Catherine screams

Then Rodolpho enters the room, and immediately the tension is built up even more as Eddie shouts 'Get outta here! 'When Rodolpho tells Eddie that Marco is coming, there is a ' pause ' and just to show Beatrice's fear for Eddie's life, Miller uses a stage direction to show her 'raising her hands in terror '. Then when Rodolpho tells Eddie that Marco is 'praying ' (showing that he feels he is about to do something terrible and is asking God's forgiveness in advance) we are given another ' pause ' in which to fully consider the implications of what Rodolpho has just said.

Then Rodolpho shows he himself knows something bad is about to happen by wanting Catherine to leave with him, ' I think it is better we go '. Catherine too shows she feels the same by asking Eddie to leave Red Hook. Beatrice then ' quietly ' asks him to ' go someplace. Come you and me ' this is showing us how frightened Beatrice and the others have become both for Eddie's, and Marco's life but they are unable to persuade Eddie and another stage direction tells us that Eddie is resolute in his decision not to go anywhere, ' he has not moved '.

He confirms this by using speech to illustrate his resolve ' Where am I goin'? This is my house '. Then Beatrice ' cries out ', ' He's crazy now ', showing that she knows Eddie is as obstinate as a mule and has made up his mind, that he is not going anywhere. She then points out how pointless this feud is by remarking on how Eddie ' always liked Marco! ' At this point we are reminded how Marco made Eddie ' lose face ' in front of the whole community. Then Miller shows us how desperate Rodolpho is to stop the confrontation by having him step up to Eddie, ' suddenly ' to apologise.

He then goes on to show how Eddie's stubborn pride prevents him from accepting Rodolpho's apology by having Eddie ' snap away ' his hand when Rodolpho reaches over to shake it. Rodolpho, not deterred by this goes on to suggest that they tell Marco that ' they are comrades now, then maybe he will not.. ' but Eddie interrupts him and Catherine screams ' give him a chance ' but Eddie does not listen and tells Rodolpho that he wants Marco to admit he is wrong in front of the whole neighbourhood or he and Marco will ' have it out '.

Then the tension is built up even higher as when Eddie tries to leave the house to confront Marco, Beatrice ' bars ' his way to the stairs and confronts Eddie about his feelings for Catherine, ' You want somethin' else Eddie and you can never have her! ' In response to Beatrice's accusation Catherine exclaims ' B ' in ' horror ' and disbelief and Eddie appears to be 'shocked ' and ' horrified ' as his fists are ' clenching ', perhaps in disbelief or perhaps because he realises his secret is out.

At this point Marco ' appears outside and walks toward the door ' and Beatrice, ' cryin' out and weeping ' pleads with Eddie to just let Catherine go, ' tell her goodbye forever! '. Then Eddie cries out ' in agony ' and denies Beatrice's allegation as ' his fists clench his head as though it will burst 'and he cries out ' that's what you think of me-that I would have such a thoughts? '. Just as Eddie is feeling upset and disgusted with both Beatrice and himself, Marco reaches the street outside and calls Eddie's name.

At this point Miller shows us the additional pressure the community is putting on Eddie and Marco by having 'people appear outside ' around Marco. Eddie puts on a show for the community, as he speaks ' flinging his challenge ' back to Marco. Then the pressure is shown again when Eddie speaks again as Eddie ' gradually comes to address the people '. Once more the stress and strain the community is causing Eddie is illustrated well when Eddie speaks to the crowd, and says, ' Maybe he come to apologise (Marco)....

For what you said about me in front of the whole neighbourhood? '. This more than anything shows how Eddie feels he cannot back down to Marco or, by his own beliefs, he would have to suffer the wrath of the community. Miller then uses the particularly effective adjective of ' murderous ' to describe Eddie's eyes at this point as it shows us exactly what Eddie is thinking as he calls Marco a ' liar ' once more and ' lunges ' for him. A ' hushed shout ' arises from the crowd, Marco calls Eddie an ' animal ' and Eddie ' springs ' a knife on Marco.

Eddie lunges again and Marco, ' grabs his arm ' and ' turning the blade inward and pressing it home ', he accidentally kills Eddie, who then ' falls to his knees before Marco '. Then Beatrice and Catherine hold him up ' calling his name again and again ' before Eddie dies in Beatrice's arms. The words and phrases Miller has chosen, describe the tension between the characters so well, that you do not merely see, but you feel the atmosphere Miller is trying to create. The stage directions and dialogue are used excellently tp leave us in no doubt as to what the characters are actually feeling.

The stage directions were useful, as they were able to give us the important bits of information we needed to see, that speech could not. Upon examination, I feel that although the other characters do play a part in Eddie's premature death, the blame must lie mostly with Eddie himself. The community does, in my opinion, play the second largest part, by putting so much pressure on the individuals that live within it, not to involve the law in its affairs, (mostly because of the way the American law had treated the Italians when they first arrived in America), and especially not to ' snitch ' on your own family.

Their homesickness for Italy resulted in the community supporting others when they came into the country, and the most pressure put on people was not to inform the immigration bureau of any illegal immigrants that may be staying in their community. The penalties for this offence we have already seen, when a 14-year-old boy, (Vinny Bolzano), was thrown down three flights of stairs by his own father and brothers, disowned by his family and spat on in the street. Eddie himself called Vinny ' crazy ' and remarked on how after doing something like that a man couldn't ' show his face ' again in the community of Red Hook.

It is Eddie's belief in this way of life, this community justice that ultimately destroys him. It is because of his opinions about the law, and what should happen to people who ' snitch ' that Eddie could not back down to Marco, especially in front of the whole neighbourhood. Eddie's death is the fault of the community for instilling these beliefs into Eddie, but the actual blame has to lie with the late Mr. Eduardo Carbone for taking the unwritten laws of the community so seriously, that he would rather die, than admit to breaking them.