Brighton Beach Memoirs Act 2 - Nick Finocchiaro

Brighton Beach Memoirs Act 2 - Nick Finocchiaro

The way that act 2 presents itself shows similarities in the first act but also shows some differences as well.  For example, The characters are always running into more and more issues.  In the first act it was about Stanley with his problems at work.  There was Jack's issue with the business closing.  Nora and her mother were arguing about her broad way opportunity.  This theme of negative situations repeats itself in the second act as well.  An example of this would be that Stanley has lost all his weeks salary in a poker game and now he doesn't have any money to help out.  Jack has to stay home and rest to recover from a heart attack.  Nora is avoiding her mother because she said she has to finish high school.  Kate and Jack are always arguing about something.  Kate and Blanche were fighting and eventually caused Blanche to want to move out until she found a job.   Blanche receives news that her date was in a car accident and is in the hospital.  This causes her and Kate to start arguing again.  Stanley feels forced to leave to join the military in hopes to make more money for the family. He comes back however since he couldn't leave his family like that.  The point is that there is just a lot of negative things going on for this family.  It makes me want everything to turn itself around for them so that their lives can just improve already.  They have to focus on getting through each day.  This leaves very little room for them to actually improve on their future.  This is the common theme that I've found throughout the play.

Act 2

No matter how bad things get families always find a way to forgive and forget. Crap hits the fan in act two. Jack has a heart attack due to his excessive working for the family. He not only worked for nine hours a day but also drove cabs at night to make a few more dollars. He is truly a blue collar worker and is a perfect example for his sons. Stanley sees his fathers struggles and in an effort to try and help the family he does the complete opposite by gambling away all his money. Kate is so upset with her sons decision that it leads to a fight between her and Blanche. Blanche is so stunned with Kate's feelings towards her and she feels as if she should leave and gain her independence. Stanley, feeling like the families demise is all his fault, decides to leave and join the army. This is the turning point for Eugene. He see his family starting to fall apart and there's nothing he can do about it. He's scared of being lonely but more importantly he's scared because he knows he now will have to take responsibility and grow up. In my opinion, one of the reasons why Stanley chose to leave was because he had faith in Stanley. When Stanley forces Eugene to show him his report card he sees that his brother is a smart kid and can go somewhere in life. We know from act one that Stan is a big believer in principals which means he wouldn't leave his family if he didn't think they'd be okay. Later that night, Nora returns and is informed on the events that occurs that day. Kate is woken up by the conversation between Nora and Blanche and forces Blanche to stay because now she feels bad about what is happening. Stanley returns the next day and the family lives happily ever after.

The picture below connects with one of the things act two teaches us. Act two teaches us that communication is key for a family. An example would be the argument between Kate and Blanche. Initially feelings were hurt but it was good for their relationship.

Brighton Beach Memoirs #2

Author: Neil Simon

"This is a family. The world doesn't survive without families..." - Kate

Act 2 took a big turn when drama started stirring up in the household. As predicted, Kate lashed out. She was finally verbal about her internal struggles with working constantly. Doing things for every family member took a toll on Kate and she had enough. We see this carry out in her argument with Blanche, such as when Kate said "Who should I care about? Who's out there watching over me? I did enough in my life for people" (page 101. )Just as Blanche was ready to take the next step and go on a date, problems came about like dominos, slowly knocking family down one by one. However by the end, the family mended their issues, and returned to the same dysfunctional family we were introduced to in the very beginning.

"I do not decide who lives and who dies, or who's rich or poor or who feels lived and who feels deprived."- Blanche page 115

Every family member in the story, is a dynamic character. This was justified once deep into Act 2. The family seems very plain and routine, but each character had transformed in their own way. Eugene finally grew up, learned a thing or two, and learned to stand his ground and speak out a bit more. " A momentous moment in the life of I, Eugene Morris Jerome. I have seen the Golden Palace of the Himalayas...Puberty is over. Onward and upwards!" Stanley came to his senses when debating running away, and realized his family needed him. Kate; who once was just a house wife and mother, always catering to others and never speaking her mind, spoke up and stood her ground as well when it came to the Blanche situation.

I guess there comes a time in everybody’s life when you say, “This very moment is the end of my childhood.”- Eugene page 108

Brighton Beach Memoirs wraps you up in this crazy family's house and makes you feel like you're in the same boat with them. This story shows that no matter the situation, this family in the end will always come back around to each other. After all... the world doesn't survive without families!

"Believe me, there is no leg that's twisted or bent that is more crippling than a human being who thrives of his own misfortunes..." - Blanche

Act 2

The house is going crazy in this act. Jack had a heart attack which causes him to stay home instead of working. This should not be such a problem because Stan is bring home money, but that is not the case. Stan lost all of his money in playing poker which causes problems in the house. Blanche was supposed to go on a date with Frank whom Kate does not like very much. Blanche's plans fall through and Kate and her get into a huge fight. Stan's money problem causes he to run away and try to join the army. He thinks he is the cause of all of the fighting which is not true. Blanche says that she will move out and once she find a place that she will bring her daughters with her. By the end of this act everyone stopped caring about the problems that they were having. Stan ended up coming back to the family. Jack also had some amazing news. His cousins from Poland escaped and are coming to them. Everyone is happy that there were able to get out. Towards the end the family come closer together.  
 

Act 2

 

                The family has many issues during act 2. One of the big issues is that Jack has a heart attack. Eugene says" It wasn't a major (he whispers) - heart attack". on page 77, but it was still a heart attack. This is a big for one of 2 reasons, it hurts them financially. We know from Act one that they are already having financial problems. This heart attack was said to be from "driving a cab at nights to make extra money and just plain wore out." page 77. "Doctors orders say to stay at home for three weeks but Pops wont listen, he thinks three weeks will turn into permanently." page 78. Without Jack working the houses money income is slim. This relating to the financial problems in Act One. Jack having a heart attack is another problem because for obvious reasons his health. Since he will be out for a couple weeks when he gets back to work , he will try to work too hard and "plain wear himself out' again. Another problem in Act Two is that Eugene claims to hate Nora. Eugene says on page 78 “ I forgot to tell you, I hate my cousin Nora. She’s been real snotty to everyone lately. This is an issue because issues within the family will only turn into more problems.  Every little thing that may annoy Eugene or Nora may turn into a bigger problem that could possibly work Jack up into another problem. As if they weren't dealing with enough already.
 


This picture represents Jack because he is supposed to be resting for three weeks but he refuses. This picture is a person who is resting but is getting up to something. If this was Jack he would be getting up to go work and make money for the family.

Jack had a heart attack, and has been told to stay in bed. He is overwhelmed that his time off will cost him his job. Everyone is getting on eachothers nerves,even Nora, who is usually always happy has become irritable. Stan arrives home and tells Euguene that he gambled away his entire pay check. Blanche is getting ready to go on a date with Frank Murphy, a man who lives across the street. Kate clearly does not approve of him since he is an alcoholic. Laurie arrives with a letter from Frank’s mother telling her that Frank was drunk driving an got in an accident, and would not be able to go on the date with Blanche. In addition, Frank and his mother were planning on moving to upstate New York in order to get him treated at a clinic. After reading the letter, Kate crows triumphantly “I knew it! I said it from the beginning didn’t I?… I warned you the first day about those people!”. Blanche is clearly affected by this and jumps to Frank’s defense and tells her sister to be charitable. The theme of this act would probably be chaos. Everything that is happening in the house is chaotic and it is making everyone's nerves go through the roof. Act 2 can be represented by the picture below.

Brighton Beach Memoirs 2

Act 2

Brighton Beach Memoirs

In act 1, the family had experienced some issues that had affected the whole family. With the family having financial issues and stressing about things, they didn’t realize that times like this is when they have to stay strong for each other the most. Family matters most and they all soon came to realize that in act 2.

Act 2 started out with a twist. The family was having some conflicts with each others. For example, Nora had felt like she wasn’t loved because he sister was getting more attention from everyone than she was. Another was when Blanche and Kate had a physical altercation. Everything was just going downhill to the point where it had me thinking Blanche was going to take her kids and leave. The turning point of this acting was when Kate and Blanche were talking on page 97. Blanche said “You live for your children. Your children keep you going”. I feel like Nora felt better after hearing this because she still knows her family cares about her. A family gets stronger and stronger from its children. Even though it’s a roller-coaster ride, a family has a bond that can’t be broken.  

   The picture to the left explains how family is where new life starts and how the love for one another will never end. This connects to the story because the Eugene family comes to realize that their love for each other is irreplaceable.

Brighton Beach Act 2

Act 2 was not what I had initially expected. At the end of act 1 I said that maybe some of the family`s problems would be solved, but that hasn’t really happened. The major theme in this act is family. Despite all of the problems they faced from act 1 everyone really stopped caring about those problems. Instead they all realized that being a big happy family was more important. There were multiple conflicts in act 2 such as Blanche and Kate getting into arguments. Also a problem is the decline of Jacks health. This is bad because he need to be healthy in order for the family to be supported from his income. An example of them not really caring about the problems would be when at the end Jack`s cousins were coming to America. Where he would usually be more frustrated thinking about ways to get more income to support more people coming into the house, Jack was happy for them to come. All of this shows how the entire family started coming together at the end and didn’t care for their financial problems. Their main concern was that everyone was together and happy. That is why I believe that family is the main theme of the 2^nd act. In the end everyone was happy.

Brighton Beach Memoirs Act 2

This act takes place one week later. The household is in disarray because Jack has had a heart attack in the past week and is resting at home. Blanche is getting ready for dinner with Frank Murphy. Stanley sneaks into the house and talks to Eugene in their room. Stanley has lost his entire week’s salary playing poker and is desperate about what to do. Jack decides to get up and go downstairs to see Blanche off. Kate is appalled at her husband’s disregard for his health, and they argue. Nora comes downstairs and leaves for her date, not wanting to see her mother. Blanche makes an appearance, and everyone feels she looks like a movie star. Jack sends Eugene and Laurie to get ice cream. Kate goes upstairs to ask Stanley for his pay so she can give emergency money to Blanche. Stanley tells her that he lost it in a poker game. Kate tries to remain calm and decides not to tell anyone about the matter until later.
Kate comes back into the kitchen in a very agitated state. Blanche is still worrying about Nora. Kate gets angry at Blanche for only focusing on her own problems. The sisters get into a fight which is interrupted by Laurie’s return. On her way to get ice cream, Frank Murphy’s mother gave the girl a note. Frank had a car accident and will not be able to keep their date because he is in the hospital.  Kate then expresses her resentment at Blanche for things that go back to their childhood. Blanche decides that she will move out and live with a friend while she looks for a job. When she has a job, she tells Kate, she will take her daughters and move into her own home. I felt like all these problems were to be solved by the end but I wasn't planning on more of Jack's family coming over. I feel this book had some pretty weird problems like incestual feelings.

Brighton Beach Memoirs Blog Post 2 Gender Roles

Brighton Beach Memoirs Blog Post 2

In the book Brighton Beach Memoirs not only are there financial problems throughout the whole extended family that affect the way they all live but also there are gender roles. Everyone in this time period presented in this book seem to be affected by gender roles and it's almost like that is what they do all the time.

Eugene is the perfect example of a set of gender roles that are shown in this book in the beginning of the book it says, “Outside on the grass stands Eugene Jerome, almost but not quite 15. He is wearing knickers, and shirt and tie, a faded and torn sweater, Keds sneakers and a blue baseball cap. He has a beaten and worn baseball glove on his left hand, and in his right hand he holds a softball that is so old and battered that it is ready to fall apart” (Act 1 Brighton Beach Memoirs). In the beginning of the story the author portrays Eugene outside as a boy playing baseball this is a gender role that we see very often in our lives because boys usually play baseball.

Jack and his wife Kate are another example of a gender role in this book. Jack goes and works all day which makes him the source of all income. While he is out all day, Kate (the wife) gets dinner ready, makes sure the house is clean and makes sure Jack (the husband) is happy when he gets home from his hard day of work. “Kate Jerome, about forty years old, is setting the table” (Act 1 Brighton Beach Memoirs).  Kate in this quote is getting dinner ready for Jack when he gets home.

In this book all or most of these gender roles are outdated. Back in the 30’s women didn’t have as many rights as they have now and so now things are a lot different. In today’s world both parents are working all day while the kids go to school and then come home to do chores and homework.

Act 2

During Act 1 Eugene's family worried about the problems they had more then realizing the most important thing is family.  Often they talked a lot about how they had little money but so many people to care for. What they didn't do is look around at the love ones that surrounded them everyday. That is why this picture connects to Act 2 of Brighton Beach Memoirs. 

Act 2 had the family face multiple conflicts between each other for example, Kate and Blanche fighting, Jacks health declining and Nora claiming  she felt unloved because she got less attention then her sister. Everything seemed to be falling a part. At first I thought the family was going to split up and Blanche and her children would move out but by the end they realized family is more important than fighting and decided to end it. Nora realized her mother does love her and Blanche tells  her sister Kate on page 97 "But if you love someone, you forgive them." Love is what holds a family together and that shows in Act 2. The family has faced many difficulties with the loss of Blanche's husband years before, Jacks health declining, Blanche having to depend on her sister Kate to have a place to live. But through all the fights and hard times they have stuck together and remained a family. 

Act 2

In Act 2 I thought that everyone's problems were going to be solved. After reading it their problems weren't really solved at all but they just stopped caring about them. Everyone in the family just started caring about each other more. As at the end Jacks cousins were released from Poland and were coming to America. Instead of worrying about feeding them and housing them, Jack was just very happy that they were alive and coming to America. Everyone stopped looking at all the little problems they had and began to realize that what they really have is a good family. Everyone started to get along a lot better towards the end as Kate and Blanche got into a big argument. After their argument, they apologized and became close. As Kate was willing to help Blanche get a job and find her own place. Everybody was happy at the end of the play.

Brighton Beach Memoirs #1

Author: Neil Simon

Meet Eugene, a fifteen year old boy who only causes trouble in his family. Or at least that is how the family treats him. Any small command made, is made towards Eugene and only Eugene. Along with a whole lot of girls. Being an outcast, he shouts one bit about baseball, and he is shut down. When "Pop" comes along into the story there is some gender roles brought up. There is clear showing of it when he discusses the roles of women and how they are meant to be working around the house. On page 40 it is mentioned that Kate in a sense "babies" her husband. "He gets up at five-thirty. My mother has to line up his shoes at night because he can't make decisions at five- thirty." It shows that Eugene seems to be the only one standing out of his family, describing other interests in life. But with his father having strong opinions towards everything... how will the family stay together so strong in a time so weak?

The gender roles can only go deeper as the women in the story work more and more, wearing themselves out completely. Will anything change? Will the women in the family ever say enough is enough and demand a break? Or will they continue to let the father Pop decide their every day choices and control their lives?

With the difficult time this family is trudging through, and the money they are struggling with, how will anyone get their way? Nora dreams of dancing but it won't make her much money for long. And most importantly, what will Eugene do with his love for baseball? Who knows where this book leads, so many different characters all in different directions.

Act 1 Brighton Beach Memoirs

The story begins with the main character Eugene Morris Jerome taking part in his own imaginary setting where he created a virtual baseball game outside of his house.  Eugene explained to us that his dream is to play professional baseball or to pursue a career as a writer.  We also see that Eugene possesses a journal. Eugene wanting to play professional sports is a typical dream of a young boy but him wanting to be a writer stood out to me. To be a writer it takes an observant person that is very creative. So I immediately waited for signs of creativity within Eugene. The virtual picture he painted of that baseball game pointed towards his imagination and creativity. Eugene’s father, Jack Jerome, is struggling to figure out how he can support the large family with the additions of his aunt Blanche and his two cousins Laurie and Nora. While his father deals with his problems, Eugene has his first sexual encounter in a dream.  He has his wet dream and this is where his sexual obsession begins. At fifth teen years of age it’s not normal to be addicted to sex however the awareness of sex and the attraction to the opposite sex, especially in males are absolutely normal. “How am I going to become a writer if I don't know how to suffer? Actually, I'd give up writing if I could see a naked girl while I was eating ice cream.” Eugene’s statement shows that he is absolutely willing to get rid of his career aspirations just to satisfy his sexual addiction. In act one it doesn't get too specific with his sexual encounters it was more of an introduction of the thoughts that he begins to have. One very awkward scenario was when he wrote the letter for his brother Stanley in order to receive a detailed explanation of how his cousin Nora looked naked when Stanley spotted her in the shower.  "Her breasts were gorgeous. Like two peaches hanging on the the vine waiting to be plucked...Maybe nectarines. Like two nectarines, all soft and pink and shining in the morning sun." This was very weird because although Eugene is young, by now he should understand how gross it is to be attracted to his family. Stanley feeds his sex addiction by promoting masturbation to him. "Do me a favor, Eugene. Go in the bathroom, whack off, and grow up by yourself." It should be even more apparent that she was off limits because she lives with him, making her more of a sister to him. Stanley began to sense this amusement with Nora within Eugene. Let me give you a piece of advice: When you're going through puberty, don't start with anyone in your own house. Im curious to see how far this sexual addition goes in the story before coming to light to the family. I wonder how the main character will deal with this plight. Moving forward i look to find out whether or not he will approach Nora. I also want to know how his family would react if the discovered such a thing and I hope to see him grow up soon and avoid any more fantasies about his family.