How Does Arthur Miller Use Violence In Literature

In a world plagued by inequality, warfare, and poverty, violence can sometimes seem to be random and meaningless. It appears to disregard the natural laws of cause and effect and instead leave a legacy of confusing destruction. While this may or may not be true of violence in real life, it is absolutely false in literature. Violence, in a work of literature, must be seen through a critical lense. It is more than just the action; it is the motivation, the consequences, and the author’s intended meaning. An author will use violence in great or in restrained quantities so as to add to the work’s meaning, its themes and its characters as he or she sees fit. This is exemplified in Arthur Miller’s tragedy A View from the Bridge. Miller’s play …show more content…
This is the first instance where the discontent in the household turns violent. While Rodolpho insists he is not hurt by Eddie’s punch, the damage is already done. Eddie demonstrates through this physical action that he will never be willing to give up Catherine nor reconcile with Rodolpho, and thus the readers are shown that the play’s plot only going to grow even more tense and violent. Before the fight, Eddie is described as, “... weirdly elated, rubbing his fists into his palms.” This contrasts with Rodolpho, who exclaims, “I don’t want to hit you, Eddie.” This scene of violence foreshadows the rest of the plot. Rodolpho will repeatedly try to gain Eddie’s favor for Catherine’s sake. Eddie, by contrast, will make no concessions in the rest of the play. He has been driven too mad by his immoral love for Catherine, and Miller shows the audience in this scene that Eddie will continue to lash out because of …show more content…
These three acts of assault, all initiated by Eddie, serve to show both the complications and the repercussions of his incestual love for Catherine. In the boxing scene, Miller has Eddie punch Rodolpho to convey the theme of masculinity and forecast the arc of the rest of the plot. The scene where Eddie kisses Catherine and Rodolpho is further used to convey the theme of masculinity and confirm Eddie’s deepest desires. Eddie’s death scene uses the theme of the rule of the community to bring the story to an end, showing that the desire that caused him to act so violently throughout the process of the play brought him to a similarly violent end. Miller realized that in a drama so filled with unspoken tension that physical action was the only way to relieve it. Eddie’s actions, while physically brutish, do more than just harm the characters around him: they convey the true meaning Miller intended for the tragic fall of Eddie