Discuss the Opinion That More Than Anything Else, It Is Eddie's Understanding of What It Is to Be a Man That Drives the Tragedy.[a View from the Bridge]

Eddie Carbone is an American-Sicilian man working in Brooklyn. He works as a longshoreman: carrying crates and goods from the ships. He is quite a large man. His job requires him to be strong and a good worker. In other words he is very masculine. He is an ordinary man. He lives with his wife and niece, whom he treats like a daughter, and like all good men should do, he works every day to provide them with enough money to survive on. Eddie is a man's man. He lives within a close-knit community of Sicilians and is a well respected member of society. Eddie sees himself as a prime example of how a man should act and look.

The ending of a view from the bridge is fairly predictable from the beginning as it is hinted at by the narrator Alfieri throughout the first scene until the climax at the end of scene one where it becomes evident to us that a fall is about to occur. Many factors contribute to the tragic downfall of Eddie Carbone. However it is his limited understanding of what it means to be a man that is the most prominent. Eddie's perception of what it means to be a man is also connected with his views of women. Eddie's forbidden love for Catherine is also one of the main driving forces behind the tragedy. The downfall of Eddie Carbone may have eventually occurred even without Marco and Rodolpho coming over from Italy as his love for Catherine was unnatural. Marcos strong belief in the Sicilian codes of conduct cause him to fight Eddie. Eddie's limited understanding of what it means to be a man becomes damaged and challenged during the play, he responds terribly to these and doesn't approve when other men do not act as he believes men should.

In Alfieri's opening speech he makes it clear that something bad is about to occur. He says 'Sat there as powerless as I, and watched it run its bloody course. This one's name was Eddie Carbone...' This makes it clear that Eddie too is to follow the fate that something bad, but unstoppable is going to happen. Alfieri, like a narrator in a Greek tragedy, characterizes the chorus in the play and he tells the story and suggests eddies downfall throughout the play. 'There was a future; there was a trouble that would not go away'. Here Alfieri is explaining that even if Rodolpho and Marco hadn't arrived, Eddie's love for Catherine would've bought a downfall. Especially seeing as his relationship with Beatrice was becoming weaker and weaker. 'When am I gonna become a wife again, Eddie?'

Alfieri also helps to set the background of the play. Eddie holds an old fashioned, limited view of masculinity. His opinions of what it means to be masculine involve fairly stereotypical features, such as strength and ability. Characteristics that people generally associate with a male figure are strength, silent. The time that they play is set in doesn't help to widen Eddie's view of masculinity. The area, Redhook, is described by the lawyer Alfieri. But this is Redhook, not Sicily. This is the slum that faces the bay on the seaward side of Brooklyn Bridge...the gullet of New York swallowing the tonnage of the world'. It accommodated some of the worst people of the time, and though there were laws the country was controlled by gangsters. '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'. This would maybe inspire Eddie to act tough and strong. He understands that these gangsters are undeniably very masculine figures and that may affect him. All the immigrants came to this area, that's why the community was so close-knit. It is also why it was so devastating to betray family or friends by reporting immigrants. When Eddie warns Catherine not to say anything about the illegal immigrants coming to stay with them he tells the story of a boy who reported his uncle. 'The whole neighbourhood was cryin'.' The worst thing you could do was betray your family. However Eddie goes against his own words and reports the cousins to make sure that Catherine cannot marry Rodolpho. But when Eddie is exposed, in front of the neighbourhood, he is cast away. He attempts to persuade the community that he didn't report the cousins as that's not what a man would do, but this only leads to his tragic downfall. Alfieri is a lawyer and he still does not report the cousins because of the unspoken law, this gives us an idea of how desperate Eddie must have been.

Eddie considers that being a man means you ought be strong, silent, respected, and invincible, have a hero factor, provide for and support your family and be honourable. Eddie understands that it is a man's place to work, and women aren't capable to be employed in places that require strength. Strength is an obvious quality in a man; this becomes clear when Eddie, Louis and Mike are discussing Marco and Rodolpho working on the ships. 'He's a regular bull, I seen him the other day lifting coffee bags over the Matson Line. They leave him alone he woulda load the whole ship by himself'. Men are structured differently to women and this enables them to hold the image that they are stronger individuals. They are perceived as less delicate and agile, which are words that are predominantly more applicable to women. This can be linked with the idea that Eddie is invincible. 'Come on, kid, Put sump'm behind it, you can't hurt me'. Eddie never considers himself weak, that wouldn't be regarded as the 'macho' character that all men play up to like heroes. Heroes are typically portrayed as men. Heroes are admired and honoured - a status that all men hope to hold. 'I give them the blankets off my bed! Six months I kept them like my own brothers'. Eddie believes by taking in the immigrants he is saving their lives and is therefore a 'hero' character. 'Real men' in eddies opinion should be bread-winners, supporting their family and providing for them. The belief that Eddie should support his family is displayed when he says 'I supported you this long, I support you a little more'. During one of the first conversations that are held between the Carbone family and the immigrants the conversation turns to the subject of wives and families. Here is where Marco becomes favoured by Eddie and Eddie begins to show his dislike for Rodolpho. It is Marco who talks about his family being the reason he came to the country, so he could provide for them. 'What can I do? The older one is sick in his chest. My wife - she feeds them from her own mouth. I tell you the truth; if I stay there they will never grow up. They eat the sunshine'. It is a man's job to keep