How important are Miller's language choices and use of stage directions in aiming the audience to

view Eddie as a tragic hero in the play A View from the Bridge?
The play A View from the Bridge is Arthur Millers modern-day revamp of a Greek tragedy.
Alongside creating the character of Alfieri to abide with the traditional chorus role, he toys with fate,
a feature steeped deeply in generic Greek tragedies. However, the aspect that is truly reminiscent of
these dramas is the flawed protagonist of this particular play, Eddie Carbone. His bears the
characteristics of many a tragic Greek hero, from his fatal flaw - his hamartia - to his demise brought
about by a cruel twist of fate.
In the introductory scene, Miller utilizes stage lighting to highlight Eddie within his company.
Eddies status within the Red Hook community is the modern counterpart to the ranks of other
Greek heroes while heroes in the likeness of Oedipus held positions such as king or monarch, Eddie
is held in esteem by adhering to traditional Italian values.
Louis: You got a lotta credit comin to you.
Even his peers venerate him as a hero for taking in Marco and Rodolfo fidelity towards ones family
or a fellow Italian always trumped American law.
The reverence for the character of Eddie extends into Eddies own home.
His opinion is also duly noted.
Catherine: (almost in tears because he disapproves) What do you want me to do? You want me to
Alfieris narration rarely strays from Carbone
Alfieri eulogizes as having allowed himself to be wholly known and for that I think I will love him.
Eddie Sure, hes terrific! Look at him go! (RODOLFO lands a blow.) Ats it! Now, watch out,
here I come, Danish! (He feints with his left hand and lands with his right. It mildly
staggers RODOLFO. MARCO rises.)

Hamartia Arthur Miller makes this element known in Eddie. Eddies love for Catherine, his
reluctance to set her free, and the torment he endures by carrying around the secret of his
inappropriate feelings toward her are delineated repeatedly throughout the play.
Alfieri to Eddie: There is too much love for the daughter, there is too much love for the niece. Do you
understand what Im saying to you?
This fatal flaw, Eddies internal turmoil over Catherine, is the cause for conflict that carries the
storyline. It is the trigger for a series of events starting from Catherines bid to liberate herself from
his overbearing, oppressive grasp to her alienation from him. The true tragedy was not Eddies death
it was the fact that those he loved reconciled with him only after it was too late.
Part of Eddies fatal flaw is his tendency to become short-sighted when it comes to his view of
Catherine. He has a fixation in his mind of what kind of person he wants Catherine to be; he wants
Catherine to be the young girl, eternally reliant on him, uncorrupted and innocent. Most of all, he
desires to be the only man in Catherines life, and it seems that Rodolfo has taken away the only
thing he holds dear in the world, pushing Eddie into a freefall. Arthur Miller uses ??? to suggest
Like in every Greek tragedy, the protagonist requires an antagonist to strike a balance. Rodolfo
serves this purpose; although Eddie doesnt die at his hands, he is the one that is driving a wedge
between Eddie and the one he loves. He represents everything contesting his utopic dreams for
Catherine, standing in the way of this unrealistic goal.
-This is because all Eddie wants for Catherine is to stay small (inhibits her)
-He is scared to lose her
-Rodolfo is making Eddie realize Catherine is growing up, and he is in denial
-His tunnel vision is part of his fatal flaw, in that his short sighted views of Catherine keep him from
seeing the bigger picture; again, denial.
Nearly every Greek drama features the death of the protagonist, and this revamp is not an exception.
Eddies
- Vital to the tragic hero is their fall.
- By the end of Act Two, having informed on Beatrices cousins, he is despised by both Marco and
Rodolpho
- Beatrice, although still faithful, has lost all respect for him.
- He is pathetic- a fact enhanced by the symbolic stage directions, whereby his former sponsors
gradually abandon him: LIPARI and wife exitEDDIE calls after LOUIS and MIKE.
- Eddies tragic death is present, just like the tragic deaths of protagonists in greek dramas
- Cruel twist of fate that he realizes Beatrice is who he truly loves
- moment of clarity: catharsis
- its too late, hes dead
- fate ever-present
- Rodolpho metaphorical catalyst for conflict
-

Eddie Sure, hes terrific! Look at him go! (RODOLFO lands a blow.) Ats it! Now, watch out,
here I come, Danish! (He feints with his left hand and lands with his right. It mildly
staggers RODOLFO. MARCO rises.)

- Symbolic fight
- Rodolfo lands a blow Eddie takes Rodolphos love for Catherine as a heavy blow against
his (morals?) because he is starting to become aware of his own inappropriate feelings
- feints guileful and sly
- Marco defensive foreshadowing what is to come, protects what he loves? Like eddie
protects what he love, marco does the same.
Forsakement