characters:

George-Stoyonovich,a 16 years old boy, lives with his father and sister. George’s life isn’t easy:

dropped out of school , has no job, no friends, no mother,uncommunicative father and a sister away at work. George is lonely, lack companionship. George feel no connection to the people in his neighborhood as well.

his father:a silent man who works nights in a fish market

his sister sophie: his older sister, works in a cafeteria in the Bronx

his mother:dead

Sophie stoyonovich– George’s older sister, “a tall bony girl of twenty- three” who works at a cafeteria in the Bronx.  she has to take care of the house because their mother was dead .she sometimes reads “good books”.

Mr.catanzara- – works as a change maker in the ticket booth of a subway station. Literally, he gives change to those who pay for their tickets. It is a boring job that requires no special skills. Symbolically, change maker may refer to one who affects change in the lives of others. He serves as a catalyst for change in Georg’s life. He is different from the other neighbors. He reads The New York Times (intellectuals’ newspaper) from cover to cover. Either he has no special interests or everything interests him. He maybe more intelligent than the others, he has not lived up to his potential, which may explain why he seeks to escape from reality by drinking. He is fond of George and wants to save him from the same fate. When he spreads the rumor about George’s reading, it is to give him something to live up to.

sitting:

Time – summer, the flat, like the entire neighborhood, is very very hot. The only place that affords any relief is the little park (where George spends his evenings dreaming of a better life

Place: a railroad flat in a poor, immigrant neighborhood of New York City. Each room leads to the next in a straight line (like the cars of a railroad train), providing little privacy.  The park – a symbol of what George would like his life to be: green, leafy trees and flowers. There he dreams of having a good job, money, a nice house, a girl and, above all, respect.

 * key to George’s character. He left school because he felt his teachers had not respected him. It is vitally important to him that the neighbors and Mr. Cattanzara respect him. In the end, he actually succeeded in bettering himself because he has been motivated by the need for respect – self respect as well as society’s respect.