But is he really or is the town set on the morals that anyone who does not assimilate to their ways is crazy?
This is a very interesting question Jared raises and it can be looked at from both sides. First is from the side of the towns a person. The town hired Eli to solve their problem of the newly arrived Eastern European Jews into their small suburb community. While they were also Jewish, they had already assimilated into America’s mainstream culture and didn’t want other Jewish people coming into the community and giving them a bad reputation. The Jewish towns’ people are extremely concerned about they are perceived by others in their “modern community.” The values that they choose to follow are emphasized by the idea that “you must work a full day (249).” They look down at Leo Tzuref and his small gathering of followers because they don’t buy into this idea of hard work and the American way. We are all guilty of looking at someone and saying they are different then me. That is how the towns’ people feel when they see “greenie” walking through the town, but while we would bite our tongue, they go as far as asking him to change. It was a different time period back then and society reacted to things that were different in a different way. Society as a whole stressed conformity while today it welcomes individuality. While I would never say the towns’ fears were justified, this story takes place right after World War II and during the start of the Cold War. People’s fears were played upon and being normal kept you off the radar. The town wasn’t crazy, they were just responding to the fears of the time period. The only town can be considered crazy to expect the newly arrived European Jews to completely assimilate into American culture right away because it took their families a generation or two to become fully assimilated.
Looking at this conflict from the side we see a small community of Eastern European Jews that have lived through the horrors of World War II and were looking for a place to practice their religion and way of life without being bothered about their ways. I would not say they are crazy either. The only way of life they know is the one from back in Europe and it will take time, maybe even generations for them to assimilate into the American way of life. While they are breaking the zoning laws, I think that is just an excuse to make them leave. Tzuref sees all the children as his family and argues that why he should be allowed to teach them in his house. The problem we have here comes down to a culture clash. It is impossible to say one side is crazy and the other is not. While over time the two cultures will find an understanding for each other, Eli wanted it to happen right away. Eli was crazy in this story. Not because he thought both sides could change, but because he wanted it to happen over night. He wanted to let both sides see that the other side is not as bad as the other side thinks. He tried to rush a process that takes at least one generation to start seeing change. Eli isn’t an unassimilated Jewish immigrant but feels the need to understand what it means to walk in “greenies” shoes. While he is able to form an understanding of what “greenie” goes through, he isn’t greenie. He was a respected member of society and a man the represented the law. By taking on the rule of an unassimilated Jewish immigrant he challenged the law which he was suppose to support and uphold. While you could argue that all sides in this argument are have some form of craziness, it is impossible to put soul blame of the outcome to this story on one side.
1 comment:
"Society as a whole stressed conformity while today it welcomes individuality."
Be careful of gross historical generalizations! Your point about the cold war context is a bit more convincing, esp. with some more specific evidence or ideas.
But another point to consider is that assimilation is not an inevitable process, particularly not for religious groups. The Hasidic Jews, or a sect of ultra-orthodox Jews, still exist today in different communities around the world including Los Angeles and Brooklyn, NY, not to mention London. They speak Yiddish as their first language amongst themselves, and Hebrew during prayer. They dress exactly as the "greenie" does, and because they have lived now for generations in places like the fictional Woodenton (though mainly in big cities), they are no longer considered immigrants. And, with a few exceptions, they are still often living in relative ease with their surrounding communities.
Drive down Beverly Blvd. in Hancock Park one Friday afternoon and you'll see a parade of Hasidim walking to synagogue. They seem to get along in LA just fine, and show no signs whatever of changing.
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