In 1938, the onset of violent anti-Semitic riots in Germany created one of the most horrific struggles of our time. Not only did this outrageous holocaust bring sadness and death to the Jews in Germany but also to the ones living here in America. In, The Broken Glass, by Arthur Miller, we see the lives of three completely different characters portrayed. First, we see Sylvia Gullberg, who has been a housewife ever since her husband Philip made her quit. She is the first one to be affected by the news in Germany. Her husband, Phillip, has been hiding from his race ever since he was a teen, and because of this ruins his marriage and ultimately his life. Lastly, Dr. Harry Hyman, who views everything with his eyes wide open, is the only possible hope of bringing the two back together. I will show how each character reacts to the identity of their blood, and deals with issues such as ethnicity, class, and gender.Philip Gullberg is the main problem throughout this whole movie. He seems to always be burning the flame of his wifes fear and of his own which ultimately puts him to rest. Ironically, as his wife sat paralyzed in the house, he burns the newspaper that put her in shock, to keep her warm. He is a Jewish American who has been trying to hide his ethnicity ever since he was young. He even makes it a point to pronounce his last name Gullberg instead of Goldberg, which would obviously sound too Jewish. He works at a WASP bank and is in fact the only existing Jewish employee. Philip has spent most of his life in denial, and it is apparent he is always on the defense about being Jewish. For example, he thinks Mr. Case is after him just because he is Jewish. He is also afraid of his class and even began wearing all black as a young teen, as to gain power in the work place. He feels inferior to his white co-workers. He even has gender issues. For example, Philip says, If my wife were a man, she could be director of the Feder...
