Play by Reginald Rose Teaching Activities by Rivka Lewenstein

peer 
pressure
. 
Peer pressure exists in every society, in almost every aspect of our lives. People 
choose everything — from friends and clothes to schools and professions — because 
of peer pressure. 
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Act One
3
a. How strong is peer pressure in your society? Do you often give in to peer 
pressure, or do you try to resist peer pressure? In what ways do you think that 
peer pressure has affected you?
b. Overall, do you think that peer pressure is positive or negative? Give at least 
two or three examples to justify your opinion.
► 
Stereotyping
2.
TEN upsets both NINE and FIVE with his constant references to “they” and 
“them” — the people living in the slums — and his comments about how dishonest 
and violent they are. 
a. What type of people do you associate with American slums? Do you think 
that TEN is referring to all the people living in poor neighborhoods, or is 
he referring to a specific ethnic / racial group? Why do you think the author 
chose to use only the general concept of slum dwellers rather than a specific 
ethnic / racial group?
b. When someone labels an entire group of people as having a specific negative 
trait or behaving in a specific negative way, he is 
stereotyping
. Give at least 
two examples of stereotyping that exists within Israeli society.
c. What do you think causes people to stereotype? Do you think that most 
stereotypes are accurate or not? Explain. 
Do you like to do 
your own thing, or 
do you prefer to be 
one of the crowd?
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