In Brighton Beach Memoirs there are 2 themes I noticed while reading. One theme is imagination. While Eugene is outside "playing" baseball he imagines himself playing in the World Series with some of the best to ever play. He puts this game before anything. While his Aunt has a headache he still pitches the ball against the wall making her headache worse. And he even tell his mother to wait so he can finish the inning that wasn't really happening. Eugene even announces the game like a real announcer would. The other theme in Brighton Beaxh Memoirs is poverty. Eugenes family isn't very wealthy and has many people living in a small house. Stan who is another person who is living in the house described that he had gotten fired from his job that day. In order for him to get his job back he had to write a letter explaining his apology to his boss. Jack who has 2 jobs explains that one is going out of business and now he only has one job. With only one person working the family is going to run out of money quickly. With many people fleeing their countries because of the Hitler Regime , Jack concerned that his family members will come to America and try to live with them. This is concerning because with the amount of people in the house already they are already struggling and with even more that could possibly come to live in the house they would struggle even worse if they don't find more work.

http://youtu.be/6Foay1H9dXs

This is the trailer of the the movie for Brighton Beach Memoirs. This relates because this is what the Play is but just a movie.

Brighton Beach Memoirs

Act 1

Brighton Beach Memoirs

In the first act of Brighton Beach Memoirs, Eugene Morris Jerome is a fourteen year old boy that doesn’t really have a lot of friends. A lot of times, he would be outside playing a little imaginary baseball game by himself. When Eugene gets older he wants to either become a professional ball player for the Yankees or he wants to be a writer. As the book unfolds, he begins to reach the stage in puberty where he doesn’t know what he likes yet. At one point, he was starting to feel attracted to his cousin. Eugene’s mind doesn’t know what it wants yet.

In the story, gender roles are widely expressed. Today’s roles are totally different from how they were in the 1930s and 40s. In the 30s, only the man of the family worked while the mother stayed at home and cleaned and took care of the children. Today, both the wife and husband work which reduces the chances of a family having financial problems. The picture to the left is an example on how Eugene’s mother Kate would cook for her husband Jack.

With Eugene living in the house with his six other family members (Mom, Dad, Brother, Aunt, and two Cousins), there are gender roles that are shown as they interact with each other in the household. On page seventeen, “We’ll leave it up to Uncle Jack. We’ll let him make the decision.” said by Aunt Blanche. This shows how the men are basically the head of the family when it comes to making all the decisions. Another example was on page three when Kate and Blanche were being introduced, “Kate Jerome, is setting the table. Her sister Blanche is working at the sewing machine.” This shows how their roles will be throughout the book.

Brighton Beach Memoirs 1st Post

In the beginning of act 1 of Brighton Beach Memoirs, Neil Simon explains the setting of the play. He explains that it is during 1937 which is towards the end of the great depression. The story goes along with the gender roles that took place during that time. The women of the house did all of the household duties such as cleaning, setting the table, and sewing, while the men of the house were either working or looking for job. during this time period it was hard for anyone to make money and in this household there was seven people living there and only two had jobs. I think the examples of their financial problems will be brought up a lot. Just on the first page it explains that his sweater is torn, his baseball glove is worn, and the softball he is using is ready to fall apart, but this is all they could afford. I feel like the main idea of the pay will be the financial instability that this household has, and the struggle they go through with Jack and Stan both losing their jobs at parts of the play. 

Brighton Beach Memoirs By: Neil Simon

         After reading the first act of the Brighton Beach Memoirs you can notice many themes that occur. A theme that really stuck out to me was the tension throughout the family. After reading this act you already know that the Jerome family is a lower middle class family living in New York during 1937(depression era). They are facing many financial problems when three relatives join. Everyone has his or her own individual problems in the play. Some problems in the family include Stanley, who is the oldest son in the house. He was fired from his job and his trying to get it back. Stanley losing his job really puts the family in a bad financial situation. Also the tension Jack is under, who is the father of the family. Jack is forced to work two jobs just so he is able to support the family. The tension for Nora is her not being able to join a Broadway show because it would require her to drop out of school. Nora`s mother Blanche hesitates in letting her audition which makes Nora very upset. All of this always incites a fight between the sisters and other members of the family. Throughout the first act I felt the most important theme was tension. I`m not sure what will happen in the next act. In my opinion maybe some of the family`s problems will be solved. Such as the Stanley being rehired to his job. Also if Nora is allowed to audition for the play then that could provide more income for the family. I am looking forward to reading the next act.

Act 1

Brighton Beach Memoirs

           In Act 1 of Brighton Beach Memoirs, fourteen-year-old Eugene Morris Jerome is playing a semi-imaginary game of baseball outside. Eugene is very into baseball and wants to be a pitcher for the Yankees. He is going through the awkward stages of puberty and finds himself being attracted to his own cousin. The story takes place in the 1930's which is a time where almost every family struggled financially. With Stan and Jack losing their jobs, the family is struggling even more than they should be with money. The family has seven people living in the house while only two of them work in a time of depression. I'm sure we will see this struggle throughout the whole story due to the time period. We will see if Eugene and his family makes it through.

Act 1

The main character in this play is Eugene. He is still in school at the moment and dreams about one day playing for the Yankees. Eugene is going through puberty at the moment and because of this is having dreams about his cousin Nora. Eugene asks his brother Stan about what is going on to him with the way he looks at girls. Stan describes to him that it is normal just not with his cousin. Nora's Mom ,Blanche, and her sister Laurie is living at Eugene's house with Kate and Jack who are Eugene's parents. Eugene's brother Stan also lives with them. Eugene his having problems with puberty and wanting to play on the Yankees. When his father Jack comes the family finds out an even bigger problem...Jack has been fired from his job. He is the source of the main income. Stan also gets fired for standing up for his morals. Stan can get his job back if he writes his boss an apology note, but Stan wants to stand up for his morals. Therefore, He wants to ask his father about what he should do. Nora is having problems of her own. She is a dancer who has started when she was a little girl. She has the chance to drop out of school and be in a Broadway play or continue school. Blanche believes that she should stay in school, but wants to talk to Jack about it. There are tons of problems that are going on at the moment and they are trying to find ways to over come it. Jack explains to Nora that it is her choice and he also tells her that he can only give her advice. After Stan's talk with his father he finds out that his father is not mad at him for what he has done. His father respects Stan's actions, but asks Stan if the family could afford him not bringing home an income. Hearing Jack's opinion about Stan's situation brings joy to Stan. He is pleased to now write the note to his boss to keep his job for his family. Stan helps Eugene with his puberty problems at the end as well. Stan tells Eugene that he will describe the details about Nora if Eugene helps him write his letter. By the end of the act there are some solutions to the problems that the family is currently having.

Brighton Beach Memoirs

In Brighton Beach Memoirs Eugene the main character is stuck juggling school, family responsibilities, and puberty. He starts to feel some feelings towards his cousin Nora. When he asks Stanley his older brother about it he says it's normal but not towards family. Eugene tries to follow his dreams but also writing down everything that happens in his crazy family. Jack Eugene's father loses his job at the party favor warehouse and now only has his one job, while Stanley loses his job for standing up for his morals. Nora also tries to follow her dreams by becoming a Broadway Dancer. When Nora gets told she can't tryout she turns cold towards the family and starts going out every night. Nora's mother Blanche is finally getting herself out there again but turns out to be snubbed by her date. Eugene describes an erotic dream he has had, and Stanley tells him it was a wet dream. Eugene presses him for information on puberty and girls, especially their cousin Nora, but Stanley’s focus is on his employment problem. Kate and Blanche have a conversation downstairs. Kate tries to convince Blanche to come to a party that Jack’s company is giving next week, but Blanche reveals that she has a date with Frank Murphy, a man who lives across the street with his mother. Jack is very disappointed especially considering he just got over a heart attack and there is lots of stress in Jack's life. Nora and Laurie talk in their room. They discuss their dead father and they resolve to spend no more money on anything so they can buy a house for their mother. You see that even though their father is gone he is still very relevant in their lives.