Explore the Role of Alfieri in Miller's ‘a View from the Bridge'

Arthur Miller is now regarded as one of the world’s greatest dramatists. In his plays he explores the struggles of the ordinary man against authority and insurmountable odds. It is his ability to dramatize the attempts to find the balance between the different conflicts of life that is Miller’s feature as a writer. “Many of his plays look at the position of the individual in relation to their responsibilities and position in society and may be seen, as a result, to be political.” (Tim Bezant.) While exploring human faults he also talks about the hidden emotions within people. This is significantly highlighted throughout his world-renowned theatrical production of ‘A View from the Bridge’, in which he conveys his true feelings through the themes and messages portrayed on the historical and cultural context of the period.

Miller completed the two-act version of the play in 1956, the same year in which it was performed at the Comedy Theatre in London. During this epoch he was called to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee to name the people of communist sympathizers, the height of the McCarthy Era. Miller refused to do so and so was admired by people for his strength and loyalty. In 1957, Miller was charged with contempt by the U.S. Court of Appeals. Miller's own struggle therefore with this issue is present in ‘A View from the Bridge’ as he, like the characters in his plays (Eddie Carbone), was faced with the problem of choosing to be American or not, specifically by naming names of people who were doing (what were considered then) unlawful acts. Miller chose to write about a community that accepted and protected unlawful people. Miller used this play also to strongly criticize the McCarthyism and those who named the names of innocent artists.

Miller spent two years in the shipyards of Brooklyn and was thus able to study the social background of the lives of the dockworkers in that area. Many of the immigrants were of illegal legacy and were being exploited by the people who helped bring them to America and so consequently he further advanced his knowledge of the community spirit in the slum areas of New York and the beliefs and values of the Sicilian individuals. During this time period, Miller had close associations with the families of the dockworkers and to him, this was “a dangerous and mysterious world at the water‘s edge that drama and literature had never touched.” In his autobiography ‘Time bends’ he narrates that a friend told him about a dream he had about an attraction he felt for his cousin. When he interpreted the dream as an indication that the man might have wanted an incestuous relationship with the girl the man was horrified and refused to accept that there might be any truth in what Miller was saying.

In juxtaposition, the middle 20th century aphorised the exploration of Italian immigrants, having come to America, as Miller’s parents had done, in the hope of work, wealth and security that their home countries could not guarantee. This was due to the Second World War where countries in Europe were in financial trouble. The war completely crippled the economics of the European Powers and it had also shown that America was the most powerful country in the world - a ’land of opportunity and freedom’ - which led to its attraction. We see this in Marco’s arrival as his strong sense of responsibility to his wife and family to “feed” them is the only reason why he has come to America. In the opening stage directions Miller sets the play, very precisely in Red Hook, “the slum that faces the bay on the seaward side of Brooklyn Bridge…the gullet of New York“ in which is inhabited by the Carbones and their neighbours. Their “skeletal” home is where most of the action takes place, but there is also a street outside so the audience is aware that the action is of personal and public context. It is important for them that they can recognise that the Carbones’ life is apart of the community particularly at the end when the tragic outcome is apart of all the neighbourhood. In the 1987 production in New York Theatre the performance was used in a ‘composite set‘ style. It was used in order for the audience to see that the stage represented more than one room or prop through a naturalistic approach.

‘A View from the Bridge’ is a well structured play with a simple shape. It consists of two Acts but within these there are a number of easily defined divisions which are controlled by the lawyer, Alfieri. He is essential to the structure