According to friends and family, he made no secret early on that he deplored being Jewish and poor and from what he saw as the wrong side of the tracks, although his family never descended to poverty even in the depths of the Depression. Many decades later, in one scene of his autobiographical Poppa Piece, Robbins depicted himself mocking his Hebrew tutor behind his back. Like many of his peers, he was caught between two worlds, that of the largely conservative Jewish community and that of mainstream America with all of its lures and temptations. Though the latter would win, he would still feel the conflict keenly for the rest of his life.
During an interview in the 1940s, Robbins remembered the town as "about three blocks deep and nine wide...grubby, ugly and uninspiring." His opinion softened with the nostalgic hindsight of later years. Looking east from 57 Hudson Place, where his parents rented an apartment, the skyline of Manhattan was visible. At night, the lights would beckon, exciting his imagination. Family lore includes affectionate tales of him dancing on the rooftop and giving puppet shows in the front windows of the apartment. "We were the same age," said Viola Zousmer."We were brought up together. At seven years old, we went up on the roof, two kids, and Jerry climbed on the edge of the roof and said, 'Come on, join me. I'm a bird.' I said, 'Oh no, not me.' Seven years old, and he was a daredevil."
Robbins childhood, and upbringing had a great affect upon the decisions that he made in his life. He continually acknowledged the lifestyle and 'depression' of his family, and hated it more and more. It is clear that here, he was never going to allow himself or his future family to live in the way that he had to, as a child. He was going to make something of himself, and succeed in it.
ReplyDeleteDespite this, Robbins still had good memories of living in this community; looking from a rooftop and admiring Manhattan's blazing lights. This almost triggered him to dare to dream, what seemed to him impossible.