preview

Gimpel The Fool Essay example

Good Essays

Gimpel The Fool An Analysis of Gimpel The Fool

Gimpel the Fool is a story written by Isaac Bashevis Singer. Saul Bellow translated the story I read because the story was written in Yiddish. Gimpel The Fool is a story about a simple man named Gimpel. He is considered by many to be a fool because he is a very gullible man. He is constantly falling for tricks laid out by almost everyone. Gimpel is persuaded to marry Elka, a woman who will wind up using him also. Elka treats Gimpel very poorly. She has “his” child only 17 weeks into the marriage. Gimpel knows the child is not his, but allows himself to be persuaded into thinking that some babies are born premature. Gimpel also catches Elka having an affair, but convinces …show more content…

You are not a fool. They are the fools. For he who causes his neighbor to feel shame loses paradise himself” (Kennedy 69). He is married to her for 20 years, and when she is dying, she confesses, “It was ugly how I deceived you all these years. I want to go clean to my maker, and so I have to tell you that the children are not yours” (Kennedy 76). This is the wound to Gimpel’s heart that leads to the dramatic climax. The dramatic climax occurs when Gimpel buries the bad bread. This symbolizes closure and his decision not to be evil for a second. He is done being a fool. He “goes into the world” (Kennedy 77) and leaves Frampol, closing his ties with everyone even his family whom he tells, “Be well, and forget that such a one as Gimpel ever existed” (Kennedy 77). Because of this event his life is brand new, and his view of Elka is also brand new. She is no longer turning black. She becomes the complete opposite of who she was in reality. She is loving and supportive of her husband in his dreams, which he sees her in all the time.

Character may be defined as a verbal representation of a human being. By using character, the author is able to portray which people play what role in the story. Singer used character to the fullest when creating Gimpel. He is quite possibly one of the most annoying, yet interesting characters ever created. I say he is annoying because you constantly

Get Access