1. The "I Am" Assignment
"The Magic Barrel" was written by Bernard Malamud in 1958 as part of a short story collection. The story follows the life of Leo Finkle, a soon to be rabbi who is looking for a wife. Unsure of marriage and love, he enlists a matchmaker to aid him in his search. The matchmaker, Pinye Salzman, is a sly marriage "salesman" with the job of finding Leo a wife. There have been numerous articles written about the "Magic Barrel" and many of them have different opinions and interpretations of the story. .
The first article I examined was Stephen Bluestone's article titled "God as a Matchmaker: A Reading of Malamud's "Magic Barrel"." Bluestone's basic intent in the article is to compare "The Magic Barrel" to a biblical tale. The quote, ""The Magic Barrel" can be seen as a projection of the whole course of human spiritual existence, its" moral and erotic dimensions, including and subsumed by the human relationship to god."(Bluestone 404) perfectly sums up Bluestone's feelings toward the story. He begins to draw his parallel by relating the characters in the story to characters from the tale of Adam and Eve. Leo represents Adam, a man deeply dissatisfied with his lonely existence, and Salzman represents God as a matchmaker on the Sixth Day. Bluestone raises the question of how Adam chose Eve; he questions why Adam was not consulted first about his choice. Bluestone basically is using the tale of the "Magic Barrel" as a missing part of the tale of Adam and Eve. In Bluestone's case, Adam/Leo's freedom to choose a woman requires the exact consultation that is not found in the story of Adam and Eve. In Bluestone's words "God, in partnership with man, must now broker His own handiwork."(Bluestone 406) Since Salzman and Leo come from different generations, Salzman needs to learn what kind of woman Leo wants. Salzman tests Leo by matching him up with a school teacher named Lily Hirschorn, the older, traditional wife that a rabbi would want.
Whenever I tell her about how their union would bring honour to the family she snaps back at me saying "Father, you can't even pretend to understand, your reputation is all that matters to you." ... How can they accuse me of being a bad father when they enjoy such luxury, such comfort? How can they accuse me of being irresponsible when In truth, what would be irresponsible of me would be to ignore her audacity and let it go unpunished. ... I paid her the standard and so how am I at fault? As for Sheila ,how can I be a poor father when I am being honoured as a respectable man. ...
Using first person point of view is significant in that it allows the reader to engage in the thoughts of the narrator and, thus, make a conclusion about his or her character. In Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," the reader can conclude based on the thoughts and remarks of the narrator that he is derang...
Unit title: Practical sports coaching Assignment title: Improving and adapting coaching techniques Case Study In this case study we had to demonstrate a skill/technique that was as close to a perfect working model and then teach this skill to another person. I chose to teach my partner Ri...
In this individual case however, you will not be able to use all these materials as you don't know how to extract fragrant oils from many of the listed ingredients as the process requires technological intervention. ... As well as this, various anthropological studies have also proven the tendency of diverse cultures towards manipulation of fragrances which proves that wearing perfumes is a universal human phenomenon (Classen, Howes and Synnott, 1994). ... Over 1999-2010, the total sales in the flavor and fragrance industry increased from $12.9 billion to $22 billion respectively de...
How to Improve English Skills When I was a pupil at a high school, I thought that I know English well, however when I began to study at LCC I understood that I cannot express my self, my dictionary stock is very small and I decided to do something. There are many different ways how to improve English language skills, and I want to share with you about those methods which I tired by myself. ... I tied to remember and shear with you about how did I tried and try to improve my English skills. ...
How to Change Your Oil Frequent oil changes are the best preventative maintenance the home mechanic can give the engine, because old oil becomes contaminated and or burnt, which leads to premature engine wear. ... Warning: If one does not know how to properly jack up a vehicle be sure to check with the owner's manual, as every vehicle is different. ...
I would like to offer an alternative viewpoint here, without diverging too much into the rationale behind the US government position on Iraq. I ask anyone who considers attending an anti-war demonstration, in the interests of fair-mindedness, to please ruminate on it. Simply put, anyone who ha...