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Analysis Of The Prison By Bernard Malamud

Decent Essays

How does the author create character and setting in this passage:
Bernard Malamud tells the story of “The Prison” in third person narrative, with straight forward and matter of fact language. The extract is about a man named Tommy Castelli who has had a dodgy past, which has followed him until the present day, making his life hell. He is unwillingly married to Rosa, through an arranged marriage set up by his father and runs a candy shop as a part of the deal, to provide him with an honest living. Malamud uses a variety of techniques in order to bring out his character and the characters around him in clever ways.
Tommy Castelli is the only character which is fully developed in this short story; he is the protagonist - and for good reason – …show more content…

Because Tommy speaks unfavourably of most characters (particularly Rosa) our interpretation of them is also negative. Tommy describes Rosa as a “too plain and lank a chick for his personal taste “who speaks “endless drivel”, from this description we have low expectations of Rosa and don’t think very highly of her. Her character is created purely on what Tommy has told us of her, from his point of view. Similarly with his father, Tommy explains how he “cooked up a deal with Rosa's…old man that Tony would marry her” and he would open a candy store for him” although this doesn't directly point a negative light on his father, there is a spectacle of anger within this. We can see how controlling his father is, and how he leaves Tommy little control of his own …show more content…

Firstly through Tommy we learn that this story is set in a “tenement-crowded, kid-squawking neighbourhood with its lousy poverty” this description creates imagery and allows us to view the impecunious state of the neighbourhood. This idea of the setting being in a run down, impoverish area is further confirmed by the quote “boys, who had…mazuma and showed it in fat wonderful rolls…to all who would look, and everybody did, pop-eyed” The fact that ‘’everybody” was “pop-eyed’ when they saw a large amount of money indicates that this is a rare and out of the ordinary thing to see in everyday occurrences – therefore emphasizing and providing supporting evidence to this run down, working class

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