. The flat characters are the characters that
represent single characteristics, treat, idea or limited number of qualities. The flat
characters are static and do not develop as fully as round characters. Round
characters are complex in temperament and motivation. Round characters are
dynamic and often appear as the center of the story. They represent number
qualities or traits and complex multidimensional characters of significant
intellectual and emotional depth that have the capacity to grow and changes
(Forster, 1974: 73). Forster's theory is applied in this research because of the
characteristics changing on the major characters; there is no certainty in major
characters' characterization. Relevant to the two quotations above, characters are
the divine of the author itself, how she or he creates the characters through his or
her passion and the co-related to his or her personal emotion to the characters.
M.H Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms stated in the following.
The quotation above means that characters are built in some unique characteristics,
which are including the moral and emotional endeavor of the characters. As Abrams
says that the characters' characteristics can be seen through their dialogues or other
characters‘ response to the characters‘ behavior.
According to Baldick, character sketched briefly describing some recognizable
types of person (1991:33-34). It means that the reader will understand the other
person characters by observing the characters in the play, by observing the characters
in the play; the readers can define the other person types like good, bad, kind,
loveable or evil.
Richard Goldstone in Context of the Drama (1960: 6) gives some ways in
knowing about characterization in play. They are:
1. Dialogue spoken by the character
2. Dialogue spoke about the character
3. Action taken by the character
4. The personality and interpretation of the actor playing the role
The above quotation says that characterization can be seen through the dialogues in
the play, action and the behavior of the characters and the audience‘s interpretation
about the characters.
According to Holman and Harmon in A Handbook to Literature (1986: 95),
there are three fundamental methods of characterization:
1. The explicit presentation by the author of the character through direct exposition,
either in an introductory block or more often piecemeal throughout the work,
2. The presentation of the character in action, with little or no explicit comment by
the author, in the expectation that the reader can deduce the attribute of the actor
from the action.
3. The representation from within a character, without comment by the author, of
the impact of actions and emotions on the character‘s inner self.
The previous quotation means that characterization is the way how the author
explicitly explains about the characters itself; there are some ways for the author in
introducing the characters. First, the direct exposition of the characters reveals the
understanding of the readers. Second, the action of the characters in which the
audience or the reader recognizes it. Third, characters‘ inner attribute show their
personality.
2. Theory of Plot
The writer uses the theory on plot as a support information in writing this
thesis. According to Aristotle in Holman and Harmon‘s A Handbook to
Literature, plot is defined as ―the arrangement of the incidents‖ he also stated that
there are five basic concepts of plot in drama; exposition, rising action, climax or
turning point, falling action and denouement or a catastrophe. (1986: 379) It
means that each element in a plot cannot be separated, as it is the unity of actions‘
arrangement.
Related to Boulton in The Anatomy of Drama (1968: 45), ―A plot has a
beginning, which leads, through middle to an end; it makes some kind of pattern;
the probability must appear not only in events, but also in their sequence; a plot
contains motives, sequences, and relationships‖. The quotation means that a plot
In addition Yelland, Jones and Easton in A Handbook of Literary Terms,
stated that plot is the framework of a story, or the conscious arrangement of its
events. In which its pattern consist of exposition, raveling or complication,
climax, and denouement or unraveling. This pattern is alternatively stated as
exposition, rising, action, falling action. (1953: 147-148) Therefore, plot is the
main concept in the story.
Related to the information above, these are the following pattern of plot
based on Yelland, Jones and Easton theory:
a. Exposition
Exposition is the beginning of the story where the characters are introduced,
the background sketched, and the problem stated. (Yelland, Jones, and Easton
1953: 148) The above statement means that exposition is the basic item in the
story.
b. Ravelling or Complication
Ravelling or complication is the arouse of the characters‘ interest coincide
with the introduction of the difficulties. (Yelland, Jones, and Easton, 1953: 148)
The other word, complication is the rising action of introducing conflict.
c. Climax
Climax is the accumulation of the great expectancy and preceding incidents.
(Yelland, Jones, and Easton, 1953: 148) In the other words, climax is the highest
d. Denouement or Unraveling
Denouement is the conclusion of the finally worked out. (Yelland, Jones,
and Easton, 1953: 148) Moreover, denouement is the resolution of the conflict or
the set of actions bringing the story to its conclusion.
3. Theory of Theme
In A Handbook to Literature, Holman and Harmon state that theme is the
abstract concept that made concrete through its representation in person, action,
and image in the work. (1986: 551) In other words, theme is the unity of the main
idea and its representative figure in the story.
Another theory is taken from Yelland, Jones and Easton in A Handbook to
Literary Terms, theme is the central thought in a literary work. (1953: 205) It
means that theme is the basic concept of the story or the concept why the story is
built.
Meanwhile, Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms stated that theme is
general concept or doctrine, whether implicit or asserted, which an imaginative
work is designed to involve and make persuasive to the reader. (1981: 205)
Therefore, theme is the main idea or focus of the discussion that implies in a story.
Through the theme, readers will understand the purpose of the author why he or she
creates the story or what the author wants to show through his or her play. The theme
can affect the readers because sometimes theme shows value of life.
C. Theoretical Framework
In this part, the writer summarizes the framework of the theory. As the aim of
this thesis is to reveal the theme in Arthur Miller‘s A View from the Bridge depicted
mentioning theories before. The theories applied in this thesis are the theory of
characters and characterization, theory of plot, theory of theme. These theories help
the writer in answering the problem formulation.
To answer the first question in problem formulation, the writer uses the theory
of characters and characterization. This theory used to analyze the major characters in
A View from the Bridge, how the major characters behave and react in some
circumstances is the main object in the first question. This theory is needed to clear
out about the major characters and their characteristics.
In answering the second question, the writer uses the theory of plot. This theory
serves the groove and the sequence of the story. Therefore, this theory gives the
reader deeper understanding about the plot of the play.
After knowing the major characters‘ characteristics and the plot of the play, the
writer uses the theory of theme to disassemble the theme of the story. Those theories
18
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the methodology in this study. There are three
subtitles in this chapter: object of the study, in which the information on the novel
is presented, the approach of the study, discussion on the approaches in this study,
and method of the study, which tells about the procedure of gathering and
arranging the data used in writing this thesis.
A. Object of the study
In this part the writer wants to describe everything which is relevant to the
object of the study. The object of this study is a drama. This play is entitled A
View from the Bridge written by Arthur Miller. It was written in 1955 and
published by The Viking Press, Inc. This play received the Gold Medal Award for
Drama from the National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1955.
The book that the writer used was published in 1960 by Bantam Books, Inc.
It was an extended version with the introduction of Arthur Miller. It is a play with
two acts. A View from the Bridge is the work that is going to be used as the object
of this study. This play was written by Arthur Miller in 1955 and was first staged
in 1956. Miller wrote this play based on his experience when he worked in
Brooklyn neighborhoods. The play focuses on a doom-ridden family and the
community in front of which that household all-too-publicly disintegrates. In this
case, the family is the working-class-Italian Carbone in the community of Red
Catherine, who has begin to wear high heels and to walk "wavy." Guardian Uncle
Eddie's all-consuming adoration for his niece evolves into a lusty force stronger
than all the wise counsels, desperate pleas, and bad omens in the world.
(http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/review).
―A View from the Bridge has an unusually complicated performance history.
Inspired now by the true story of a Brooklyn dockworker who informed on two
illegal immigrants, Miller reconceived The Hook as A View from the Bridge. The
play, a one-act verse drama, was a mild failure on Broadway in 1955; critics
found its austere style un-involving. Miller had wanted to create a play that would
simply tell the tale he himself has heard, with no attempt to gain audience
sympathy for Eddie's - or anyone else's – plight‖
(http://www.eriding.net/amoore/gcse/viewfromthebridge.htm#history).
Based on the quotation above, A View from the Bridge is a typed of Greek
tragedy with its tragic hero of Italian-American longshoreman Eddie Carbone,
whose intransigence proves his downfall. The mind of Eddie Carbone is not
comprehensible apart from its relation to his neighborhood, his fellow workers,
and his social situation. His self-esteem depends upon their estimate of him, and
his value is created largely by the fidelity to the code of his culture. His downfall
arises because of his own action as he reports his cousins to the Immigration
Bureau, due to his jealousy of the relationship between Catherine (his niece) and
B. Approach of the Study
In analyzing the works of literature, some critics have their own ways and
approaches. They may be different from one to another even though they may
analyze the same work of literature. They may have different views in learning and
understanding the literary works, and they also have many approaches to define their
study. Thus, as this study deals with intrinsic elements such as characters, plot and
theme. Then it will be in line to apply the formalistic approach as the focus of the
literary work, which is going to be analyzed.
In A Handbook of Critical Approach to Literature, Wilfred L.Guerin states
that formalistic approach is an approach that involves ―close reading‖ or
―intensive reading‖. Intensive reading is the way of the readers to have a sensivity
to the words of the text and all their denotative and connotative values and
implications and to look for structural relationships and patterns – not just in the
words and their relationships, but also in larger units. (Guerin, 2004: 93-94) The
correspondence of the statement is that the formalistic approach tries to answer
the relationship between text and structures with its meanings and implicatures.
Moreover, according to Rene Welleck and Austin Warren in Kennedy and
Giola‘s Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama Seventh Edition
(2012: 1932),―The natural and sensible starting point for work in literary scholarship
is the interpretation and analysis of the works of literature themselves.‖ Thus, the
quotation shows that the formalistic approach only related to the intrinsic element of
a literary work. The quotation makes the reason to use formalistic approach in this
Formalistic approach helps the writer analyze the story by seeing and
understanding the behaviors of the major characters and the plot to find the theme
of the story. As Yelland, Jones and Easton in A Handbook to Literary Terms say
that theme is ―the central thought‖ of the story. It is necessary for the writer to use
the formalistic approach as Guerin says that formalistic approach is an approach
that insists on close reading and stating what is exposed in intrinsic elements.
C. Method of the study
Since literary work is the focus on the study, the writer uses library research
to answer the problem formulations. Library research has a meaning that books
are very important for doing a research where the data are collected. There are
two kinds of data used in this study. The primary source is A View from the
Bridge by Arthur Miller as an author. This novel was published by Bantam
Books, Inc in 1960.
The secondary data are some critics from theses and some books of theories.
Some of important sources which the writer used in this thesis are Nila
Krisnawati‘s thesis entitled Eddie’s Personality Changes as the Effect of His Incestuous Love as seen in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge, Elisabeth
Inatyas S.W‘s thesis entitled A Study of Character and Plot to Convey the Theme
as Seen in Amy Tan’s The Kitchen God’s Wife.
There are some books on theories that the writer used to provide the theory
of character, plot and theme as well as moral-philosophical approach. The books
are Drama: An Introductory Anthology by Reinert, A Handbook to Literature by
of Literary Terms by Yelland, Jones and Easton, A Handbook of Critical
Approach to Literature by Wilfried L. Guerin. After collecting the references, the
next step was finding the theme of the play. The theme of the play was finding by
using the major characters and the plot. The theme of the play was made by relating
23 CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
There are three parts of discussion in this research analysis. The first part
analyzes the major characters, Eddie Carbone, Marco and Alfieri. In order to
show their way of thinking and manners, theories of character and
characterization is used to reveal the three major characters. The second part
analyzes the systematic plot of the play, in order to arrange the important events
happen in the play. The last part unveils the theme of the play based on the major
characters and the plot of the play.
A. Characterization of the Major Characters
In Richaracd Goldstone‘s Context of the Drama, there are some ways in
knowing about characterization in play. They are dialogue spoken by the
character; dialogue spokes about the character, action taken by the character, and
the personality and interpretation of the actor playing the role (1960: 6).
While Holman and Harmon in A Handbook to Literature say that there are
three fundamental methods of characterization. They are the explicit presentation
of the author through exposition, the presentation of the character in action, the
representation from within a character. E.M Forster in Aspect of the Novel and
Related Writings states that characters can be divided into two groups, flat
characters and round characters. Flat characters are unchanged characters while
round characters are dynamic characters which grow and changes. Both of them
Out of the theories above, the writer analyzes the major characters‘
characteristics in A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller. A View from the
Bridge provides three major characters. In analyzing the major characters‘
characteristic, the writer uses Goldstone and Forster‘s theory in characterization.
Goldstone‘s theorem based on the characteristics which is found from the
characters‘ dialogue, gesture, and behavior in accordance with the audience‘s
interpretation on characters. Meanwhile, Forster‘s theory related to the
psychological behaviors of the characters. According to Forster, characterization
of the characters is divided into two, flat and round characters.
Flat characters are characters with limited expression and presentation in
their characteristic, or in another words; flat characters are unchanged. While
round characters are dynamic which are fluctuating, based on the alteration of
emotions and motivations during the play.
First, the main character of the play, Eddie Carbone is introduced. He is a
significant figure in the play, as the main character his role influences the other
major characters‘ characterization. He is categorized as a round character as his
characterizations alter during the play. He is described as a middle-age man,
rather stocky with wheezy voice. The quotation below explains it.
ALFIERI. This one‘s name was Eddie Carbone, a longshoreman working the docks from Brooklyn Bridge to the breakwater where the open sea begins. He is forty - a husky, slightly overweight longshoreman (p.5).
The second major character is Marco. Marco is also categorized as round
shift during the play. He is an immigrant from Italy and Beatrice‘s cousin. He is
calm, land-worker, and he has a significant role in the play.
MARCO. (he is a square-built peasant of thirty-two, suspicious, tender and quiet voiced) (p.25)
The last but not least major character is Alfieri, he is different from other
characters in the play. He has two different roles as a character and as a narrator.
In the play, Alfieri categorized as a flat character; it is because his
characterizations do not vary as the story goes. As a character, he is described as a
lawyer, and a well-educated man. While as a narrator he has a significant in
directing the situation in the play.
NARRATOR. Enter Alfieri, a lawyer in his fifties turning gray; he is portly, good-humored, and thoughtful….. (p. 3)
1. The Description of the Characteristics of Eddie Carbone
Eddie Carbone is the main character in Arthur Miller‘s A View from the
Bridge. He lived with his wife and his orphaned niece; his wife‘s name is Beatrice
and his niece‘s name is Chaterine. He had a big influence in the play. He works as
a longshoreman in Brooklyn shipyards. In the beginning of the story, they have a
fine living. However, it changed since the arrival of the two cousins, Marco and
Rodolpho.
In identifying the characteristics of Eddie Carbone, some methods of
characterization from Goldstone (1960: 6) are used. Nevertheless, Eddie‘s
characterizations change during the play, from a hero to a villain. Therefore,
Forster‘s theory on characterization (1978: 73) is used. Through his
1. Caring
At the beginning of the play his family looks fine and their relationship is
also good. It is because Eddie always takes care of his family especially his wife
and his orphaned niece. Thus, one of Eddie‘s characteristics is caring, as the head
of the family, he always gives them full attention. Eddie gives more attention to
his orphaned niece, Catherine. As Eddie and Beatrice do not have a daughter so
he always looks after his niece like his daughter. Eddie‘s concern with her niece‘s
skirt, shows his role as a typical father. He reminds Catherine to drees up
courteously, he does not Catherine to be in harm because of the way of dressing
up.
EDDIE.I think it‘s too short ain‘t it?
CATHERINE. (standing) No! not when I stand up.
EDDIE.Yeah, but you gotta sit down sometimes.………….. (p. 4)
Next, Eddie‘s concern to his wife, Beatrice. As her two cousins approach,
Beatrice is confused with the condition of the house. She wants to impress her
cousins when they arrive but the condition of the house does not sustain it,
therefore she feels desperate. Dealing with his wife condition, Eddie supports his
wife not to be worried about the condition of their house when her cousins
arrived.
BEATRICE.I‘m—I just—I can‘t believe it! I didn‘t even buy a tablecloth; I was gonna wash the walls—
EDDIE.Listen, they‘ll think it‘s a millionaire‘s house compared to the way
they live. Don‘t worry about the walls. They‘ll be thankful….. (p.
2. Overprotective
In this part Fosrter‘s theory is used as a reference to the characteristics on
Eddie Carbone. Previously, Eddie is described as a round character, his
characteristics change rapidly based on his feelings and emotions. As a father,
Eddie‘s has a tendency to be an excessive father‘s figure in protecting his family
especially his niece, Catherine. Eddie‘s role should not exceed his role as an
uncle, he always treats Catherine as a baby. In this part, his caring turns into
overprotectiveness. It can be seen when Catherine wants to change her style by
using a skirt and walking wavy, Eddie does not like it. He treats Catherine as his
own daughter, as not only his niece and he wants his daughter to be different from
all the girls outside.
EDDIE. Now don‘t aggravate me , Katie, you are walkin‘ wavy! I don‘t like
the looks they‘re givin‘ you in the candy store. And with them new
high heels on the sidewalks_clak, clak, clak. The heads are turnin‘ like windmills.
EDDIE. …………You‘re a baby, you don‘t understand these things……. (p. 7)
As an uncle Eddie‘s reaction is too overwhelming. Now, he forbids
everything that Catherine does. The overprotectiveness of Eddie has changed him
into an arrogant person or like a dictator. He always gives Catherine orders, and
she must obey it. The example is when Catherine wants to socialize and to be
friendly to other people; Eddie prohibits it.
EDDIE. Catherine, do me a favor, will you? You‘re gettin‘ to be a big girl
now, you gotta keep yourself more, you can‘t be so friendly, kid. (p.
8)
EDDIE. (smiling but hurts) I only ask you one thing—don‘t trust
The overprotectiveness of Eddie can also be seen when Catherine has a
chance to work outside in an office near the dock. Eddie always argues Catherine
and Beatrice‘s opinions about the job. He wants Catherine to work in a nice office
not in the same neighborhood. He does not like the neighborhood where
Catherine works.
EDDIE ...Please, do me a favor, will ya? I want you to be with different kind of people. I want you to be in a nice office...; dont go practically in the same kind of neighborhood. (p. 15)
EDDIE.(somehow sickened) I know that neighborhood, B. I don‘t like it.
Eddie‘s overprotectiveness has become more ungraceful, his act as an uncle
becomes more exessive and overwhelming. It shows when Eddie thinks that
Catherine will leave him and move away from his house when she has got the job.
Eddie does not want Catherine to leave him, he wants her to still remains in the
same house with him.
EDDIE. And then you‘ll move away.
EDDIE. (grinning)Why not? That‘s life. And you come visit on Sunday, then once a month, then Christmas and New Year‘s, finally. (p. 17)
The conversations above say that as an uncle, Eddie‘s act is too exaggerate.
His role surpasses father‘s role. Now, his protectiveness turns to possesiveness.
3. Possessive
During the play, in Act One or in the beginning of the play, once more
Eddie‘s characteristic changes as he does not want Catherine to leave him when
she got a job. His protectiveness surpasses his role as an uncle, now he likes a
man who does not want to lose his beloved girl. His protectiveness turns into
In Act One, the beginning of Eddie‘s possessiveness can be seen through his
action when Catherine and Rodolpho go to the cinema. Eddie and Beatrice tussle
in conversation about Catherine and Rodolpho relationship. In the conversation
Eddie mentions that he is worried about their relationship. He does not like
Rodolpho as he thinks that he only uses Catherine for his purposes.
EDDIE.I‘ll be all right, B; just lay off me, will ya? I‘m worried about her. BEATRICE. The girl is gonna eighteen years old. It‘s time already. EDDIE.B., he‘s taking her for a ride! (p. 41)
Those conversations show that Eddie‘s role is beyond an uncle‘s role to his
orphaned niece. He does not want to let her go from his side, eventhough
Catherine has the right to go from the house as she is eighteen now. Those
conversations also imply that Eddie wants Catherine for himself and no body can
take her away from him. It shows his possesiveness to Catherine, his niece.
The other act of possesiveness can be seen from the conversation between
Eddie and Catherine when she goes back home, he confronts Catherine as she is
just back from walking around with Rodolpho. He says something unusual for an
uncle to his niece. What he says to Catherine is just like a husband to his wife. It
shows how Eddie‘s possesiveness growing stronger.
EDDIE. I don‘t see you no more. I come home you‘re running around someplace.
EDDIE.. . . . It‘s just used to come home, you was always there.
The acts of possessiveness that Eddie shown has led him into his new
characteristic. His possessiveness led him into his jealousy of Catherine and
4. Jealous
Based on Forster‘s theory that round characters are dynamic characters due
to the significant changes of emotional and motivation of the characters. (1978:
73) Eddie has revealed his true feeling in his possesiveness, now he is changed
from possesive man to a jealous man. When he shows his possesiveness to
Catherine, he unconsciuosly shows his jealousy to her and Rodolpho. This act can
be seen when Eddie confronts Alfieri about Rodolpho seizing his niece,
Catherine. He claims that Rodolpho steals from him. Unconsciuosly, he does not
realize that he is only her uncle when he says that he does not want to let
Catherine go with another man.
EDDIE. (with a helpless and ironic gesture) . . . . And now I gotta sit in my house and look at a son-of-a-bitch punk like that- which he came out of nowhere! I gice him my house to sleep! I take the blankets off my bed for him, and he takes and puts his dirty filthy hands on her like a goddam thief!
ALFIERI. But, Eddie. She is a woman now. EDDIE.He‘s stealing from me (p.60)
Other quotation that supports his jealousy can be seen in Act One, when he
unconsciously twists the newspaper and bend and rip the rolled newspaper into
two parts as he explains to his wife; Beatrice if he is just like Rodolpho, he won‘t
work on the piers. He claims that if he had Rodolpho‘s talents he would work in a
dress store. It shows how jealous is Eddie with Rodolpho, he can make Catherine
fall in love with him with his skills like singing, sewing, joking, and cooking
while he can not do that.
EDDIE.(to Beatrice) He‘s lucky, believe me. That‘s why the water front is no place for him...I mean like me – I can‘t sing, I can‘t cook, I
He has been unconsciusly twisting the newspaper into a tight roll...I would be someplace else. I would be like in a dress store. He has bent the rolled paper and it suddenly tears in two... (p. 70)
Those characteristics are used in the research analysis in finding the theme
of the play. Eddie characterization influences the other major characters, in the
next part of the analysis these characteristics are used as a part in plot analysis.
2. The Description of the Characteristics of Marco
In analyzing Marco‘s characteristics, the writer uses Goldstone‘s theory and
Forster‘s theory. Goldstone‘s theory is used to describe the characteristics of
Marco through the play. While Forster‘s theory is used to analyze the
characteristics changes of Marco due to his emotional and motivation change. In
A View from the Bridge Marco is described as an Italian immigrant who moved
illegally to the United States with his brother Rodolpho because they were unable
to find jobs in Italy. They hope to work as longshoremen and make enough
money to support their family in Italy. Marco is one of the major characters in the
play, as he has an important role as the representation of Italian customs. As the
previous explanation that Marco is categorized as a round character, therefore his
characteristic can change into different characteristic due to his psychological
behavior.
1. Respectful
In act one, Marco‘s respect can be seen when Marco and Rodolpho have
arrived, they came to Eddie‘s house and Marco states that whenever Eddie wants
MARCO. (indicating Rodolpho)My brother, Rodolpho. Rodolpho nods. Marco comes with a certain formal stiffness to Eddie. I want to tell you now Eddie—when you say go, we will go.
The other act of respect depicted when Rodolpho tries to sing a loud, Eddie
warns him not to sing, as it is unusual for the neighborhood to hear a singer in
Eddie‘s house. Responding Eddie‘s statement, Marco asks his brother Rodolpho
to be quiet.
EDDIE. (indicating the rest of building) Because we never had no singers
here . . . . and all of sudden there‘s singer in the house, y‘know
what I mean? (p. 35)
MARCO.Yes, yes. You‘ll be quiet, Rodolpho. (p. 36)
Marco shows his respect to Eddie, he feels that Eddie is a guardian angel for
him and his brother. He does not mind to let them stay in his house; Marco shows
his aversion towards Eddie.
2. Responsible
Marco in the play described as a good and reluctant husband. It can be seen
from the purpose of his arrival in America. He came to America to feed his family
and make them live in proper. His aim is different from his brother Rodolpho. As
the head of family he has a responsibility in preserve his family‘s well-being.
MARCO. What can I do? The older one is sick in his chest. My wife—she feeds them from her own mouth. I tell yopu the truth, if I stay there they will never grow up. They eat sunshine. (p. 29)
He came to America to support his wife and children, which shows that he
is a family man. He is a responsible man, as he came to America only to find a job
and send money home to his wife in Italy, so that she could obtain medicine and
food for the children and herself, and so that they could feel secure that he could
MARCO. Because I could send them a little more if I stay here.
MARCO. (his eyes are showing tears)My wife—To Eddie: My wife—I want to send right away maybe twenty dollars-
Marco's responsibility becomes the main problem when Marco confronts
Eddie in the front of Red Hook community and accuses him stealing his children
food. His loyalty to his brother makes him protect Rodolpho from any threats that
can hurt him. Therefore, his loyalty becomes protectiveness in the way he protects
his family.
2. Protective
In the previous, Marco does not say very much during the scene but we see
that being the older brother he has a fatherly nature towards Rodolpho. At first,
he tries to appease Eddie by agreeing to what he says and telling
Rodolpho to obey the house rules.
MARCO. . . . . if he does wrong you must tell him. To Eddie. What does he do wrong?
MARCO.(to Rodolpho) You come home early now. (p. 66)
As the play goes, when Eddie confronts Rodolpho in the front of the family
he makes him as a satire object. Marco stands in the front, and defends his
brother. As if the boxing scene between Eddie and Rodolpho, Eddie hits
Rodolpho purposely but he makes like an accident. In here, Marco defends him
by the action of lifting the chair up over Eddie‘s head.
EDDIE. Sure, he‘s terrifi! Look at him go! Rodolpho lands him a blow.
4. Disrespectful
Due to the problem that arrives from Eddie and his brother Rodolpho,
Marco‘s characteristic also changes. At first, he respects Eddie as the man who
can protect he and his brother but his feeling rapidly change as he knows that
Eddie informs the Immigration Bureau about their presence in his house. His
temper suddenly exploded when the Immigration officers took him and his
brother. Marco accuses Eddie as the betrayer and steals his children food.
MARCO. (as he is taken off, pointing back at Eddie) That one! He killed my children! That one stole the food from my children. Marco is gone. The crowd has turned to Eddie.
In the beginning of the play, Marco acts as a respectful man. He changes to
be a mean man as Eddie has arbitrarily destroyed his dream to beatify his family.
Now, he cannot work anymore in the piers. In this phase he becomes a
disrespectful man.
3. The Description of the Characteristics of Alfieri
As mentioned in the previous explanation that Alfieri categorized as a flat
character. Therefore, his characteristic does not change as the other major
characters do. Alfieri is an Italian-American lawyer. As an Italian-American, he is
attached to the Italy‘s customs and America‘s law. Alfieri is a key character in A
View from the Bridge as he is the one that sets the scene at the beginning of the
play, and introduces two of the main characters. Below are some characterizations
1. Respected
In the introduction of the Act One when Alfieri walks in the front of two
longshoremen, they nod to him. It is a proof that as a lawyer, Alfieri is respected
by the neighborhood community.
INTRODUCTION. As the curtain rises, Louis and Mike, longshoremen, are pitching coins against the building at left...Enter Alfieri...The two pitchers nod to him as he passes. (p. 3)
This characterization conveyed in the conversations between Eddie Carbone
and Alfieri when Eddie wants to ask about the law of illegal immigrant. He
always says ―Mr. Alfieri‖ instead of Alfieri.
EDDIE.I know what‘s in his mind, Mr. Alfieri! (p. 55) EDDIE. ....Please, Mr Alfieri... (p. 57)
2. Reliable
As a lawyer he has to take a great responsibility in hearing and solving the
problems of the community. Problems like dispute, father and son relationship,
legacy, and so on. Those are things that Alfieri deals in his entire life. As a man
who is trusted in legal issues by the community, Alfieri is categorized as a reliable
man.
It can be seen in the beginning of act one where Alfieri explains about
himself in the front of the audiences. He explains about his duties as a lawyer in
Red Hook community. As a lawyer he must have heard complaints from the
society about their life and its problems. He must deal with the longshoremen and
their wives, compensation cases, evictions, and family squabbles.
The other reliable characterization can be seen when Eddie Carbone asks
Alfieri‘s opinions about the relationship between Rodolpho and Catherine. He
states whether there is a law in the United States that can be used to separate
them. As the only one who knows the formal American law, Alfieri becomes the
reference place for Eddie to ask about the law.
ALFIERI. It was at this time that he first came to me. (p. 54)
EDDIE.(with a fuller flow of indignation)You mean to tell me that there‘s
no law that a guy which he ain‘t right can go to work and marry a
girl and? (p. 58)
ALFIERI. You have no recourse in the law, Eddie. (p. 58)
The last reliable depicted in the act two, when Marco is arrested in
Immigration Bureau. Alfieri is appointed by Rodolpho to insure and bail out
Marco from prison. As a trusted man, Alfieri is also entrusted to be a mediator
between Marco and Eddie.
ALFIERI. All right, Rodolpho—you come with me now. (p. 102) RODOLPHO. No! Please , Mister. (p. 102)
ALFIERI. I can bail you out until I have your promise... (p. 102) ALFIERI. You wont touch him. This is your promise. (p. 104)
As a mediator, Alfieri keeps Marco‘s promise not to interfere Eddie for
ever. This promise as an assurance for his freedom.
3. Well-educated and Smart
As a lawyer, Alfieri automatically is well-educated and smart. Unlike the
other characters which is uneducated. It is shown on the uses of words and slang
that Eddie, Beatrice, Catherine, Marco and Rodolpho use. Words such as
―lemme‖, ―ain‘t‖, ―laughin‖ ―ya‖, and ―yiz‖ and sentence like ― I don‘t see you no
