1. Compare the attitudes of Morris, Ida, and Helen toward gentiles. 2. Trace the stages by which Frank changes his attitude toward Jews. 3. Discuss various reasons why Frank begins and continues to steal from Morris. 4. Discuss how Malamud creates the atmosphere of the Bobers’ neighborhood and of the […]
Read more Study Help Essay QuestionsStudy Help Full Glossary for The Assistant
Yiddish Unless Otherwise Noted Der oilem iz a goilem (paffly Hebrew) The populace are dopes, the people is a dummy. feh an exclamation of disgust. gelt money gesheft business establishment. gink (American big city slang) guy, fellow, odd person. gotten yu My God!, help! goyim non-Jewish person. Italyener Italian person. […]
Read more Study Help Full Glossary for The AssistantCritical Essay Technique and Style in The Assistant
The Assistant combines naturalism, realism, and symbolism. Naturalism may be concisely defined as pessimistic determinism, and realism as the accurate portrayal of life with the assumption that at least some people possess willpower and exert significant control over their destinies. Realism heavily outweighs naturalism in this novel, but the two […]
Read more Critical Essay Technique and Style in The AssistantBernard Malamud Biography
Bernard Malamud was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1914. As a boy, he enjoyed a vigorous and adventurous life in the city streets and parks. His parents, Max and Bertha Fidelman Malamud, ran a neighborhood store, which contributed to Malamud’s knowledge about the city’s ethnic groups. Malamud graduated from […]
Read more Bernard Malamud BiographyCharacter Analysis Nat Pearl
Nat’s name suggests the word natty, a term for impressively up-to-date and sharp dress, but it is also a term applicable to a slick personality, and the name of Pearl suggests smoothness and financial ambition. Nat is a brilliant law student, but he seems to regard education only as the […]
Read more Character Analysis Nat PearlCharacter Analysis Ward Minogue
Ward Minogue’s first name suggests that to his father he is more of a ward than a son, a person toward whom he feels more duty than love. Ward is the evil genius of both Frank Alpine and of the neighborhood of the Bobers’ store. He haunts the neighborhood as […]
Read more Character Analysis Ward MinogueCharacter Analysis Helen Bober
Helen’s name may be intended to associate her with the mythical Helen of Troy in order to stress her role as the most beautiful object in the world of the store. But if this association emphasizes too strongly her erotic appeal, the association can be modified by thinking of the […]
Read more Character Analysis Helen BoberCharacter Analysis Morris Bober
The name “Bober” is highly connotative. Helen Bober reflects that she is “as poor as her name sounded” and Morris Bober thinks “with that name you had no sure sense of property.” In addition, the name Bober is akin to the Yiddish word bubber, meaning someone who peddles beans. An […]
Read more Character Analysis Morris BoberCharacter Analysis Frank Alpine
Frank Alpine’s name has two important connotations: It suggests an affinity with St. Francis of Assisi and also refers to mountain heights beyond the timberline, thereby suggesting aspiration. Frank has no memories of his parents but he remembers the Catholic orphanage and the several families he lived with. He is […]
Read more Character Analysis Frank AlpineSummary and Analysis Section 10
Morris is buried early in April, five months after he was robbed by Frank and Ward. Section Ten covers a full year — from April to the following March or April — this progression of time and events being necessary so that Frank can attempt to reestablish a relationship with […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Section 10