Question 4:
"Plays are structured so that the resolution of conflict appears as a 'natural' or inevitable consequence of the moral or ethical concerns raised in the play. Discuss"
"Above all else, tragedy requires the finest appreciation by the writer of cause and effect" Arthur Miller
The role of the playwrite as a true moral force is an ideology that Arthur Miller no doubt aligns himself with. The structure and resolution of "A View From the Bridge", work together to provide a controversial and critical assessment of cause and effect. Miller's keen social conscience denotes the protagonist's downfall as a result of his inability to balance his personal needs and desires with those of the wider community. Shining consistently through however is the strong overtones of destiny and predetermined, or unavoidable fate, as an important theme within the play. Combined with the protagonist's personal struggle for what he perceives as being just and right, the story of Eddie Carbone's downfall is strongly assimilated to the tragic hero's of both Greek and Shakespearean tragedies.
Arthur Miller, American playwright
Arthur Miller in Washington Square Park. The photo...
English: , Republican representative from Nebraska...Miller's ability to adapt the traditional tragedy to investigate the moral plight of the American working class patriarch, means that "A View from the Bridge" encompasses both contextual and universal, ethical subversions, such that the resolution is seemingly the 'natural' consequence.
In the role if the tragic hero, Eddie's fatal flaw is soon discovered to be a universally controversial one. That of his inability to stifle his incestuous desires for his niece, Catherine. Catherine's naively seductive actions and Eddie's increasingly emulous nature, are established early within the play. It remains however, an unspoken issue, apart from B's inhibited efforts to make them, especially Eddie, realize the potential consequence of their relationship. Eddie however, remains in denial of what is increasingly obvious to everyone else. Even...