gimpel the fool

Yet, she had to have been with a man, but no mentions of any men that sinned where given. And it was mostly men that hammered away at Gimpel all of his days .
             There is only one mention of a non-Jewish thing through the whole short story. It was the Christian dog that was barking at Gimpel on his way to his house, late one night. The reason why Singer puts the mention of Christian dogs in the story is because Jews didn't want to be associated with the outside world. They enjoyed having freedom of their own, without the intervention from government or Church. That dogs he saw, was probably the only living, non-Jewish thing he saw during the day. Not only was it a "Christian" dog, they were also barking at him which is probably a symbol of the relationships between the two religions at the time. .
             The close nit Jewish community of Frampol was in total shock when Gimpel, packed his belongings and headed "into the world". To the Jews living in .
             that town, Frampol, was the world. That's where your parents came from, and their parents came from. And it's where you"re supposed to live. The only thing a religious Jew form Eastern Europe needed was Yeshiva, Synagogue and Kosher food. Exploring "into the world" was not a normal thing to do if you were a Jew from Poland and was looked down upon. .
             "I am Gimpel the fool. I don't think myself as a fool. On the contrary. But that's what folks call me." In the very first sentence of this story, we are introduces to a man named Gimpel. He tells the readers that the townspeople call him Gimpel the fool; however, he doesn't think that he is a fool. The truth is Gimpel is a fool. A simple fool that is. He doesn't think himself as a fool but he is a man that is isolated from the world around him. He is a passionless townsfolk, that can't even understand why he is treated like a fool. Although Gimpel does not describe his physical character, he does represent a vulnerable child.