Good singer and dancer Free Essay Example

Since Rodolfo and Marco first arrived at Eddie’s house, Miller has shown how Eddie is desperate to get rid of Rodolfo and to discredit him, and is prepared to go to any lengths to do this. In the case of Rodolfo, he quickly comes up with several excuses to do this, he says that Rodolfo is, Platinum Blond, “slightly built,” Platinum Blond, a good singer and dancer and can make dresses. Moreover, both Mike and Louis from the docks seem to agree with Eddie: “He comes around the docks, everybody’s laughing,” Mike is shown to say.

This works both for and against Eddie, firstly it has positive connotations in that it shows that both Mike and Louis agree with Eddie about Rodolfo, and think that it is funny, which gives Eddie more reason to believe he is right and keep going, however, it could have negative repercussions on Eddie because if people find out that the source of the amusement is one of Eddie’s relations then it will lower peoples opinions of him, and the audience knows that his pride is a big part of Eddie’s life.

Later on, Eddie is shown to say to Catherine that Rodolfo is, “Just a hit-and-run guy,” and, “only bowing to his passport.” The word “only,” in the quotes shows that Eddie does not think there is anything other to Rodolfo apart from his desire to have an American passport, this indicates that Eddie has already made up his mind about Rodolfo, and has almost forbidden himself from seeing the good in the character, as he is sure he is right.

“Hit-and-run,” has connotations of a disaster in which the perpetrator has committed the act and then “run,” away, Eddie could be using this to tell Catherine that he ‘knows’ her relationship with Rodolfo is not going to last and that Rodolfo is not going to love her as she wants.

However, this may have different meaning to the audience, as they already know that Eddie has feelings for Catherine, and so this may imply to them that Eddie is only saying this because he is jealous of Rodolfo and wants Catherine to himself. This could create tension in the audience because it seems as though Eddie is abusing his power and influence as an uncle and using Catherine’s trust in him to make her do what he wants. This may also create tension because the audience is not sure how Catherine will react, and whether she will listen to Eddie or not, and also what affect this will have on the rest of the characters and the relationships between them.

It is obvious to see that Catherine is clearly distressed and confused by what she has been told; she is at a very vulnerable time when Beatrice comes to comfort her. However, it is easy to see that Beatrice trusts Beatrice on this though, and feels comfortable talking to her. Catherine says, “All right,” and “ok,” multiple times throughout their conversation, indicating that she is agreeing with everything Beatrice says.

The stage directions have a great impact in this scene: “Catherine, now sensing an imperious demand turns fearfully to Beatrice.” The words “imperious demand,” may suggest that Beatrice is now ordering Catherine, and telling her what to do rather than discussing with her, and this creates tension because the audience can see that Catherine has chosen to obey Beatrice even though this means disobeying Eddie. Tension is also created by the fact that Beatrice is using this argument to get rid of Catherine, because although Beatrice is saying that Eddie thinks she is jealous of Catherine, when in actual fact everybody but Catherine can see that she is only saying this to make Eddie seem like the enemy because she is jealous of the attention Catherine is getting from Eddie.

During Eddie’s Discussion with Alferi he voices several feelings he has about Rodolfo, which he has not previously been able to express to anyone else. The first argument against Rodolfo Eddie comes up with is that Rodolfo, “ain’t right,” that, “he’s a blond guy. Like… Platinum and that, “if you close the paper fast, you could blow him over.” These are all attempts to subtly suggest that Rodolfo is homosexual. This would give more credit to his argument that Rodolfo is just after his papers, as, if Rodolfo was indeed gay then he could not possibly love Catherine. This creates tension in two ways: the audience are not sure whether to believe Eddie or not, as although in theory it is possible, it seems much more prudent that Eddie is struggling to make what he is saying fit the Reality of the situation, and looks more like Eddie is trying to convince himself of this to assure himself that he is right and to stop himself having to admit that he loves Catherine.

Once back at the house after leaving Alferi’s office, Eddie makes several subtle hints at this to the other characters, when Marco says that Rodolfo is a good cook, Eddie, in his frustration at there being nothing he can legally do about Rodolfo, says in a supposedly sarcastic or cynical tone, “It’s wonderful, he sings, he cooks, he could make dresses…” Eddie links all these together because these are the qualities he believes a real man should not have, this ties in with Eddie’s feelings that Rodolfo is gay, and his distorted views on masculinity.

The word “wonderful” has connotations of being good and useful, this may be linked with Eddie trying to convince himself that he is right and Rodolfo is gay, and that the more ‘feminine’ qualities he can find with him, the more truthful it seems. However, as Eddie is not trying to sound sincere, it is more likely that he is being sarcastic, and is using wonderful as the opposite to what he means, as he feels the situation ‘just keeps getting better and better.’

The fact that Eddie is basing his argument mainly on the fact that he doesn’t think Rodolfo is manly enough, may suggest that he does not have a problem with Catherine having a boyfriend at all, but instead feels that the boyfriend should be the ‘normal’ alpha male, who is able to protect her, and that Rodolfo is not capable of this. This may create tension in the audience as, if Eddie is violent towards Rodolfo he will not be able to defend himself, as he is not a strong, manly person. This is important for two reasons: Miller shows that Eddie may not want Rodolfo to be with Catherine as he is not masculine enough, Miller also shows Eddie to say that “if you close the paper fast, you could blow him over” and that his voice when singing resembles that of a woman.

This could suggest that Eddie does in fact have Catherine’s best interests at heart, and that he just doesn’t feel Rodolfo would be able to look after her, but does not want to voice this in case it makes him look weak. This creates tension because up till now, it has seemed as though Eddie’s motives have been that he simply does not like Rodolfo, and is only thinking about himself. Moreover, Eddie is shown to feel that he must maintain a high level of masculinity and dominance in order to keep his authority in the household. He restricts any emotion he may show in case it lowers others opinions of him.

This is depicted when he is talking to Alferi, and has to leave because he is scared Alferi may see his distress. This is shown by the stage directions: “he feels the threat of sobs, and with a helpless wave goes out up the right ramp.” This creates tension because if Eddie hides his feelings and emotions from everybody including the man he feels he can talk most openly to then he will have no means of release and all his anger will build up until he can no longer control it and will unleash it on the other characters.