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Plot summary | Genre | Cultural Context | Theme or issue | Aspects of Story |
Plot Summary
Alfieri is a lawyer in his fifties who is the narrator. Eddie Carbone is forty and a longshoreman working on the docks near Brooklyn Bridge. Eddie is married to a woman called Beatrice. Catherine is Beatrice’s niece. She lives with Eddie and Beatrice. She announces that she wants to leave school as she as has been offered a job in a plumbing company as secretary. Eddie is very protective of Catherine and wants her to stay on and get an education. Alfieri interrupts the dialogue to announce how Eddie was a good man in a life that was hard. Eddie’s cousins Marco and Rodolpho arrive from Italy to stay. Marco is married with three children. He has left Italy in search of work. Rodolpo is not married, he dreams of being rich and returning to Italy with a motorcycle. Marco tells them that when you have no wife you dream. Catherine and Rodolpho begin to date and Eddie gets annoyed, as he is very possessive. Eddie objects to the relationship between Catherine and Rodolpho because secretly he is jealous. Beatrice struggles to get Catherine to face up to her responsibilities and make her own mind up. Catherine is deeply influenced by Eddie and does everything he wants. Beatrice warns Catherine that she is a grown up woman and to act like that in front of Eddie and not act like a baby.
Eddie goes to Alfieri the lawyer because he believes that Rodolpho is simply using Catherine to get a passport so that he can move permanently to the states. Alfieri reminds Eddie that he can do nothing about this as Rodolpho is acting within his rights. Alfieri also reminds Eddie that he cannot marry Catherine himself. Eddie moves away in anger. Eddie tries to provoke a fight with Rodolpho by suggesting that he would be better off working somewhere else besides the docks. Act I concludes with Eddie showing Rodolpho how to box. Marco is uneasy however.
At the opening of Act II Rodolpho and Catherine are hoping to get married. Rodolpho tries to convince Catherine to break from the house and not be so afraid of Eddie. Eddie arrives home drunk and finds both of them coming out of the bedroom. He threatens to throw Rodolpho out of the house and forbids Catherine to go with him. She is torn between her attachment to Eddie and her love for Rodolpho.Alfieri warns Eddie that he has no rights either morally or legally and to leave Catherine alone to make up her own mind about marriage. Eddie telephones the Immigration Bureau and reports the fact that there are two illegal immigrants in his house. Beatrice decides to move Marco and Rodolpho upstairs to stay with a Mrs. Dondero.Two immigration officers arrive and take Marco and Rodolpho to prison. Marco is furious with Eddie and spits on his face as he is being taken away. Alfieri warns Marco that he must obey the law and that he has to return to his own country and find work. Rodolpho will be allowed to stay and become a citizen when he marries Catherine. Eddie threatens Beatrice that if she goes to the wedding she is not to return to the house. Catherine stands up to Eddie and tries to persuade Beatrice to go. She accuses Eddie of being a rat. Marco arrives and challenges Eddie to a fight. Eddie threatens Marco to restore his name and reputation. Eddie takes out a knife to attack Marco but dies as Marco thrusts the knife into his heart.
Genre
This is a play in two acts. The play is written in the form of dialogue. Alfieri, the lawyer interrupts the dialogue at various stages to comment on the narrative and develop the story.
Cultural Context
The social background of this play is a tenement overlooking the dockyards of New York. The introduction of two foreign characters from Italy to this working class environment of New York creates a good deal of the conflict and tension in the play. Both women who are represented in the play- Beatrice and Catherine- are shown largely to be trapped by social forces surrounding them and by the male protagonists in this world of the play.
Theme/Issue
Self Deception/ Blindness to reality
Eddie is the main character who falls victim to this theme. He is blinded by his passion for Catherine and refuses to face this fact even when Beatrice his wife points it out to him clearly. This self-deception governs the plot of the play and results in the tragic killing of Eddie at the hands of Marco.
Love
This play deals with the theme of love in different ways. Eddie is married to Beatrice but their love has grown cold. Eddie seems to be in love with Catherine but refuses to face this fact at any stage in the play. This love gives rise to tragedy, Eddie dies at the hands of Marco the Italian at the conclusion. Catherine falls in love with Rodolpho and their love is genuine and sincere. Their love is doomed to disaster and tragedy as a result of Eddie’s jealousy and possessive nature over Catherine.
The Law
Eddie goes many times to Alfieri to look for justice when he is unable to deal with the situation of Rodolpho and Catherine. Alfieri continually reminds him that there is nothing illegal about a girl falling in love with an immigrant, and that the law is natural. Alfieri tries to get Eddie to see that the law is ‘only a word for what has a right to happen.’ Eddie refuses to listen to him and instead continues to act on his passions and emotions.
Aspects of Story
Tension: Much of the tension in this play stems from Eddie’s passionate opposition to the marriage between Rodolpho and Catherine. Tension reaches its momentum when Marco spits into the face of Eddie as he is being led away to prison by the Immigration officers.
Climax: The climax of this play is reached when Marco who has been released from prison threatens to revenge himself on Eddie for having betrayed both he and his brother Rodolpho to the Immigration Officers. Beatrice tries to persuade Eddie to apologise to Marco and his brother, but to no avail. Eddie wants his reputation and name restored in the community.
Resolution: The resolution to the events of his play occurs when Marco attacks Eddie publicly and they fight. Eddie produces a knife, but Marco is stronger than him. Eddie dies at the hands of Marco at the conclusion.
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