1. Basics
1.1. by Arthur Miller
1.2. Set in the 1950s
1.3. Red Hook, Brooklyn
1.4. Impoverished, working class area
1.5. "The view" is the detached view Alfieri has - he knows the community but is not a part of it.
1.5.1. He is a "bridge" between red Hook and the posher areas of New York
1.5.2. He also forms a "bridge" between the old country (Italy) and the new (America)
2. Love
2.1. Eddie and Catherine
2.1.1. Eddie's unspoken, and unrecognised sin
2.1.1.1. He has sexual desires for his adopted daughter
2.1.1.2. "You want somethin' else, Eddie, and you can never have her!"
2.1.2. Catherine is too naive to understand Eddie's love at the start of the play
2.1.3. Eddie delays Catherine's leaving home at every opportunity
2.2. Catherine and Rodolpho
2.2.1. A purer form of love
2.2.1.1. Catheirne is attracted to his love of life
2.2.2. Possible that Rodolpho wants to marry C to gain citizenship
2.2.2.1. We discount this idea because we are so suspicious of Eddie
2.2.3. Eddie tries to paint Rodolpho as a homosexual in order to emasculate him
2.2.3.1. "He sings, he cooks, he could make dresses"
2.2.3.1.1. Eddie shows Rodolpho as a feminine character
2.2.3.1.2. He expects Catherine to share his view
2.2.3.2. "The guy ain't right Mr Alfieri"
2.3. Rodolpho and Marco
2.3.1. Fraternal/ brotherly love
2.3.2. Marco is senior and commands respect
2.3.2.1. Marco is quiet and more serious
2.3.2.1.1. He is desperate to make money to send home to his wife and children.
2.3.2.1.2. He resents his family being challenged by Eddie's fake boxing match
2.3.2.2. Rodolpho wants to enjoy life
2.3.2.2.1. He has no responsibilities to a family apart from his brother
2.4. Eddie and Beatrice
2.4.1. Their relationship has foundered and is sexually redundant
2.4.1.1. "When am I gonna be a wife again, Eddie?"
2.4.2. Beatrice is desperate for the relationship to work even though she knows Eddie's feelings are more than fatherly to Catherine
2.4.2.1. "be an uncle then"
2.4.2.2. She remains loyal to Eddie, even when he is clearly in the wrong
2.4.2.3. He exasparates her
3. Honour
3.1. The community is built on old values
3.1.1. The ability for a man to keep his word and be respected is the most important value
3.1.1.1. This is called his "name" (reputation)
3.1.1.2. "Just remember, kid, you can quicker get back a million dollars that was stole than a word that you gave away."
3.1.2. Eddie loses his name and is cast out by his society
3.1.2.1. "That one! [Eddie] He killed my children! That one stole the food from my children!"
4. Family
4.1. Similar to honour
4.1.1. Italian Americans believe the family is the strongest unit of society
4.1.1.1. By betraying his family (calling the Immigration Bureau on his own cousins), Eddie turns his back on the values of his community
4.1.1.1.1. His death is seen as a just punishment for his betrayal
4.1.1.1.2. This is different to how the law sees it
4.1.1.1.3. It is important to note that the values of the community are not the same as the values of law
4.1.2. The mafia (organised crime) is known as "the family"
5. Justice/ the Law
5.1. Eddie tries to find a reason to separate Rodolpho and Catherine in the law
5.2. Eddie cannot understand that the law of the land should be so different to the "law" of his own community
5.2.1. "A lawyer means the law, and in Sicily, from ... where there fathers came, the law has not been a friendly idea since the Greeks were beaten."
5.2.2. "You have no recourse in the law, Eddie"
5.3. Eddie breaks the Omerta (code of silence) that separates the law of the Italian community from the law of America
6. Alfieri
6.1. Chorus figure
6.1.1. Provides narration and key information about characters, plot and themes
6.1.2. Warns that Eddie will come to a bad end
6.1.2.1. Insists Eddie should let Catherine go