Question that seems [possibly] interesting:
Is Yekl an example of "local color" or is it a gritty "naturalist" work?
Since naturalist fiction--Crane's Maggie, Dreiser's Sister Carrie--usually thinks of the author like a scientist watching a mouse in a maze [his characters], I guess answering this might depend upon how you view the author's relationship to Yekl.
Is Yekl a man of a specific time/place [local color] or a Darwinian animal driven by blood/lust and animal instinct [naturalism]?
Another questions just occurred to me: why do all these books at the start of the 20th Century have names for titles....
Yekl
Sister Carrie
Maggie
It might be interesting to see how titles change over time.....
I think that Yekl is a man driven by naturalism. Everything he does seems to be an act of impulse, such as going to dance even when he knew he shouldn't have, or lying to Gitl about what Mamie said in English. He is driven by his selfishness. I could compare him to the classic mouse that is driven to the cheese on the mousetrap and even though it looks dangerous, their want overcomes their good judgment. Yekl's judgment seems to always be overruled by what he wants, and in the end he regrets all the mistakes he made, such as divorcing Gitl for Mamie which also turned out horribly. He is the mouse caught helplessly in the trap due to his own impulses and lack of judgment.
ReplyDeleteI think that its a perfect example of both, personally. It shows the life of an immigrant, his family and those around them as well as the decisions they make and how terribly some of the consequences of those decisions came to fruition. There is not a lot of flowery, happy-go-lucky language and the general mood of the story is melancholy at best, paired with a kind of biting sarcastic humor. It isn't a story that's intended to make you feel good, its a story that's meant to make you think about how life really is. And the authors method of spelling all of the Yiddish-English language phonetically in dialogue is clear example of local color. I found it difficult to even read without using a Russian accent.
ReplyDeleteI think Yekl is a man driven by a more primitive instinct. He is not a creature of habit but rather a product of evolution. Upon arriving in America Yekl has forgotten all of his religious practices, nevertheless his family as well. Yekl has become so “wrapped up” in American culture and with the task of attempting to blend in that he no longer observes the Sabbath. In fact, Yekl has become so absorbed in the American way that he has forgotten the very reason as to why he is in America, to make a better life for his family. While yes Yekl still goes to work and saves his money in an effort to send for his wife and son, but that is no longer his main priority. Yekl’s new focus is enjoying himself in America.
ReplyDeleteIn response to why all these books have names as titles, I think that has to deal with immigration in itself, for names and heritage were all very important and in danger of being lost, similarly to how Yekl lost himself and his own heritage. It is through the act of having names as titles that the reader is more focused on how the title came to be through the heritage and what exactly its importance is to the story.