On Traumas In Bernard Malamud’s The Assistant

The Assistant is one of the most famous novels written by the American Jewish writerBernard Malamud. It is one of the “All-Time100Best Novels since1923” in Times magazine,and it won the writer both Rosenthel Award from National Institute of Arts and Letters, andDaroff Memorial Fiction Award of the Jewish Book Council of America. In this novel, manyof Malamud’s experiences and some social backgrounds are revealed. Moral redemption andJewishness are often regarded as the themes of this novel by scholars at home and abroad.The novel has been studied from different aspects by different critics, which are aboutthe cultural studies, the psychoanalysis, the Jewishness, the suffering and the father-sonrelationship. Looking through all those criticisms, however, the author of this thesis finds fewcritics analyze this novel from the perspective of trauma theory. As an American Jewish writer,Malamud in The Assistant depicts the traumatic experiences of immigrants in America. In thenovel, the protagonists encounter various traumas. They try different means to overcomethose traumas and succeed at last. Through this novel, Malamud reveals his hope for humanbeings’ recovery from traumas.This thesis consists of five parts: introduction, three chapters and conclusion. Theintroduction generally introduces the author Malamud and his works at first, and then, thestudies on The Assistant both at home and abroad are discussed. Finally, the significance ofthis thesis is revealed.Chapter One discusses the traumas of human beings. As a part of human beings, theancient Jews also suffer from various traumas. These traumas are inherited to the nextgenerations. The Jewish nation is a nation filled with traumas. As a Jewish writer in America,Malamud deeply feels the traumas. Just like his nation and the ancient human beings, Malamud runs out of the shadow of traumas at last. He gets reputations and respects as awriter. No wonder Malamud depicts characters in the novel vividly. Both the introduction andChapter One pave the way for the analysis of the following two chapters.Chapter Two concentrates on individual traumas of the characters and their recoveryfrom traumas. In this chapter, four characters’ traumas are analyzed, and their recoveries fromtraumas are also discussed. Morris and Ida, the elder generation, live in the shadow ofisolation and discrimination. They work hard to improve their economic conditions, but theyare unlucky. First, Morris is robbed and seriously hurt both physically and mentally. Then Idais traumatized because she is traditionally holding the Jewish Laws. When she finds that herdaughter falls in love with a poor gentile who is an assistant in their grocery, Ida isheart-broken. Frank and Helen belongs to the younger generation. They mainly sufferemotional traumas. Frank is a poor Italian who came to America when he was young. His lackof love makes him in need of love in America. Therefore, he is traumatized when he isrejected by Helen. Helen is different from Frank though she is also one of the youngergeneration of the immigrants. She is a Jewish girl. As the younger Jewish generation inAmerica, Helen does not hold the traditional Jewish values strictly. Helen is traumatizedbecause she is raped by Frank with whom she just begins to fall in love. All these charactersin the novel recover from their traumas either by narrating their traumatic stories or with thesupport of their family.Chapter Three analyzes the collective traumas in the novel. In this part, the Bobers’traumas and traumas in the community are analyzed. Besides, how those collective traumasare overcome is also included. Euphraim’s death leaves the Bobers ever-lasting traumas,especially to Morris. Morris’ death is another key trauma for the Bobers. Moreover, conflictsthat exist in the community are also explored. These conflicts make characters spend longertime in overcoming their traumas. Most of the Bobers’ traumas are overcome and so do the other dwellers’ in the community in the end. They support each other to clear those obstacles.In the last part, the thesis points out that through The Assistant, the Jewish writer revealshis hope of human beings’ recovery from traumas. Malamud in The Assistant regards theJewish nation as a metaphor for all human beings, universalizing traumas in the novel astraumas of all human beings.Combining textual study and trauma theory analysis, the author of this thesis tries toconvey that the trauma problems shown in the novel are worthy of being paid attention to. Byanalyzing The Assistant, we understand that Malamud not only pays close attentions to hisJewish fellows but to the mankind as well.