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Catcher In The Ryexer

Decent Essays

How many people are empathetic to the sufferings of those around them? How many people actively work to alleviate the pain of those in compromised situations? Furthermore, how many people still continue to help others when they themselves are down? Very few people could honestly declare that they do all of those things, and that is probably because it is difficult to have such a heightened sense of both human dignity and selflessness. But Yakov Bok, Jewish man living in Kiev at the turn of the century, is both selfless and ethical. In tsarist Russia in the early twentieth century, millions of people, particularly Jews, were being persecuted against. The Fixer tells the story of Yakov Bok's wrongful imprisonment for the alleged blood ritual …show more content…

Upon discovering that the man was a member of the Black Hundreds, a well-known and powerful anti-Semitic organization, Yakov is hesitant to save the man. "Let him shift for himself, he thought. Frightened, he ran to the corner, then ran back. Grabbing the anti-Semite under the arms he began to drag him to the doorway of the house in front of which he had fallen, when he heard a cry down the street" (29). In the beginning of the novel, Yakov was not as commendable in his actions. He was simply a good man, but not worthy of exceptional praise. Throughout the entire novel, Malamud portrays Yakov as the common man who is universally relatable. Yakov quickly shifts into a man willing to put his life on the line for the sake of others. However, Malamud does this so gradually and naturally that it seems the obvious choice for Yakov to make. Malamud seems to have created Malamud to be a metaphor for the common man, and the power of this metaphor emphasizes the motif that all people should have deep respect for human dignity. Yakov, despite his flaws, completely recognizes the value of all human life, no matter the person's negative attributes. Therefore, Yakov puts his safety on the line and sees Maximovitch safely back to his

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