How does Arthur Miller prepare his audience for the tragic events of the play?

Georgia Krok
A View From a Bridge is a play by Arthur Miller written and set in the mid 1950’s
about a family of Italian descent. The name A View From a Bridge signifies how
Alfieri the Chorus opinion is from the richer and more educated side of the
Brooklyn Bridge. The play follows the story of Eddie’s downfall, the main
protagonist and tragic hero who’s hamartia is his perverse love for his 17 year
old niece Catherine a 17 who is being brought up by him and his wife Beatrice.
This play follows the style of a Greek Tragedy. In this essay I will discuss Millers
use of foreboding, the impact of a cyclical story, and the importance of justice.

The play commences by a monologue about Alfieri, a lawyer, who is acting as the
chorus. He describes his encounters with others as “uneasy” because, “To meet a
lawyer or a priest”… “Is unlucky.” This is because many people only go to a
lawyer when things are bad and a priest when someone had died or when they
needed someone to talk to or to confess. Miller opening up the play with the
implication of death is significant as it forebodes the events of the play.

Furthermore, Alfieri says that he cannot do anything but let the play “run its
bloody course,” signifying that the events will entail violence and misfortune.
This is contextually relevant as Alfieri is “in his fifties and turning grey” because
he can’t stop but feel “powerless,” as once before he had “heard the same
complaint.” The mention of the same story happening over and over again with
little to no change conveys the cyclical nature of life and also the inability to stop
what is destined to happen. This is contextually relevant, as many Greek’s believe
in the impact of fate and how there is very little that can be done to stop it. The
cyclical nature of the play is emphasized, as the main focal point of the stage is a
“round dining table” in which all the action takes place around.

Moreover, Alfieri talks about how “Justice is very important here [in Red Hook].”
This foreshadows the ending of the play in which Marco murders Eddie in the
name of justice. The phrase “very important” emphasizes just how much people
cared about being fair, this stems from early Italian values and justice system run
by the mafia. Miller prepares the audience for the tragic events of the play by
foreboding Eddie “snitching” on Marco and Rodolpho by referring to the story of
Vinny Bolonzo. “The boy snitched, ”… “On his own uncle!” This preempts how
Eddie will betray his own family and tell immigration about the illegal
immigrants. The story then goes on to say how his family almost killed him. This
conveys both the severity of the situation but also the human need for
retribution and also is contextually relevant as Red Hook was mainly filled with
Italian immigrants who grew up with the values of the Italian Mafia who looked
down upon “snitches.”

In conclusion, Miller prepares his audience for the tragic events of the play by
foreboding death, the cyclical nature of life and events and justice and the story
of Vinny Bolonzo.