Arthur Miller's Tension And Conflict Analysis

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How does Arthur Miller build and maintain tension and conflict in the play?

Arthur Miller builds and maintains tension and conflict throughout the play. In the beginning of the play tension is built between the relationship of Eddie and Beatrice. Beatrice warns Catherine about Eddie’s feelings towards her. This builds tension in the atmosphere as Catherine no longer feels safe around Eddie. Towards the end of Act One, growing conflict is sensed when Marco gives Eddie a clear warning by demonstrating the power and strength in his arms. This does not only alert Eddie to stay away from Marco but also to stay away from Rodolpho as he was Marco’s younger brother.

In Act One, Arthur Miller uses rhetorical questions in this scene to build tension
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“He sings…with that wacky hair…I just hope that’s his regular hair” Eddie is emasculating Rodolpho in front of Beatrice by criticising his hobbies. Singing during the 1950s was seen as a feminine act. Eddie is trying to prove to Beatrice that Rodolpho was unmanly and so he could not get married to Catherine. This creates tension as Eddie is making excuses to stop Catherine and Rodolpho’s relationship. This is visible to Beatrice and she is understandably upset and worried for the future of her marriage and the future of her niece. Furthermore, Eddie blames poor Rodolpho’s physical attributes for being queer which meant he was homosexual “wacky hairs…hope that’s his regular hair.” Eddie implies Rodolpho’s hair was purposefully dyed blonde. Dying hair was something women did during this time. Again, Eddie was trying to prove to Beatrice that Rodolpho was not masculine enough for Catherine and was unusual. Eddie is inducing Beatrice by showcasing Rodolpho’s immorality. Arthur Miller displays this scene in such a way that the audience can see Eddie’s desperation to end Rodolpho and Catherine’s …show more content…
“It’s almost three months you don’t feel good; they’re only here a couple of weeks. It’s three months, Eddie.” We can infer from this scene that there is no physical relationship between Eddie and Beatrice. Eddie indicts Rodolpho and Marco for bothering him. Tension is built when Beatrice proves to Eddie that his explanation for not having a physical relationship with her was wrong, making him feel uncomfortable. This creates suspense in the atmosphere as Beatrice has an idea of why her relationship with her husband is not going well but she is trying to get Eddie to confess. “It’s almost three months……It’s three months, Eddie” Repetition is used in this quote to emphasise on Beatrice’s feelings and on the fact that their relationship has not been doing well for a long period of time. Arthur Miller builds tension in this scene so the audience can get an idea of what Beatrice has to suffer through because of her husband having feelings for her niece. As an audience we feel Beatrice is reciprocating with Eddie by revealing her worries towards their relationship instead of Eddie denouncing Rodolpho due to his jealousy towards him. Growing conflict is displayed between the couple as this scene makes Eddie look guilty for the relationship he has with his

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