How does Miller make the opening scene of Act 2 of "A View from the Bridge" dramatic?

Essay by globe February 2007

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"A View from the Bridge" is set in Brooklyn in the 1950s. It is about the Carbone family, Eddie, his wife Beatrice and her orphaned niece Catherine. Beatrice cousin's Marco and Rodolpho migrate form Italy, and come to stay with the Carbone family. This is when the conflict starts.

Alfieri is a lawyer in his fifties. He is the narrator of the play; he tells the audience what happens. He introduces the action; he enables the action to move from scene to scene. He tries to help Eddie by making him understand what's, right and wrong. Alfieri also helps the audience to understand the conflict which has occurred throughout Italian and Sicilian history. He gives information and advice about the law.

In the beginning of act two Alfieri once again talks about the action of the scene. It is the twenty-third of December and Catherine and Rodolpho are, for the first time, alone in the house.

This shows that privacy is rare thing and suggests that Catherine and Rodolpho may become intimate. Eddie then arrives drunk, so the audience will expect conflict between them.

In this scene Catherine and Rodolpho, get annoyed and angry with each other, but they talk though their concerns and get on fine. Rodolpho wants Catherine to be his wife and he wants to be a citizen; however, Catherine thinks he just wants to marry her just to gain citizenship. In act two Catherine says to Rodolpho, "Suppose I wanted to live in Italy", to see what Rodolpho will say, because she wants to know whether what Eddie told her is true that, Rodolpho is using her to get his papers, she tests him to see if what Eddie said is true or not. Rodolpho insists the only reason he wants to be an...