A Study Of The Image Of The Jewish Father In Bernard Malamud's The Assistant

Jewish literature is a very important part of modern American literature. After World War II, a big group of Jewish writers stood out in American literary circle. All Jewish writers skillfully incorporated their Jewish cultural tradition into the real American life in their works. They, through the conventional themes in the Jewish culture, explore the universal problem in Western society: humanness and humaneness. Bernard Malamud is among them. He is generally acknowledged as the spokesman of humanism. Most of his heroes are common Jews who suffer greatly and variously but struggle for a moral perfection. Morris Bober, a Jewish father, in The Assistant is such a hero. Through his hero, Malamud suggests that Jews suffer for human beings, which is the real embodiment of fraternity and responsibility, and that the Jews typically embody all humans in the sorry plight in the modern world of materialism.Morris Bober suffers from all kids of problems, but his sufferings cannot prevent him from remaining a truly good man: kindness, honesty, fraternity and responsibility. He suffers for himself, his family members, his compatriots, and all the others—for all the human beings. His goodness is not only to his fellow Jews, but also to the gentiles. He thinks that suffering is part of life and every one is suffering. He, as a Jewish father, takes not only the responsibility of one Jewish family, but also the responsibility of all, and pursues a spiritual home for man.The thesis consists of three parts: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion.The introduction presents the general survey of American Jewish literature in modern American literature and makes a survey of the criticism of Malamud and his works, especially his The Assistant, abroad and at home. The introduction also gives readers the purpose of this thesis.The body includes four chapters.Chapter One analyzes the historical and literary background of The Assistant and offers a brief introduction of the plot of the novel. This chapter also discusses the factors which exert much influence on the depiction of the image of the Jewish father in The Assistant. The factors include the long suffering history of the Jewish nation, the family background and the personal experiences of Malamud and the literary thoughts: humanism, realism, naturalism, existentialism, and symbolismChapter Two explores the archetypes of the image of the Jewish father, including those great fathers in the Jewish history: Abraham, Joseph, Moses and Job and the father of the writer.Chapter Three analyses the hero, Morris Bober, as the Jewishest father in this novel. Malamud puts rich implications into Morris: what is the essence of the Jewish spirit, what troubles human beings in modern Western society are faced with, and what human qualities the material world is losing gradually. This chapter expounds the messages Morris embodies: suffering, redemption, alienation, schlemiel, mensch, etc. and points out the meaning of each of these messages that Malamud tries to convey.Chapter Four examines the other three Jewish fathers described in the novel: Julis Karp, Breitbart, and Al Marcus. The first is the bad counterpart of Morris Bober, while the other two the good counterpart.The conclusion sums up that through the characterization of the Jewishest father, Morris Bober, Malamud expresses his individual understanding of being a Jew and of being human and being humane, and his literary thought that the purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself. The humanities of Morris are particularly significant to what is mostly needed at present: a harmonious family, a harmonious society, and then a harmonious world where people of all races enjoy their happy life together.