Throughout the play, issues of law and justice are
raised frequently. Choose three events from the play that highlight there
issues and explain their dramatic importance.
Fundamentally law and justice are
dissimilar when used in connection with the Sicilian community and this is
highlighted frequently by conversations between Eddie and Alfieri, Marco’s
pivotal role as the Sicilian form of justice and his attempt to serve it and
ultimately, Alfieri’s speech which strikes the balance between the two and conveys
that harmony doesn’t come with choosing one, rather borrowing elements of both
law and justice.
The first major scene introducing
the dynamics of law and justice is portrayed in Eddie’s discussion with Alfieri
where he attempts to attach Rodolopho’s gender status by claiming ‘he’s just
[not] right’, hinting his possible homosexuality and then supporting this with
the evidence of Rodolpho’s ‘blond’ ‘wacky hair’ that emphasise Rodolpho’s
effeminate ways. Nonetheless, much to Eddie’s surprise ‘there’s no law for
this’ conveying that the law cannot serve justice all the time, especially for
such emotional matters. Eddie then attempts to accuse Rodolpho of marrying
Catherine simply because he’s ‘bowin[g] to his passport’ which seems more valid
compared to his previous attack on Rodolpho’s character, as it could possibly
involve the destruction of a young girl’s life. However once again ‘[Eddie] has
no recourse in the law’ and is forced o risk his daughter’s life which could be
based on Rodolpho’s legal greed. The law is powerless and ironically this is
unjust.
In addition to this scene is the
opposing force of justice when Alfieri claims that Eddie could use the law to
question ‘the manner in which [the illegal immigrants] entered the country’,
introducing the Sicilian concept of law where betrayal suffers severe
punishment. This is contradictory to the American law which actually is in
favour of confessing a crime. As well as that, Eddie’s response that ‘he
[can’t]’ denotes the significance of his idea of justice which involves
removing Rodolopho from his daughter’s life without breaking the Sicilian law,
at least those are his original intentions.
Law and justice are also prominent
issues towards end in the brawl between Marco and Eddie. When Marco is arrested
he’s shocked that “nothing will happen to Eddie”, symbolizing that the American
law only protects those that follow it, regardless of whether their actions are
just. Additionally, Marco believes that ‘in [their] country Eddie would be dead
by now’, indicating the intolerant Sicilian form of justice which is much more
instinctive and impulsive, as opposed to rule-based like the American one.
Besides that, Marco is reluctant to ‘promise not to kill’ as to him it’s
dishonourable which conveys the importance of honesty in Sicilian justice.
Nonetheless such, to some extent ‘Romantic’ ideas are disliked in
Thirdly is Alfieri’s speech in the
end to audience, a lot like a Greek chorus which highlights moral values,
including law and justice. He regards Eddie highly as ‘there’s something
perversely pure’ about him that intrigues Alfieri, denoting that although Eddie
does finally break the Sicilian law his instinctive desire to follow his
impulses, which ironically is the Sicilian form of justice make him appealing.
However, he’s also careful to say that it’s better to ‘settle for half, it must
be!’ which signifies that in terms of everyday life one cannot base reason on
their emotions, instead they must compromise and ‘settle’ with the law and
although it loses the essence of being ‘truly holy’, it is absolutely necessary
for the harmony we desire, punctuated by the exclamation mark.
Essentially law and justice are in
many ways the difference between the American and Sicilian moral values.
However, Eddie’s Sicilian nature which leads him to ultimately follow the
American law symbolizes the unrest and disharmony when the two clash, and yet
illustrates something innately ‘holy’ when elements of both are borrowed.