Analytical Essay On Street Scene

497 Words2 Pages
The movie Street Scene was an interesting case study on the social interactions between people of different races and ethnicities. In this movie I felt the characters did a lot of stereotyping. For example Mr. Fiorentino assumes because his wife is a larger lady, that she should be better at bearing children. He seems upset that a skinnier woman like Mrs. Buchanan should be able to have a child and not his wife. Early in the movie you can tell that Mrs. Fiorentino is burdened by this when she remarks, “Well, that’s the way it goes. The little skinny ones have them and the big strong ones don’t” (Street Scene, 1931). It appears to make the discussion in the scene uncomfortable. I’m sure it is also painful for Mrs. Buchanan. Another interaction I found uncomfortable and painful due to cultural…show more content…
The whole family was frowned upon for being Jewish. The characters made fun of the way Hebrew looked and was read. The families in the building also seemed to look down on the main character Rose for being in love with a “Jew.” They all seemed to believe that Rose’s family would be disappointed if Rose were to date or marry Sam. As a reader you can feel this racial tension when Mrs. Jones says, “Well, that’s all the Maurrant’s need is to have their get hooked up with a Jew” (Street Scene, 1931). This type of negative recognition of cultural differences makes it hard for Rose and Sam to have a relationship. It is nice to see that Rose and Sam don’t seem to buy into the negative stereotyping around them. It appears as if, because they are younger, they have moved past some of the prejudice of their parent’s generation. It is apparent Rose does not care about Sam’s family’s religion when she says, “Why no, I don’t love anybody- at least I don’t think I do. But it’s not on account of his being a Jew” (Street Scene, 1931). At one point in the movie, one of the characters says, “Laws, laws we already have too many laws. We need actions not laws”
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