How Does Miller Present Masculinity In A View From The Bridge

Spark of patriarchy dominates Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Sadly, this system dictates how the characters embark on their lives in Verona, Italy. Wallia (2012, para.1) defines patriarchy as a system of unequal power relations that give men privileges in all areas of their lives - social, economic, institutional, cultural, political, and spiritual - while women and gender non-conforming people are systematically disadvantaged. Men, in Romeo and Juliet, are endowed with countless prerogatives that allow them to be superior over women. Kahn (1978, p.171) supports this claim by saying that "the play, as persuasively argued by literary critics, is dominated by fathers, whose power over families is mirrored in the organization of the state as a whole."

The movie surveyed a wide array of the troubles faced by boys and men as they try to navigate the realm of masculinity. A common theme was the command “be a man” and the cultural baggage that comes with living up to that ideal. To “be a man” means to not cry, to not be sensitive, to not let people mess with you, to respond with violence, to be angry, to drink, to womanize.

For example, he also saying how much he does for his family. He acts as though because he does all this work for his family, he deserves more respect from them and they should do as he pleases. Although Eddie constantly reminds everyone of all the work he has done for his family, it is clear that he initially only is concerned for himself. He tries to guilt people into doing what he wants. Near the end of the play, on Catherine’s wedding day, Beatrice tries to encourage Eddie to come with her to the wedding but Eddie think that what he wants is the final word. He tells her that if she attends Catherine’s wedding, she is not allowed back in the house, even though she begs and says it would be in honor of her sister. He cannot condone his niece getting married to Rodolpho, so anyone who is supportive of the marriage means nothing to him. The fact that Eddie would cast out his wife because of his niece’s marriage is a big reason why Eddie is an unsympathetic protagonist. In the beginning of the play, Eddie warns Beatrice and Catherine not to tell anyone about Marco and Rodolpho living with them. He tells a story about Vinny, a kid who snitched on his uncle to the Immigration Bureau and was publicly disgraced and spit on by his own family. When Beatrice asked where he is now, Eddie responds saying that they would never see a guy like that again. He shows no sympathy for him and implies that he

In the book the Kite Runner by Hosseini, the main character, Amir, grows up in Afghanistan, and the strong culture affects his moral character while he lives their and after he moves away. He is unable to fit in with the cultural expectations his father puts on him, the religious racism divides him and his half brother Hassan, and the traditional family values cause tension between him and his wife, this all leads back to the theme of Amirs struggle to fulfill his ideals of masculinity.

Eddie, who has grown an affection for his niece Catherine, resents being replaced in her affections by someone he sees as an unworthy interloper, and he suspects Rodolfo has ulterior motives.

In Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, masculinity is important in giving the plot impetus. The feminine characters in the play are trampled by a world in which machoism is rewarded, the story is furthered by Blanche and Mitch’s guilt revolving around masculinity, and manliness creates conflict through a Karpman Drama Triangle. Action in the play builds around the depicted masculine behavior.

Eddie is introduced as a moral man with ethics and principles. Miller showed that at the beginning of the play, Eddie tells the story of a young boy who ratted on immigrant relatives staying in his home and warn Catherine that she must be absolutely silent about Marco and Rodolpho. Moreover, there was a discussion between Eddie and Beatrice; where Beatrice is afraid of her immigrant cousins being caught. Therefore, Eddie told her: “listen if everybody keeps his mouth shut, nothing can happen. They’ll pay for their board.”(Miller, 1955, p.9).Later in the story, Eddie revealed a different identity .He was blinded with passion to the point of immorality. When he knew about Catherine falling in love with Rodolpho, he told Alfieri that he is going to call the immigration so he can keep Catherine just for him. Even though he knew that he is going to suffer for calling immigration, but does so anyway .Eddie: “Give me the number if the Immigration Bureau.”(Miller, 1955, p.61).To sum up, Miller displayed identity that could be moral with ethics and turns to be and identity that is blinded with

This love shown by the husband demonstrates how far masculinity has come in just a short period since the frontier days. A husband’s responsibility to be loving and kind was something more commonly associated with a woman’s role until now. The Husbands I’m right demeanor shows how men can be stubborn since men were the “Experts” of the day. In the husband’s case, he was an expert physician. Since he knows that he has been schooled in the knowledge of what to do in cases such as his wife’s, thus, he will not even consider her opinion. So, this means that while men were viewed as experts in this period they were stubborn none the less. This is because of the notion that men were more knowledgeable. And not admitting when you’re wrong is something that men commonly do as well for a matter of pride. (Make sound sophisticated)

The novel Things Fall Apart took place in the Igbo Society-the part of the world that has very strict views on gender roles, but not just gender roles. It is likely that every individual in the Igbo society viewed or defined masculinity differently. To some, masculinity was expressed through anger and violence; to others, masculinity was expressed through a man’s responsibility. These different views on masculinity can create conflicts and can therefore impact individual's life. In the novel Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo and Obierika different interpretations of masculinity led them to a different life and such intention was successfully introduced through Achebe’s uses of foil characters.

noise was used to give a sense of tension. But later when is honour is

Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises has his male characters struggling with what it means to be a man in the post-war world. With this struggle one the major themes in the novel emits, masculine identity. Many of these “Lost Generation” men returned from that war in dissatisfaction with their life, the main characters of Hemingway’s novel are found among them. His main characters find themselves drifting, roaming around France and Spain, at a loss for something meaningful in their lives. The characters relate to each other in completely shallow ways, often ambiguously saying one thing, while meaning another. The Sun Also Rises first person narration offers few clues to the real meaning of his characters’ interactions with each other. The

In the first scene we meet Eddie and Catherine together. This is when we start to understand the relationship between the two by the language they use with each other, the dialogue, and actions they use with each other. "Hi Eddie!" "(Eddie is pleased and therefore shy about it)" the first instinct is that they are going out with each other. Catherine has a new skirt. When Catherine runs her hands over her skirt the point is even more obvious. By doing this it is like she is flirting with Eddie.

When thinking of masculinity in literature, one author has who has become synonymous with manliness comes to mind, Ernest Hemingway. Critics have spent countless hours studying his writing in order to gain insight into his world of manly delights, including his views on sex, war, and sport. His views can be seen through his characters, his themes and even his style of writing.

At the beginning of the play, Eddie is portrayed as a sensible and smart character. Eddie and the girls (Catherine and Beatrice) all have a requited respect for each other – Beatrice: “Mmm! You’re an angel! God’ll bless you” – and there are no problems as such, even when the immigrants first come. He is also respected by the community – Alfieri: “He was good a man as he had to be in life that was.” But this dominant respect that he gains is what he is very used to and the slight changes where Catherine finds another man in her life and Beatrice also looks after the two immigrants (Rodolpho and Marco) effects Eddie hugely. The respect that he becomes used to is now shared by the women in his life between the men in his house and he craves for more attention. This can be considered one of his flaws that lead to his downfall. He is also shown caring for Catherine in the beginning of the play. He can be seen as a normal uncle or father – Beatrice: “She’s got a job.” Eddie: “What job? She’s gonna finish school.” He is also very proud of Catherine – “Sure she’s the best… You look like a

a young woman “…You still walk around in front of him in your slip …”