The Effects of the Sicilian Code of Honour in A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller
'A View from the Bridge' is a play set within the New York in the Red Hook area just after the years of the Great Depression in 1941. America was desperately in need of laborers and other countries were desperately in need of work. This lead to many immigrants transporting themselves to America. This brings us to the play which centers on two characters that enter the country illegally in search of money. They have entered into a community that not only bought their willingness for work into the country but a community dominated by the unwritten law of the Sicilian moral code.
Eddie and Marco are both deeply
…show more content…
When Rodolfo enters the household and starts to go out with Catherine he begins to dislike Rodolfo. Eddie's dislike for Rodolfo is constantly heightened throughout the play by the many things Rodolfo does. Rodolfo is described as a homosexual figure by others in the community. Eddie starts commenting on Rodolfo's bad side when he and Catherine start seeing each other.
"He ain't right."
Says Eddie to Alfieri when discussing Rodolfo
Eddie acts in a friendly manner when he first meets Rodolfo, but as the play progresses, when for instance Rodolfo comments on Catherine's beauty, he begins to show hostility towards Rodolfo;
"(laughs indicating Catherine) especially when they are so beautiful."
As Eddie picks up on these comments he tries to find any fault in Rodolfo
"He's like a weird."
What perhaps further increases Eddie's dislike for Rodolfo is when Rodolfo breaks the Sicilian Moral Code by not asking Eddie if he could take Catherine out on a date. Not only is Rodolfo breaking the Sicilian moral code, but this perhaps makes Eddie's jealousy flare his unnatural love for Catherine. There is a suspicion within the play by characters such as Alfieri that perhaps Eddie loves Catherine more then just as a daughter.
"She wants to get married, Eddie. She can't marry you, can she?"
Alfieri
Miller’s concept of not allowing the individual escape from his social obligations into his private self applies to Proctor in terms of his past affair with Abigail Williams. As he tries to move on from this dark piece of his past, it only seems to come back and haunt him. When he has a run-in with Abby towards the start of the play while he goes to check on Betty, he establishes that he “may think of [Abby] softly from time to time. But [he] will cut off [his] hand before [he’ll] ever reach for [her] again” (22). He confesses to thinking of Abby, but by no means does he wish for them to be together from that point forward. His love and respect for his wife stands stronger than any childish temptation Abby throws his way, even after all that
In The Crucible a lot of stuff happens. A girl controls the whole village with her bad reputation. A families life gets messed up. Also alot, a lot of people die just because of this girls actions. Every bad thing leads to another and that is what happens in this play. In this play it shows who people really are when a person gets power they don't care about others they get what they want. Repetition is everything in that time.Reputation and integrity is a big role in this book just because everyone's reputation changes dramatically over and over again. With a bad reputation you can do bad things. If you have a powerful reputation you can get whatever you want and when you want it. In The Crucible By Arthur Miller, Reputation and integrity was shown by the characters actions.
The merchant of Venice is a drama and romantic play, by William Shakespeare. Regarding the test for the suitors and the final part of the book, the author is inspired by a fourteenth-century Italian novel of Giovanni Fiorentino, called “Il Giannetto”, (Bullough, 1957). The merchant of Venice is believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. It is contained on the First Folio, in the contents of Comedies, sharing certain aspects with others plays. That one traditionally ends with the positive return to order expected from the genre, it also has some characteristics of a tragedy, in particular with regard to the punishment and the oppression that are suffered to Shylock Jew. The peculiarity is the title of this book, “The Merchant of Venice”, in fact, it refers to the character Antonio, and not Shylock, a moneylender, which has a pivotal role in this play. One possible reason is that by calling “The Merchant of Venice”, Shakespeare wanted to focus the attention of the readers, on the
The word crucible describes an event that involves a test or trial of someone or something. In the story The Crucible by Arthur Miller, various characters endure a severe test of honestly, bravery, and goodness. Throughout the story, a series of events lead to tragedies, which involve these characters to make important decisions. If chosen incorrectly, it may lead to the death of another innocent person, or possibly even themselves. These events however, will bring out the true colors of everyone in Salem, whether they truly good or evil.
Honor - we often hear this word thrown around in daily conversation. Whether talking about respected members of the community or characters in novels and films, the word honor is used repeatedly. What does honor really mean, though? The answer to that question is certainly not simple, as the definition of honor differs from person to person. This idea of the various types of honor can be shown through comparing the protagonist, John Proctor, in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller, to Will Kane in the movie “High Noon”, directed by Frank Zinnemann. Proctor struggles with trying to find his definition of honor as it changes from being held accountable by society’s standards to his own private moral of truth.
In Miller’s “The Crucible” the pride of the people of Salem leads to a massacre of innocent lives. Pride is delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship. One of the main characters, John Proctor, has pride in his beliefs of purifying the Church of England. His wife, Elizabeth, has pride in her ability to use the trials as an ultimate revenge against Abigail Williams. John Hale is the “expert” on witches his pride springs from his extensive knowledge, but later in the play he recants and loses all his respect. Hale is the chemical that cause the conflict to come into full swing between Elizabeth and John Proctor.
In Arthur Miller’s dramatic play The Crucible, the notable writer successfully argues that the people in Salem rely too much on their reputation by creating a connection to the audience in order to convey the message. He does this in hopes of informing the world that in times of hysteria, reputation means nothing. To prove the argument, Miller uses ethos by developing his credibility when he explains his very own knowledge of the historical situation. Also, the appeals of logos and pathos are evident when illustrating the value of reputation within the play through the characters’ tones.
Othello by William Shakespeare raises the issue of how rampant beliefs and attitudes in a society can cause a person to question their sense of self. In a society where racial equality is near non-existent, Othello, a black skinned foreigner in the Venetian society, is constantly reminded of his status as an outsider. Othello, however, is not depicted in a stereotypical manner and despite occupying a highly respected position he is often confronted with blatant racism throughout the play. The prevailing attitudes and beliefs of Venetian society towards Othello are exploited by Iago in order to manipulate Othello’s self confidence and emotional state.
Honor is a concept that has a great deal to do with entitlement and based on the actions or qualities of a person. There are three main types of honor that society recognizes; family, men, and women and in The Heptameron, Marguerite de Navarre portrays each of the three types of honor throughout her stories. Published in the 1500s, the series of short stories portrays the values and beliefs of that period of time. However, there are often a number of complications that follow honor that lie with classified and understandably honorable deeds or traits, and who is it that determines this. Another issue that one may find is that it is also complicated to be able to view one form of morality in the presence of another due to certain views clashing with one another. In addition to this, Marguerite de Navarre’s stories are written around the themes of love, lust, and adultery, in addition to honor. Each of these has a significant role in portraying the integrity of men, women and family. The Heptameron’s twelfth story has each of the three types of honor present throughout it, and show how they either compliment or conflict with one another. Through the character of the Duke of Medici, the Duke’s “other half”, and the sister of this man, the reader is able to recognize the instances in which honor is evident.
The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is written about the Salem Witch Trials back in 1692. It began with a group of girls messing around in the woods and when someone walks down and catches them dancing, which is against the rules, they were accused of performing witchcraft. This is what started the Salem witch trials. As the play goes on it tells the story about the accusations of witchcraft and the punishments results of the accusations. Throughout this play there were two main characters, John Proctor and Abigail Williams. John Proctor was a father of three boys, married to Elizabeth, had sexual relations with Abigail, and tends to stands up for what he believes is right. In the play, Proctor comes across many problems that are ethical dilemmas, one of the biggest is his reputation, and deciding whether to lie to stay alive or tell the truth and die.
All communities run successfully with qualities of fairness and equality. The well-being of the citizens depends on the support and guidance they receive from those with power and influence in their society. When the people become corrupt and start having intentions that do not contribute back to the community, the society will fall apart and be unable to maintain balance and stability. In William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible the reader sees examples of injustice inflicted on the victims within the plays through the people with power within the community. The Christians in The Merchant of Venice mock Shylock the Jew
Some would say that honor is a thing of the past; a thing long since extinct with the King Arthur and the knights of the round table. In fact, it is not, it is real and can still be seen all around through people all the time. In Charles Dicken’s novel, A Tale of Two Cities, honor and dishonor are main themes that are exemplified and enacted through many characters. To be honorable, or to act in honor, is to act in a way that is not necessarily socially acceptable, but is morally right, noble, and kind. To be dishonorable is to neglect the basic responsibility of treating every human being in the respectful manner they deserve, giving no variance to rank or status. Throughout the book different men show varying degrees of honor and dishonor.
Authority is the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience. This can often be portrayed in many ways like an authority figure. In the play there are multiple characters that start with a strong sense of authority in given situations. The idea of having authority lead to some conflicting situations. However, at certain points some of the characters begin to lose their authority as the problems continue. Throughout The Crucible, the amount of authority and power one has is a concern due to the lying that occurs.
Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is so alike to our financially afflicted world. The rules of law and commerce are subject to deceptive manipulation, fear of "the other" overwhelms respect for a common humanity, duplicity is the norm, sexuality is a vehicle for ambition, and money drives and wraps almost every action. It is a classic tale that includes important details of the financial crisis in the United States during 2007-2009. Shakespeare’s Venice, like the New York of his time - and the financial capitals of ours - is a city based on borrowing, on market speculation and greed masquerading as wealth and sophistication. Behind the curtains of the practice of lending and borrowing money in Shakespeare’s play lay the transition to capitalism: the rise of banking system; the scarcity for credit in developing industrial enterprises; and the growing dispute of default facing both aristocratic landlords and, above all, small, independent early entrepreneurs on trading ventures. Even though almost 600 years apart from each other, both Shakespeare’s tale and the financial crisis in the United States during 2007-2009 have a similar financial dilemma, each has its unique Shylock, Bassanio and Antonio- people who were responsible for causing the meltdown of their days.
'A view from the bridge' by Arthur Miller is a tragic intense play about family struggle, lust, passion and deceit. My aim is too look at the relationship of Catherine and Eddie. To understand the relationship, we must understand the atmosphere and culture. To do this we need to know why Miller wrote the play, background history and why this is significant to understanding the relationship between Catherine and Eddie.