Journal Entry 1
February 12, 2018, by Meryem
“A Glance at New York” provides historical insight about downtown New York culture and the theater in the 19th century. The play makes New York seem wild and exciting as the audience follows different characters in their activities. The characters go on various adventures and even get into fights. It was also interesting that the play shed light on the contrast between the country and the city by using the character George. The plot plays into the stereotype of countrymen being naive and trusting, as George is constantly scammed by the clever character Jake. The character Jake also shows the seedy side of New York as he makes a living tricking people. The most surprising part of the play was the scene where the men crossdressed to get into the women’s club. The 19th century was never a period where homosexuality or gender fluidity was even discussed, which makes it surprising that this scene was included in the play. Even films like the 1930s movie “Some Like it Hot” had large backlash due to characters crossdressing. This makes me wonder whether there was any negative reception to this scene.
However, reading Sante’s chapter titled, “Lights” provided more background about the setting of the play. Sante described plays like the as often vulgar and risque. This would provide more explanation to “A Glance at New York” as the play depicted violence and crude language. The geography of New York itself also proves to be a large influence Sante’s writing. Sante continued to discuss the contrast between Broadway and Bowery. Broadway was seen as a place for the bourgeoisie and Bowery was for the masses. “A Glance at New York” also showed sentiments about these streets. Jane talked about how she admired the storefront windows on Broadway with the women. At the same time, Mose reacted negatively toward the street as he held Broadway “in contempt”. The play also represented how parks were important sites to see and meet in New York as there were constant references to different parks such as Battery Park. My favorite comparison that Sante made was how the city of New York itself was a theater. New York is such a captivating place with diverse people and diverse stories. Sante also stated that the greatest spectacle of New York was New York itself. One could simply sit on a park and be entertained by watching the people around him or her. Another intriguing fact that Sante points out is that most people belonged to a fire company. Even in the play, Mose was also a firefighter. However, Sante elaborated very little on why many people decided to be firefighters in this time period and what factors influenced them.