When I first tried to approach the question of ethnic groups in The Pawnbroker it was difficult. I couldn’t think of any except for the most obvious one: Judaism. It was clear how the main character, Sol, was suffering. He was cold to everyone he came in contact with. His customers and even his family weren’t excused from this either. However, as the film continued on, other ethnic groups were present. The African American and spanish populations are represented by Rodriguez and his prostitution ring and Jesus and his family.
Each group can be related to one another through the idea of being trapped. All of these identities are trapped within the boundaries of Harlem. Sol finds solace in his pawn shop because there the streets are mean. His ability to be coldhearted to its inhabitants is easier because he considers all of them scum. Jesus is considered trapped because he wants to be exactly like Sol. He idolizes a man that does not give a damn about him or what he does. Jesus is trying abolish the rules that say he has to work in the pawn shop all his life. Rodriguez, however, is trapped by his love for money and power.
The most important relationship throughout this film is the one between past and present. I sincerely believe that the past and present “ghettos” are significantly related. Whenever Sol has another memory it is directly correlated with what is going on in the present. For example, when he’s on the train and he remembers his son dying or when he sees the black man getting beaten while the dogs are barking. The use of flashbacks is a very important part of creating this relationship. Most of these memories are exact images of the present but with a different ethnic group involved.
This story of a surviving Jewish man would not have been as strong if it didn’t show his struggles on the streets of New York. The relationships between ethnic groups were also important in establishing the severity of the Sol’s hard life.
