Last Exit to Brooklyn

The Greek diner is a social hub in Last Exit to Brooklyn, symbolizing the tight knit nature of the community, where every story is interwoven with the next. In the cramped conditions of the Brooklyn public housing estate, people’s stories cannot be kept separate. Instead, characters like Harry and Vinnie interact even if they have little in common. Vinnie, for example, appears across several stories. Whether he is scamming Harry or abusing Georgette’s affections, his life revolves around the Greek diner. Because the diner intermingles characters with wildly different personalities, it represents how the neighborhood’s privation pushes people up against each other—to their benefit and their detriment.

The Greek diner is also an important symbol of the local multiculturalism. Alex, who owns the diner, is a representative of the Greek immigrant community. He uses Greek words and phrases—often mumbled or interpolated in the text—and sprinkles his spoken English with hints to his ethnic identity. Very few of his customers are Greek. He serves Italians, African Americans, and anyone else in the community who happens to wander in. The characters may mock one another’s race or ethnicity, but they passively accept that places like the Greek diner are, by their very nature, symbols of Brooklyn’s diversity.