The Roles Of Alfieri Essay Example for Free

The Roles Of Alfieri Essay In the play A View From The Bridge by Arthur Miller, Alfieri is a lawyer in his fifties living in Red Hook, New York. Although originating in Italy, he is now an American citizen running a small law practice in his neighbourhood. He first migrated to America at the age of twenty-five and has since been married to his wife who he now lives with. After many years of experience in living within an Americanised community, he has become accustomed to life there: now we are quite civilized, quite American, and is familiar with the ways of law and justice. Personality-wise he is good humoured, thoughtful, wise, rational and sensible, not to mention a good judge of character. In his neighbourhood he is well respected and looked up to, if not even slightly feared, however through his law practice he has already dealt with the Carbone family when he represented Eddie Carbones father in a case several years back and so was already somewhat acquainted to Eddie, recognizing him when he first came to seek his advice. Alfieri plays several roles in the play, the distinct two being as a narrator and also as an actual character interacting with the other characters. Arthur Miller intended the play to be a modern version of the Greek tragedies of yesteryear, in which there was always a chorus interacting directly with the audience by commenting on events, expressing opinions and giving relevant details. In the case of A View From The Bridge, Alfieri is the equivalent of the chorus and is the first role, which we, the audience meet at the very beginning of the play. This is when Alfieri makes a speech, introducing us to the storyline and giving us some history and background information about himself and his neighbourhood, when he says: I am a lawyer. In this neighbourhood to meet a lawyer or a priest on the street is unlucky. Were only thought of in connection with disasters. This statement explains why the people he is surrounded by are suspicious of him, seeing as many of them are immigrants, both legal and illegal, giving them reason to be afraid of and paranoid about the law. Near the end of his speech he also states: This ones name was Eddie Carbone, a longshoreman working the docks from Brooklyn bridge to the breakwater where the open sea begins. Here Alfieri introduces us to the plays main character, Eddie Carbone and again gives us background information about him. In giving this information, it saves the actual character from having to give it himself and so allows the events of the play to move promptly and without delay. Another example of when he does this is when he says: He worked on the piers when there was work, he brought home his pay, and he lived. And towards ten oclock of that night, after they had eaten, the cousins came. By saying this Alfieri once again gives details of things such as place and time and sets the scene so that the action can continue. As the narrator, another purpose for Alfieri is to prepare the audience for the unexpected by hinting about upcoming events and informing us of the inevitable. It is he who gives the audience the first sense of danger when he says: and yet every few years there is still a case and when he continues with: and watched it run its bloody course, it instantly introduces a sense of foreboding and danger and we are instantly given the impression that the unfolding events of the play will end fatally and disastrously. In fact throughout the entire play Alfieri is constantly informing us about impending occurrences: I could see every step coming, step after step, like a dark figure walking down a hall towards a certain door, and at times even hints about how the play will end: Put it out of your mind! Eddie! . In that statement, although he doesnt directly say what it is he wants Eddie to put out of his mind, it is enough information for the audience to make an informed guess that he is about to report Marco and Rodolpho to the Immigration Bureau.