Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Put My Shoes On And See How It Feels.
What is it like to step inside of another names shoes and take on everything that man is? One would have to first deny all of his prier existence and conform the ways of another. If you look at it, the change would almost drive a man crazy. Especially if you have to change back to your past life in which you were told to forget because the society in which you lived believed it was wrong.In the beginning Eli is fixed on conforming the Jewish man that comes to Woodenton. But why should being Jewish in a non-Jewish town make a difference? “This town is a modern community, we have out families, and we pay taxes”(P. 249). The town does not want anything or anyone destroying what they have developed and established in their town. Eli is ordered to change Tzuref’s ways and have the Jewish man conform to the town’s standards. Why does having a Jewish man really vex the town? Is it his morals, his look or the fact that he has not assimilated to what other people want him to be? Eli writes a letter to Tzuref explaining the town’s situation and feelings toward this Jewish man. “This is the twentieth century and we do not think it too much to ask that the members of our community dress in a manner appropriate to the time and place” (P.262). Little does Eli know that this man has given up all he has with only this suit to serve God. “To take away the one thing a man got?.. Not take away replace…but I tell you he has nothing. Nothing. You have that word in English?”. Eli doesn’t even understand what this man has gone through and the situations he has been placed into. Eli can only think of compromising with the man inorder to have him slowly assimilate to the ways of the town. Eli needs to realize that’s think is not possible in the eyes of the Jewish man. What if Eli was to wear or take on the traits and “suit” of this man? To truly understand and mans life you first need to have an open mind and take on the “suit” of another man. This opportunity is soon presented to Eli. Because Eli feels connected to this man through age, he takes on his suit. Before he does he first gives up his most prized green suit, which represents assimilation and conformity. In this, the Jewish man takes on his green suit but what the out come was not what was in mind. Even though this man is now shaped to the town, they still are not pleased. “The point is you wont know” Eli believes that once you change the out ward appearance of a man society will acknowledge him. But the town is set that “we just don’t think this is the community for them”. In order to know what this man is all about. Eli takes on his suit thinking that when he puts it on he will feel dirty but as he reaches to the pockets and sees nothing wrong, Eli begins to understand that this man is just the same man as Eli. As he continues to take on this suit the town that once loved him turns against him and send him to an assign asylum because now Eli is acting strange. But is he really or is the town set on the morals that anyone who doses not assimilate to their ways are crazy?
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4 comments:
Nice post. I feel it is difficult to see through the eyes of another due to opinions and views. Eli did it and understood how hard it was for the gentleman to conform. The town on the other hand hid behind their laws and chose to get rid of anything that questioned their values, this including Eli. I don't think Eli was crazy or anything of the sort. He gave it a chance to see through the eyes of the other gentleman and realized that people shouldn't be based on what they wear or their religious views. Eli then saw that the town was wrong and felt connected with the new suit in which he was now wearing. In my opinion, Eli has got a lot of guts, to turn your back on society is a lot tougher than it seems. I really liked this book though because again, to put yourself in the eyes of another is very hard to do. People want to be who they are and want to always be right. When you put yourself in someone else's shoes you might see that you were wrong which isn't what people want. :)
I agree that someone can only truly understand other people’s feelings through "putting themselves in their shoes". Eli gave the Jewish man a chance by putting on his suit and realized what he was asking him to do and as a result feels the connection of an outsider. I think that the suits actually represent a challenge to both of them, especially Eli. It becomes more than just a piece of clothing. By putting on the clothes Eli is trying to understand the Jewish man’s burdens and values. I believe that the town people were the crazy ones because they were so set in their ways and afraid of any difference.
In response to your question, I don’t think it mattered so much that he was Jewish but that he was different. Even after this change in clothes the town doesn’t change its views. They now look at Eli as crazy. However, Eli chose to be this way. “So he turned and walked towards the hospital and all the time he quaked an eighth of an inch beneath his skin to think that perhaps he’d chosen the crazy way. To think that he’d chosen to be crazy! But if you chose to be crazy, then you weren’t crazy.” In my opinion people need to understand the circumstances before prosecuting a person and actually put themselves in the other person’s situation before judging. I give Eli credit for putting himself out there and taking a chance. The question I raise now is whether the gift of the suit was a actually a gift or a burden to either of them?
I agree that it is very hard to understand what someone is experiencing without putting yourself in that particular situation. I think in a way Eli became desensitized to his past, and forgot what it was like to be the one that people didn't want anything to do with. Being that he was once an immigrant and that he had become such a prominent figure within their society, it was easy for him to lull himself into the growing sentiment against immigrants. While I feel like it was wrong of him to pass these judgments before seeing the other side of the story, I think it speaks to his character that he was able to see past the anti-immigrant animosity and understand the other side of the story. The idea that he not only understood what the immigrant's position was, but that he also converted to that side speaks a lot to the power of seeing something from more than one perspective.
To be sure, such attitudes are common among immigrants who forget their own roots, but there's no evidence in the text to suggest that Eli is an immigrant himself. He is more than likely the child of immigrants, of those Jews who emigrated from Europe before WWI. Still, there is something in Rich's comment that speaks to how people define their sense of belonging, to what groups, etc. Who is the "us" and who the "them"?
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