Changing the Elements of Brighton Beach Memoirs

While I was reading this play I was thinking a lot on how the story would have been different if the main character Eugene was a girl and if Aunt Blanches husband had not died, and if Eugene's father Jack had not lost his job. If Aunt Blanche’s husband had not died then, she and her two daughters Nora and Laurie would have never moved in with Kate her husband Jack, and their two boys Stanley and Eugene. If Eugene was a girl he would have been weird around Nora, and could have gotten along better with her and possibly everyone else in the family. If Jack had not lost his job, then he wouldn't be as frugal and would not mind having Blanche and her two daughters stay for free. Unfortunately, Blanche doesn't have a job which makes it hard for her to give back to her sister and brother in law, if she had a job, then it would be easier for her to save up for a place to stay and give back to her gracious sister and brother in law.  As you see there are many changing elements in this play in fact, there are many changing elements in this play that I did not point out. What are your thoughts on the changing elements in this play?

Drama Elements of Brighton Beach Memoirs

The stage directions made it clearer as to what the characters were doing. When you are reading a play you kind of imagine what they characters are doing and how they are doing, but with the stage directions it adds more to the dialogue and gives more insight to the characters and their personalities. There are many parts in this play where I agreed with the stage directions. On page 70 the focus changes from the family talking downstairs to Eugene upstairs listening in on the conversation that was taking place downstairs. This happens quite a few times during the play and each time the stage directions makes it clear. I don't think that there could be any other way to write the stage directions. I think the playwright wrote the stage directions in a way that made sense with the scenes and the parts between all the characters. How do you think the stage directions could have been different? Or should the stage directions stay the way they are?

Brighton Beach Memoirs

The main theme of this drama was coming of age. There comes a time in an adolescent’s life when they start to figure things out and question every little detail. In this play a young boy named Eugene started to question his older brother Stan about life and wanted to know everything. Of course being the youngest of the family, it can be challenging to get information especially with extended family living with you temporarily. Eugene’s persistence on getting information about life from Stan was a success at the end of the first act. I am however, the youngest of my family, and from experience it’s not easy to get all the answers you want about life when living with two older siblings and parents who are worried about finances and college. The only answers I got was either yes, no, or may be. Now that my older siblings got their own life I am now somewhat an only child. Talking to my parents has never been easier. I don’t have to wait for them I can just go up to them and share my thoughts and get opinions on life. 

Kaffir Boy

There are numerous connections a person can make with "Kaffir Boy" such as racism, racism, and racism. Let's not talk about that, but focus in on the pride that a majority of the characters have in this book and connecting that to today's society. Clyde is one of the prideful characters, who shows off his library and play room to the humble unnamed boy. The boy in that moment said in his thoughts, "Never have I seen that many books in my life; even our school, with student population of over two thousand, I did not have half as many books, I was dazed" (line 152-153). The unnamed boy's grandmother tries to pick up anything that is worth any value in the trash such as clothes and books for her family. Connecting this to today, the most common sense of pride is pitying the less fortunate by donating items, so one can get more or even better items to replace it; or to make themselves feel better and be able to say, "Yea, I donated once." or "Crossed that off my bucket list".

Girl

The poem "Girl" reminded me of the movie "Titanic". The main character Rose had to look and play the part of a first class woman. Her main reason of keeping her first class image was because of, her mother. Her mother made sure that she was following the criteria of being in first class and not stooping down to any other class. The mother of the poem "Girl" lays out what is expected of her middle class daughter whenever she goes out in public. Both mothers want their daughters to have a sense of pride and meet the expectations of society no matter what social class they are a part of. Both mothers also teach their daughters how to eat, dress, and even sit properly when they are out in public. Each mother teaches their daughters different things as well. The mother in "Girl" teachers her middle class daughter how to clean, cook, and take care of a man. On the other hand, the mother in "Titanic" teaches her first class daughter, Rose how to take pride in her wealth, what to say in certain situations, and how to treat others in different classes. Both "Titanic" and "Girl" have different point of views on how to be a lady, though, they both have similar opinions on how a woman should meet their society's expectations.

Danger of a Single Story

Over the summer I got the opportunity to minister in Guatemala. Guatemala is a beautiful country, with a lot of culture and poverty. Months before I left for Guatemala, I had a mindset of homeless people begging for food and money, like the homeless in Philadelphia. When I arrived to this beautiful country of culture my single story was way off, the people there are very talented in art and take pride in everything they have. Some families who didn't have much did the best they could with what they had. The mothers would sweep their front porch to get of the "old dirt" for "clean dirt". The last day I was there my team and I got to go to a flea market, where the people would sell things that they had made such as clothes, jewelry, toys, and much more. I was reminded of this experience when I was reading/listening to the speech "Danger of a Single Story", when Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was telling a story from when she was younger. The story was about a poor boy named Fide who was domestic help for the Adichie family. One day Chimamanda and her family traveled to Fide's village to visit. During their visit Fide's mother showed them a beautiful basket that his brother had made. Chimamanda had a sort of pity for Fide because, he was poor. Once she saw the talent that Fide’s brother had possessed her mind set changed about Fide and his family. I felt the same way as Chimamanda did when I first got to Guatemala, after a week of traveling to different cities, my mind set changed and saw the talent that the people had possessed. I didn’t feel the same kind of pity from when I first got there, it changed throughout the week, once I explored different cities, and saw the wonderful art work, and learned about their culture. By the end of the week I was jealous of their artistic ability and culture.

Purple Hibiscus: Theme

Silence is the enemy. It can destroy relationships, friendships, and even families. Every character in the book faces some sort of silence whether it be death, a raid of some sort, or intimidation. Kambili was silence by intimidation of her father. Jaja was silenced by being thrown into jail, because he was not only defending his mother but protecting her.

The second section of the book is titled, "Speaking with Our Spirits", briefly foreshadows how and why Kambili and Jaja rarely speak to people and even each other. The two finally learn how to communicate during the first trip to their aunt Ifeoma's house.

• Aunt Ifeoma was getting Kambili involved in the daily chores, with the intention of acquainting her and Amaka. Kambili was helping Amaka peel yams for dinner. She was not doing it right and Amaka snapped at her for doing so. Aunt Ifeoma stopped Amaka and had Kambili do something else (134).
• The next day Kambili was thrown into the chore cycle again. Amaka made a comment to Kambili about the schedule her father makes, and how chores are fit in, This time Aunt Ifeoma did not speak up for Kambili and she had to learn how to stand up for herself (140).

The last section of the book is titled, "A Different Silence". Somethings can go unsaid and be understood. When Jaja was thrown in to jail Kambili and her mother both knew the truth. Jaja on the other hand, his silence is strong and hard, and cannot put into words his experience. Through his silence it is known to his sister and mother how bad he has it.

• Kambili and her mother brought food to Jaja while he was in jail. During the visit, the mother could not hold back her tears, seeing her son in jail being treated poorly was enough of a punishment for her. Kambili tried to cheer him up by saying that he will be able to come home in a week or so. Jaja didn't have much to say, but by his gestures and small answers he didn't care anymore. His action of taking the blame and protecting his mother, made him realized that he will never be the same (304-305).