In a contract with God Eisner tells the story of Frimme Hersh’s life long struggle with religion. During this fifty-eight page story, Eisner presents the story of a man that resonates with readers even today regardless of what religion they may follow. It is the story of struggling to believe in something that you have no proof of and finding a way to make it more accessible. While using a contract with God to show the unreachability of God Eisner also presents the Jewish community in two contrasting lights. The first is the brighter light used to show the Jewish religion, how it should be whereas the second is the harsher anti-Semitic view that a majority people outside of the community had at the time. Even though a harsher light is cast…show more content…
The second example was seen in a flashback, the community of Jews in Russia that Frimme Hersh grew up in. The Russian Jews are from a different community of Jews, but they still have the same caring nature that the tenants of Dropsy Avenue. They are willing to give up everything when they face death in order to give Hersh the best chance at living. This is both a gesture of kindness and faith that reflect favorably on the Jewish community. Thirdly the rabbis who write a new contract for Hersh show the faith of the Jewish community as well as the wisdom that comes with the ancient religion. These men do not turn Hersh away even after all he has done to betray the synagogue. Instead, they forgive him in whatever way they can and give him a document he can use as a guide to becoming a better Jew. Hersh may be seen as an unsavory character throughout the better part of the plot, but the community he lives in maintains its compassion.
In contrast the more negative, anti-Semitic, light is not cast directly on the Jewish community, and instead, it is cast on Frimme Hersh himself. After the death of his daughter, he becomes everything that is expected of a stereotypical Jew in the anti-Semitic view. He is dishonest, money grubbing, cut-throat in his business dealings, and an overall sleazy person. This contrast allows the reader to examine the two different views that were prominent at the time. The Jews did not view themselves as untrustworthy
The second example was seen in a flashback, the community of Jews in Russia that Frimme Hersh grew up in. The Russian Jews are from a different community of Jews, but they still have the same caring nature that the tenants of Dropsy Avenue. They are willing to give up everything when they face death in order to give Hersh the best chance at living. This is both a gesture of kindness and faith that reflect favorably on the Jewish community. Thirdly the rabbis who write a new contract for Hersh show the faith of the Jewish community as well as the wisdom that comes with the ancient religion. These men do not turn Hersh away even after all he has done to betray the synagogue. Instead, they forgive him in whatever way they can and give him a document he can use as a guide to becoming a better Jew. Hersh may be seen as an unsavory character throughout the better part of the plot, but the community he lives in maintains its compassion.
In contrast the more negative, anti-Semitic, light is not cast directly on the Jewish community, and instead, it is cast on Frimme Hersh himself. After the death of his daughter, he becomes everything that is expected of a stereotypical Jew in the anti-Semitic view. He is dishonest, money grubbing, cut-throat in his business dealings, and an overall sleazy person. This contrast allows the reader to examine the two different views that were prominent at the time. The Jews did not view themselves as untrustworthy
Related
- Decent Essays
Will Eisner's A Contract With God
- 1602 Words
- 7 Pages
To tell the truth, at the time I was registering for this course, there was nowhere on the course title that stated graphic novels. It simply said “introduction to fiction”. So you can imagine how surprised I was on the first day of class when you handed and read the syllabus to us. I had never read a comic book or a graphic novel much less take a class on any of them. I kept asking myself whether I was in the right class. The length of the syllabus and the course load did not help matters either
- 1602 Words
- 7 Pages
Decent Essays
Popular Essays
- Today’S Lesson Will Be.... . The Class Takes Their Seats,
- Discuss Why The Lau (1974) And Castañeda (1981) Decisions
- There Are Many Ideas And Beliefs About Philosophy.The Applicability
- Introduction. Abortion Has Been Widely Controversial And
- Perception Based On Metaphors And Linguistics
- Page Three .Ss. Cyril & Methodius Parish. February 26,