Discuss The Characters Of Marco And Rodolfo Essay

From the moment they enter the play, the formal and grateful character of Marco contrasts greatly to the more ostentatious and vivacious character of Rodolfo. This is evident to the audience through our initial understanding of them – Marco is respectful, honest and a responsible gentleman, which can be observed through his family ambitions and his gratitude shown towards the Carbone family. Conversely his brother is a raconteur who has more casual ambitions in life. Although he wins the heart of Catherine and the friendship of Beatrice, he clearly does not abide to Eddie’s ‘male code of honour’, and Eddie’s incestuous dreams with Catherine results in deep jealousy of the relationship that she has with Rodolfo. The audience interpret Marco’s formal, respectful character from the initial scene where Marco enters the household. He shows his gratitude towards the Carbone family in numerous ways, which is obvious through the repetition of ‘Thank you’. His sharp, but polite tone illustrates his formality and ‘machismo’ character, similar to that of Eddie’s. Additionally it is clear that he is a responsible and honest gentleman; his ambitions and priorities are obtainable and family orientated. He says:  Ã¢â‚¬ËœThe older one is sick in his chest.’ My wife – she feeds them from her own mouth. I tell you the truth, if I stay there they will never grow up. They eat the sunshine’. Not only does this show that he is honest and that he works hard for his family, it additionally depicts the harsh reality of his situation back in Italy, and as a result this creates sympathy from Eddie, Beatrice and the audience. Furthermore this sympathy and fondness of Marco expands when the salary that he can obtain for this family dumfounds him. He says:  Ã¢â‚¬ËœMy wife – My wife – I want to send right away maybe twenty dollars – Eduardo†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Ã‚  Without showing too much emotion, whilst following Eddie’s ‘male code of honour’, he expresses his gratitude towards Eddie, which is evident where the playwright informs us ‘his eyes are showing tears’. Marco is clearly ecstatic by this opportunity to make his family happy and this earns him his respect, particularly from Eddie, who has strong feelings about maintaining a satisfied family. Contradicting to the sharp and polite character of Marco, Rodolfo is more flamboyant and a raconteur. Whereas Marco is more sharp and ‘machismo’, Rodolfo is more vivacious and talkative, which is evident where he says:  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ Oh, sure! It’s a feature in our town. The horses in our town are skinnier than the goats. So if there are too many passengers we help to push the carriages up to the hotel. In our town the horses are only for show’  He not only answers the questions proposed by Beatrice, but he expands on it in depth, informing the audience that he is chatty and speaks in a more casual tone. Furthermore the repetition of ‘he laughs’ by Miller sums up Rodolfo’s personality – happy and confident. Additionally he is not ashamed to express his true feelings, which seems obvious to us when he responds to Eddie’s description of economic opportunities in America. He says: ‘How much? We hear of all kinds of figures. How much can we make? We work hard, we’ll work all day, all night – ‘  Marco shows that he is desperate to make money, and he is almost dumfounded by the mention of money itself. He is evidently not afraid to express his emotions; he almost shamelessly begs to work. This does not depict Eddie’s ‘male code of honour’ and therefore Eddie does not show respect towards him, shown by the playwright when ‘he is coming more and more to address Marco only’. Eddie chooses not to respond to Rodolfo’s comments because Rodolfo is ostentatious, which by Eddie’s standards does not make him ‘machismo’. As a result, Eddie responds only to Marco, who he genuinely respects as a result of his formality and gratitude.