A View from the Bridge

Rating:
Summary: One of Arthur Miller's greatest plays
Review: A View From the Bridge is a compelling and exciting drama that delves into such issues as incest, manliness and justice. It's the story of Eddie, an illiterate longshoreman, and his anger towards his niece's affection for an illegal immigrant staying in his house. The complicated relationships between these and many other characters in the play makes A View From the Bridge a truly great piece of theatre. The play has the ingredients of a traditional Greek tragedy, complete with Alfieri, a narrator that fulfils the same purpose as Sophocles's chorus from his plays about Oedipus and Antigone. It's a really good read and unravels like a great page-turner.

Rating:
Summary: Classic example of tragic life
Review: Essay: "A view from the bridge" by Arthur Miller.

In literature, as in life, characters often make decisions, than negatively effect the rest of their life. Let's take as example a play "A view from the bridge" by Arthur Miller. The man cannot change his fate. The man cannot raid against fate. I think that is idea of this play. That's why it useless to talk about decisions, that effect (negatively or not) of life. The main tragedy in the play began not when Rodolpho and Marco came to Eddies house, it began when Eddie decided to "keep" Catherine for him. But, as I think, there was no tragedy if there were no Beatrice. She decided to loose everything. She loved Eddie, and she decided to separate Eddie and Catherine any way, so, to save Eddie for her. She cannot imagine, that it could turn into tragedy. I'm sure, that she loved Catherine, not more, not less than Eddie, and she understand, that Catherine's love want only papers, but her love for herself, her pride, won. She loved herself and Eddie more than Catherine, so, her advice to 18 years old girl was to stay with Rodolpho. What comes next? Eddie do not want Catherine to be with rodolpho. But Catherine loves him and, of course, she will not listen to Eddie, who wants for her only best, she listen to Beatrice. Beatrice thought, if Catherine will be with Rodolpho, Eddie came back to her, but he does not want to leave Catherine with Rodolpho. Later, when Catherine said "In the garbage he belongs" [to Eddie], Beatrice said "Then we all belong in the garbage, you and me too. ...We all done it". She has no pride to say "I belong", she said "You and me too", "We all done it". Who "we all" ? Eddie - he just wanted to defend Catherine. Catherine - she is young girl, and she cannot understand so serious problems in her age, she should, but don't forget, that she was raised without parents by man, who loved her. Rodolpho - he needs only passport, nothing else. Beatrice - she needs Eddie, she wants Eddie to leave Catherine, she needs Rodolpho to be with her. But why I said that it's useless to talk about decisions, that effect of life? What alternatives does Beatrice had? No alternatives. She'd lost Eddie in any way. Let's try to change the way of the story. Beatrice wanted to save Eddie for her marrying Catherine and Rodolpho. But, if her advises were like Eddies, and Catherine gone from Rodolpho, Eddie will with Catherine. she'd lost Eddie in any way. Even if Catherine married Rodolpho, Eddie will never return to her. So, she'd lost Eddie in any way. And at the end of the play, we understand that Eddie loved Beatrice. Before he died, he said: "My B!". The life is strange thing. We want to change it, but it's very hard. We always want to make something better (it depends only on our character, for whom we want to make better), but it always turns to "As usual". People are not so smart to change their life, their fate. And this play is just an example.

Rating:
Summary: A True Tragedy
Review: I have loved A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE since the first time I read it, three years ago. It is a tautly-written, exciting drama in which one can practically see the tragic end coming, "step by step, like a dark figure walking down a hall toward a certain door" (in the words of Alfieri, the lawyer in the play). But as well as the play "reads," it is absolutely ELECTRIFYING when seen on stage -- as I found out just yesterday, when I saw a production of it. The actor who played Eddie Carbone, the protagonist, made the character very sympathetic; as a result, the play's ending was truly tragic. Read A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, but also try to see a production of it, if you possibly can. I will admit, though, that it is not performed that often -- not nearly as often as it deserves to be.

Rating:
Summary: horriable, horriable stuff
Review: Ok this book is utter [crud]. It starts off ok with an introduction suggesting that something interesting will happen but unfortunetly it rapidly goes down hill. The chacrthers are dull and predictable, there is an awful lot of senseless babbling (talking about painting orasnges orange for 3 pages? oh gosh!) and no rel action. The ending tries to be shocking but is predictable and dull. This is the exact opposite of mice and men. Mice and men is a quick fast pace book with lots of action, interesting charcthers and humour. Thi is [bad]. AVoid at all costs. This really doesn't even desevere a 1 but I couldn't find -999999999999 so this will do

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: The structure of the play is uncomplicatad. The play is in two acts but within the acts there are easily defined divisions which are controlled by Alfieri. Alfieri is essential to the structure of the play. He opens and closes the play. He is Arthur Miller's mouthpiece and he moves the action fluidly. Catherine is a young lady who, it seems, as a result of her mother's death is living with her aunt, Beatrice, and Beatice's husband, Eddie. Eddie and Catherine have developed a close family relationship. The credibility of the relationship throughout the play is inceasingly questionable. Eddie is fatherlike in Catherine's eyes. In the first conversation between them Catherine looks for Eddie's approval that she looks good.She behaves almost in a coquettish manner to Eddie BUT this is not calculated. She sees him as a loving father figure. Eddie's obsessive attention to her physical appearance is realized when he asks her to turn around so he can see in her back. His intensions here are questionable. Is he attracted or is just parental pride? Eddie realises this from the beginning. Perhaps he feels that for the responsility he has taken, to support Catherine, he deserves a reward. The reward he wants(Catherine) is too big, and which if he got would be unnatural and ridiculous. Beatrice notices the relationship but her unwillingness to speak out makes her part of the problem. Eddie uses an emotional approach which in sensitive to Catherine's emotions. He suggests that all he is doing is looking out for her interests. He uses her inexperience to denunciate her arguements. Catherine shows her interests in Rodolpho's physical appearance. Eddie subjugates her. His intensions to show power dominate his actions. Rodolpho speech is lively and descriptive if a little frivolous. Catherine seems to be attracted to his different style which contrasts to Eddie's simple, normal style. Eddie is antagonistic towards Rodolpho because he is jealous of the obvious chemistry between the youngsters. Eddie unsuccessfully does his atmost to vilify Rodolpho. He sees him as a homosexual who is using Catherine to get an American passport. Catherine is attempting to be independent but she can't stand up to Eddie. She seems to be looking for attention again but Eddie's tension and his use of passionate words bring us to question his motives.

Rating:
Summary: Makes An Impact Despite Its Brevity
Review: This is a tightly woven story that packs a punch in just a few pages. In fact, it was short enough that I thought there was no way to resolve the conflicts that left me hanging until the last few pages. Sure enough, Miller effectively tied up loose ends and still managed to surprise me despite ending in a similar fashion to what most would predict.

The play is about an uncle's overprotective nature, which runs so deeply as to be too close for comfort, and the fact that no one would ever be good enough for the niece living in his home. The take home message is about letting go of something you love, as well as swallowing your pride, which ultimately leads to the downfall of at least two of the characters. Eddie's failure to cut his losses and admit he was wrong left him proud but dead.

The setting gives a cool, albeit tiny, insight into what the New York waterfront must have felt like long ago, and the narration (through the eyes of the lawyer from whom Eddie sought advice) is a neat touch.

Rating:
Summary: Makes An Impact Despite Its Brevity
Review: This is a tightly woven story that packs a punch in just a few pages. In fact, it was short enough that I thought there was no way to resolve the conflicts that left me hanging until the last few pages. Sure enough, Miller effectively tied up loose ends and still managed to surprise me despite ending in a similar fashion to what most would predict.

The play is about an uncle's overprotective nature, which runs so deeply as to be too close for comfort, and the fact that no one would ever be good enough for the niece living in his home. The take home message is about letting go of something you love, as well as swallowing your pride, which ultimately leads to the downfall of at least two of the characters. Eddie's failure to cut his losses and admit he was wrong left him proud but dead.

The setting gives a cool, albeit tiny, insight into what the New York waterfront must have felt like long ago, and the narration (through the eyes of the lawyer from whom Eddie sought advice) is a neat touch.

Rating:
Summary: A True Tragedy
Review: This play explores the same old turf as "Death of a Salesman", but it does so with much less satisfaction and much less character development. Eddie is no Willy Loman, though, and the play suffers immediately from a lack of a central, driving force like Willy. Parts of the play seem borrowed from Tennessee Williams, and they don't seem to work in this context. There is some business about the romance of the Old World Italy versus the New World of Opportunity on the docks of New York, and it is the only topic that is at all explored well, if still unsatisfactorily. Eddie's dreams are represented in his pretty niece, Catherine; and unlike Willy Loman's uncle, she is still an attainable dream. That makes Eddie's life seem all the more petty, in comparison to Willy's: he longs wearily not after what he could have had, but after what he can never have, as he is already married. The death scene at the end of the play also seems like a forced, tacked on ending, and Alfieri's entire presence is a more or less unsuccessful stage gimmick. There are better plays by Miller, and many better plays by others.

Rating:
Summary: Willy Loman This Guy Ain'y
Review: This play explores the same old turf as "Death of a Salesman", but it does so with much less satisfaction and much less character development. Eddie is no Willy Loman, though, and the play suffers immediately from a lack of a central, driving force like Willy. Parts of the play seem borrowed from Tennessee Williams, and they don't seem to work in this context. There is some business about the romance of the Old World Italy versus the New World of Opportunity on the docks of New York, and it is the only topic that is at all explored well, if still unsatisfactorily. Eddie's dreams are represented in his pretty niece, Catherine; and unlike Willy Loman's uncle, she is still an attainable dream. That makes Eddie's life seem all the more petty, in comparison to Willy's: he longs wearily not after what he could have had, but after what he can never have, as he is already married. The death scene at the end of the play also seems like a forced, tacked on ending, and Alfieri's entire presence is a more or less unsuccessful stage gimmick. There are better plays by Miller, and many better plays by others.