A View from the Bridge

Introducing the play: to understand the context in which

the play was written

Arthur Miller

• Arthur Miller was born to a Jewish family in New York in 1915. His grandparents had come to America from Poland. When the family business failed, they moved to Brooklyn, where A View from the Bridge is set. There, Arthur worked in a warehouse to earn money for his university fees.

• He began to write plays while he was a student at the University of Michigan and continued to do so after he graduated in 1938 and became a journalist. He received much acclaim from All My Sons in 1947; Death of a Salesman (1949) - which won the Pulitzer Prize - and The Crucible (1952) confirmed him as a great playwright.

Question

• 1. What aspects of his own life, has Arthur Miller included in A View from the bridge?

• 2. Why is it advantageous for him to write from his own experiences?

The inspiration for the play

• Between his years as a journalist and making his name as a writer, Miller worked in the Brooklyn shipyards for two years, where he befriended the Italians he worked alongside. He heard a story of some men coming over to work illegally and being betrayed. The story inspired A View from the Bridge, which was written in 1955. It was originally a one-act play, but Miller re-worked it into a two-act play the following year.

Questions

• 3. A View from the Bridge was inspired by a real story. Why is this significant?

• A/A*: Think about whether Miller is merely writing about reality or commenting on reality in order to change it.

Themes and Ideas

• Most of his work is set in the America of the day and portrays realistic characters and events. He deals with political and moral issues and weaves in ideas from Greek tragedy. He is interested in how personal relationships dictate the way one leads one's life and about people's struggles to do what is right.

• 6. Pick out the key themes/ideas from this paragraph than Miller has focused on in A View from the Bridge. Explain your choices in detail.

The Context: Italy• Italy in 1955 was a very poor country. During World

War 2, Italy - ruled by the Fascist Mussolini - had initially fought alongside Nazi Germany. Yet the Italians became increasingly anxious about their role in the war and about Fascism, and in 1943, Mussolini was deposed by Victor Emmanuel III, the king of Italy. Italy then switched sides in the war and supported the British allies, but suffered huge loses in northern towns and villages as the Nazis tried to take revenge. After the war, following a referendum, the monarchy was abolished and a republic was established.

Fascism: what is it?

• a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

Italian Immigration

• The Italian economy was slow to grow, especially in the south, which was less industrialised. With no jobs and no prospects, it was not surprising that many people decided to try their luck in 'rich' America. There was a thriving trade in illegal immigration, encouraged by the dockyard owners, who knew that they could get cheap labour from immigrants until they had paid for their passage over. Once they had paid their fare, the immigrants were left to make their own way.

Italian Immigration• Why did people like Rodolfo and Marco

leave Italy for life in America?

• Who benefited and how did they benefit from Italian Immigration?

• Can you compare what happened to Italian immigrants and America to any other place in the world now? What are the similarities and differences?

Italian Immigration

• When Italy joined the new European Economic Community in 1957, much money was pumped into Italy to reduce unemployment. One key part of this process was the establishment of the Fiat factory in Turin: thousands of peasants from the south moved north to make cars. Sadly, this was just too late for Marco and Rodolpho.

• The play is set in Red Hook, Brooklyn, a very poor area, described by Alfieri as the slum that faces the bay on the seaward side of Brooklyn Bridge.

Questions

• Are there any references to cars in the play?

• Are there any references that suggest that money was pumped into Italy to reduce unemployment?

• Why do you Miller included or omitted (=left out) these facts?

• Italian dock

workers in New

York City

Statue of Liberty: what does the torch represent?  The torch is a symbol of enlightenment. It lights the way to freedom showing us the path to Liberty.  Even the Statue's official name represents her most important symbol "Liberty Enlightening the World". 

5. Given this decription of the Statue of Liberty, how do you think immigrants perceived America to be?  

6. Do you think America matches up to Rodolfo and Marco’s expectations?

The Plot in one paragraph!

The Carbone family - Eddie, his wife Beatrice and her orphaned niece Catherine - are poor but content. They live in Brooklyn, where Eddie works at the shipyards. When Beatrice's Italian cousins, illegal immigrants, arrive to stay, the Carbone family's life changes forever. Their loves and their loyalties are tested - and tragedy results.

Sicily

The Sicilian Community

• Early 20th century• Ongoing government neglect in the late 19th century

period ultimately enabled the establishment of organised crime networks commonly known as the mafia. These were gradually able to extend their influence across all sectors over much of the island (and many of its operatives also emigrated to other countries, particularly the United States). The mafia was partly contained under the Fascist regime beginning in the 1920s, but recovered quickly following the World War II Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943.

Clip: Goodfellas

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_ff46b58Hk

• ‘Funny, How’ scene.