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In this book all or most of these gender roles are outdated.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.