After reading Arthur Miller’s play “A view from the bridge,” I am convinced that the most striking character is Marco. He is an Italian immigrant that moved illegally to the United States with his brother Rodolpho to work as longshoremen, since at the time (the play was written in 1955) his country of origin, Italy, was going through a major economic depression because of the outcome of World War II. In the play, we are told that Marco’s plan is to make enough money to survive and be able to send some of that money to his wife and his three kids back in Italy, who are starving. Marco physically resembles the Sicilian stereotype, with dark skin and dark hair. He is also very strong and he could easily “load the whole ship by himself.”(pg.541) In this play, the author uses plot, dialog, actions and symbolism to emphasize Marco’s honor which, in my opinion, is his prominent characteristic.
Throughout the play, we can clearly see that the plot helps us develop Marco’s character in our imagination. For example, he is an illegal alien, and this might give the reader a less honorable view of him, and it might justify Eddie’s action. But the fact that Marco left his family to give them support and to save his oldest son who is “sick in the chest,” (pg. 535) makes the reader forget about his illegal stay and makes his status rise to the one of a hero.
In this play, Marco’s actions lead us to the discovery of a violent side which he uses to defend his honor in a number of occasions. For example, when he challenges Eddie to lift…
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…e for mocking Rodolpho. But only in the second act his character is fully exposed and we see his image transform into a round character. In this play, Marco is portrayed as the victim, since he hasn’t done anything to Eddie but he still gets arrested. In addition, although his brother Rodolpho gets away with it by marrying Catherine, he has no other choice but to go back to his hungry wife and sick children in Italy. This thoughts, and knowing that Eddie has no regrets for what he has done makes him furious, and at the end of the play he seeks revenge.
I belive this play would not be complete without this character. If Marco would have not existed, it would have left Eddie unpunished and alive, and this would be in conflict with the very conception of drama which drives this works.
The Crimes of Crime and Punishment
The Crimes of Crime and Punishment
Our topic for this paper is Crime and Punishmet, by Fyodor Dostoevsky . There are several different issues on this subject. We chose three main points to talk about: The Crimes, the People who solved them, and the different types of punishments. These are the topics we chose for our report.
Crime in the nineteeth century was rapid though out London. But because of all of the poverty and sickness in the streets, crime was the only way to survive. Most of the crimes that took place in London were crimes that involved stealing. Pickpocket gangs and street gamblers were a regular sight when walking down a major London street. Prostitution was also a big money maker on the streets, done by both girls and boys. But crimes though out the middle class and rich were mostly property crimes and disputes which made up 90% of all crimes committed by the upper-class. In Victorian England and like
today there a two categories which crimes fall under. “Indictable” which is the same as our felony crimes that make up all of the major crimes. These crimes consist of: Murder, armed robbery, burglary, larceny, rape, and assaults on the police. The next called category is called ” Summery ” crimes which is equal to our misdemeanor crimes. Summery crimes were all minor crimes such as: Property crimes, Vagrancy, Drunkenness, Prostitution, Minor Larceny , and all other minor offenses.
Probably the most famous criminal in the Victorian period was ” Jack the Ripper “. Jack the Ripper was ” the first modern sexual serial killer” ( Sugden, pg.2) Jack’s trademark was the killing of female prostitutes. But not only did he kill them, he would surgically remove organs and intrails and place them near the dead body. “Jack the Ripper” wasn’t his only nickname, he was also called ” the Whitechaple murder ” because the body’s were found near the Whitechapel Road, and ” The Leather Apron” because of a man that would come by and beat up the prostitutes for no reason. Jack the Ripper is credited for 9 killings, but police think that he might be responsible for more. All of the killing accrued with in one square mile. Jack is described as carrying a long knife in which he would cut open his victims, and a black Gladstone bag, the contents of which is unknown.