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.
Like you said the families financial struggles will make it tough for the younger ones to follow their dreams. We might see Eugene have to become a provider for the family like Pop and his brother Stan and give up his dream of playing baseball. Hopefully the family can get by and that doesn't become the case.
ReplyDeleteAnswering your question about how will anyone get their way with this difficult time I feel as thought Eugene had strong ambition and will chase his dreams without letting anything stop him. But for Nora I think she will not go for her dream of dancing for the fear of failing and not making a living off of it. It will all depend on who has the most ambition to make it out of this hard time and pursue their dreams.
ReplyDelete