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All of the characters in A View from the Bridge are of Italian/Sicilian descent. Some of them, such as Eddie, Beatrice and Catherine, were born in the United States because their parents or grandparents had immigrated to America around 1900. Other characters, such as Alfieri, Marco and Rodolpho, were born in Italy and have made the voyage themselves.

Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, America was welcoming immigrants from all over Europe; many of those people considered that the ‘old world’ was finished and their futures lay in the ‘new world’. However, many people who came from Italy, and especially the south of Italy or Sicily, brought with them their ancient values. They thought that if somebody wronged them, or failed to show respect, it was their duty to seek revenge.

Italy has had a violent past because of gangs such as the Mafia. Many judges, lawyers and police officers have been murdered by the Mafia as revenge for people being arrested and sent to prison. Indeed, this still happens today. Miller wanted to show how this old way of thinking could not work in 1950s America, and that is why Alfieri’s narrative voice is so important.

How are the themes of justice and the law shown in the play?

In A View from the Bridge, Arthur Miller explores justice and the law through:

• Alfieri’s narration
• the way Eddie reacts to Rodolpho, and later Marco

Alfieri’s introduction links the modern world with the ancient one

How does Miller show this?

Alfieri opens the play with a speech which makes connections between ancient Rome (Italy) and the modern United States. He points out that, even though two thousand years have passed, human problems, which require the law, never change.

Evidence

...the thought comes that in some Caesar’s year, in Calabria perhaps or on the cliff at Syracuse, another lawyer, quite differently dressed, heard the same complaint and sat there as powerless as I, and watched it run its bloody course.

Analysis

Alfieri is referring to the toga which the ancient Romans wore. He talks about Calabria, which is the ‘toe’ part of Italy’s ‘boot’ shape, and also Syracuse, an ancient Sicilian city, which was very powerful over two thousand years ago. In this way he links himself and all the other Italian immigrants with the mighty ancient Roman Empire. In contrast with these references to power, he comments on how human problems may seem like small matters but they are important to us.

Alfieri’s references to gangsters who defy the written law

How does Miller show this?

Alfieri talks about Mafia gangsters who died in shoot-outs in New York.

Evidence

In those days, Al Capone, the greatest Carthaginian of all, was learning his trade on these pavements, and Frankie Yale himself was cut precisely in half by a machine gun on the corner of Union Street, two blocks away. Oh, there were many here who were justly shot by unjust men.

Analysis

Frankie Yale was a Brooklyn gangster. He was Al Capone’s boss before Capone moved to Chicago to set up his own gang. Yale was shot in 1928, and Capone died of a heart attack in 1947 after serving eleven years in prison. Both were violent gangsters. Carthaginian refers to the ancient city of Carthage in North Africa, now in modern day Tunisia. It was a very powerful city in the 7th – 3rd centuries BC, but was eventually crushed by Rome in a brutal way. To refer to Al Capone as a Carthaginian means that he put up a great fight but was eventually beaten. This shows that Miller had a sort of admiration for him, although he did not agree with the brutal way that he dealt with people.

He says that it is far better to be law-abiding

How does Miller show this?

Alfieri says that even he used to think that taking revenge was the only solution to a problem, but since he has lived in America he has come to realise that it is far better to obey the law and let the legal system work properly.

Evidence

And now we are quite civilised, quite American. Now we settle for half, and I like it better. I no longer keep a pistol in my filing cabinet.

Analysis

Alfieri has contrasted the ancient, savage form of law with the American law, and says that he has become civilised as a result of choosing the latter.