A View from the Bridge Summary

2019 3EX Pure Literature: View from the Bridge Act 1 Summary

Pg 4-16 (Wardinah). A

1. Eddie comes home and is greeted by Catherine who is wearing new clothes + hairstyle
2. Eddie then inform both Catherine and Beatrice about the arrival of Marco and Rudolpho who are the cousin and nephew of Beatrice.
3. Catherine got offered a job as a stenographer in a plumbing company but Eddie did not as he was concerned about her safety and wanted her to work in a lawyer’s office instead since they are of a higher class.
4. So Beatrice stepped in and persistently persuades Eddie to give in to Catherine.
5. Eddie and Beatrice told Vinny’s story on how snitching and betrayal happened which caused Catherine to be more cautious about keeping quiet on Rudolpho and Marco.

Pg 16-25 (Tricia). B

1. Rodolfo and Marco entering Eddie and Beatrice’s house
2. Eddie sympathising with Rodolfo and Marco for not having a stable income and the fact that they come from a poor country while Beatrice and Catherine are astonished.
3. Marco mentions he is working for his family who needs medicine and food.
4. Rodolfo’s dream of owning a motorcycle as to him, it makes him responsibility
5. Catherine excitedly cheering for Rodolfo’s to keep singing Paperdoll while Eddie warns Rodolfo to keep quiet so as not to be caught
6. Eddie tells Catherine to change shoes and not be a “Garbo” which upsets her and Beatrice.
7. Catherine offers Rodolfo sugar which makes Eddie “puffed with worry”.
8. Louis finding Rodolfo as a funny and entertaining individual which Eddie understands that it means he is too feminine and immature to be taken seriously.

Pg 26-35 (Nadia). C

1. Rodolpho and Catherine comes back after their trip to Brooklyn Paramount. Rodolpho tried to tell him about what they saw, but Eddie ignored him.
2. Eddie pesters Catherine with questions about whether or not she likes him and implies that he is insincere as “he is only bowin’ to his passport”
3. Beatrice and Catherine talks about Catherine’s dependency on Eddie despite not being her biological father and how she “gotta be your own self more”
4. Eddie goes up to Alfieri to persuade him that Rodolpho ain’t right because he is too feminine and that it should be a reason for preventing their marriage on the contrary, Alfieri insists that there is no legal thing he can do to stop Catherine from falling in love with Rodolpho.
5. Alfieri warns him that Eddie “has too much love” for Catherine and she needs to “grow up and go away.''

Pg 36-42 (Shakira) D.

1. The family is having dinner and they start discussing about their previous jobs which led to Eddie and Rodolpho arguing about fruit. A small issue of lemons being green turns into a heated argument full of tension.
2. Eddie twists the words of Rudolfo describing Marco’s wife as “a clever wife” into someone cunning enough to betray him.
3. Eddie scolds Rudolfo for taking Catherine out “without (his) permission”. Beatrice defends Catherine and rebukes Eddie but Marco tells Rudolfo to obey
4. Catherine “flushed with revolt” asked Rodolfo to dance with her to their “Paper Doll”
5. Then, Eddie sarcastically criticised Rodolfo’s lack of masculinity by using his feminine skills as evidence. However, Rodolfo was oblivious to Eddie's growing resentment which creates more tension.
6. Eddie tries to teach him how to box. This was a subtle way of showing that Eddie has physical superiority.
7. It is now Rudolfo’s turn to ask Catherine to dance.
8. Marco challenges Eddie's physical superiority by competing to lift a chair. Eddie failed and was left humiliated and stunned while Marco’s “glare of warning turns into a smile of triumph”.

2019 3EX Pure Literature: View from the Bridge Act 2 Summary

Pg 43-49 (Sec 4s) E

1. Catherine and rodolfo having a conversation about moving to Italy to get away from Eddie.
2. However rodolfo strongly disagrees and they both had an argument because rodolfo does not want them to live a poor life in italy.
3. Rodolfo wanted to get his citizenship and find work to be able to provide a good life for Catherine in America.
4. Rudolpho feels insulted that Eddie and Catherine think he is desperate. He wants to marry Catherine because he genuinely loves her and not just because he wants to be an American citizenship.
5. Rudolpho wants to know why Catherine is scared of Eddie but Catherine just wants to maintain a good relationship with Eddie.
6. Eddie appears drunk when he returns home and finds Catherine and Rodolpho leaving the bedroom, and is enraged by it.
7. Catherine attempts to stand up to Eddie, and Eddie kisses Catherine and Rodolpho, in a way to mock them.
8. Eddie threatens Rodolfo to leave the house and Catherine says she would leave with him.
9. Alfieri tells Eddie that there is nothing in the law he can do and warns him that calling the immigration bureau would mean “you won’t have a friend in the world”

Pg 50-58 (Sec 4s) F

1. Eddie calls the Immigration Bureau
2. Eddie and Beatrice quarrels about giving respect as a wife and Catherine moving in with Rodolfo and Marco
3. Eddie tries to change Catherine’s mind about marrying Rodolpho but failed.
4. Eddie and B talking about Lipari the butcher’s nephew getting caught with Rudolfo and Marco at the same time because they are living together.
5. Immigration police demand to get into the apartment. Cartherine protects Marco and Rudolpho by questioning the police and trying to lie for them but was unsuccessful. Lipari’s nephews also gets caught
6. Marco spits into Eddie's face and calls him a murderer in front of the neighbourhood and Lipari.
7. Marco is intent on killing Eddie but Alfieri, Rudolpho and Catherine try to convince him not to.
8. Marco is surprised that there is no law against betraying one’s relatives

Pg 59-64 (Sec 4s) G

1. Alfieri is stopping Marco from going against the law and taking vengeance against Eddie.
2. Eddie cannot accept the fact and disapproves that Catherine is going to get married to Rodolpho
3. Catherine called Eddie a rat and other names and is now giving advice to Beatrice to stop listening to Eddie even though she is younger than her.
4. Marco prayed in Church to ask for forgiveness before killing Eddie.
5. Eddie acts innocent of snitching on Marco and says Marco is wrong to accuse him of being a murderer.
6. Eddie demands Marco to apologise and give him his name back.
7. They fight and he tries to stab Marco but Marco turns the blade inward towards Eddie, eventually stabbing himself.
8. Alfieri ends the story by talking about settling for half, the holy truth and loving Eddie “more than all my sensible clients”.