The Comparison of Jewish Literature

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Morgan Redd

Dr. Miskec

English 380

December 7, 2015

The Comparison of Jewish Literature

Throughout the duration of our English 380 class and our English 384 class, we have looked at Jewish characters and how they are portrayed positively and negatively throughout literature. The main two books we have looked at are All of a Kind Family written by Sydney Taylor, and Rivka’s Way written by Teri Kanefield. Through analysis and discussion, it is seen that both of these books fall under Typical Case Prototype (TCP) books, and are both patronizing in their depiction of Jewish characters, along with their central conflicts and plot points. However, Anne Blankman, Virginia Children’s Book Festival author, and author of Prisoner of Night and Fog, creates a different perspective on the Jewish characters and their interaction with German characters. Anne Blankman uses her book, Prisoner of Night and Fog, to create a productive book about Jewish and German characters as compared to books previously discussed in class.

When a reader browses All of a Kind Family and Rivka’s Way, the reader will see many similarities between the two books that make both of them very Typical Case Prototype and fall on the patronizing side of the spectrum. For example, both books have submissive female characters as the protagonists. All of the girls portrayed in both of these examples of Jewish Literature follow the strict rules that society places on them, and even when Rivka, in Rivka’s Way, breaks out of her society to learn more, she is quickly ushered back into her Jewish beliefs and conforms strictly to what is asked of her with no hesitation. These books also are very adult centered, and the adults seem to have all the answers and know more information than the children in the stories do, they also tend to hold more power over the children characters. For example, in Rivka’s Way, after Rivka is caught sneaking out of the compound her father states on page 116, ““ She is not to leave the building. For any reason.””This line alone demonstrates the power that the adult characters have over the children throughout the novel (Kanefield). This element of both of these books is what helps to make them Typical Case Prototype and patronizing books.

Another similarity that these two books share is the low stakes conflicts involved and the easy resolution to any conflict brought their way. In All of a Kind Family, the conflicts range from a lost library book, to a rainy day, to the children not doing their chores properly. For example, in All of a Kind Family, Taylor writes on page 13, “Between sobs, the muffled words came slowly, “My – library book – is – lost.”” This is just one example of the low stakes conflicts exhibited in All of a Kind Family(Taylor).All of these conflicts are very low stakes, meaning there is nothing really at risk. In Rivka’s Way however, the conflict is at a higher stake than All of a Kind Family, however there is a very easy resolution to the conflict without much discussion. For example, Rivka wants the freedom to go outside of the compound as she pleases to be able to explore, however that action and need is not accepted in her society, but she does it anyways. She ends up getting caught, but instead of getting in trouble, her fiancé tells her he forgives her and on page 123 her fiancé states, “Rivka, if I don’t walk fast, and if you have time to see things, would you be content to go with me? After we’re married of course.”Rivka ends up falling back into the conformities of her Jewish society and losing the agency her character works to develop by surrendering to her fiancé by allowing him to take her on supervised visits outside the compound. By the end of the book Rivka lost her agency by surrendering to the norms of her society, which is another reason this book falls on the Typical Case Prototype spectrum (Kanefield).

Both these books, however explicitly demonstratedin Rivka’s Way, the author tries to “fix” the fictionalized character, which further demonstrates this book as an example of patronizing literature. As explained before, Rivka wants to get out of her Jewish compound to explore the world, but instead of fighting the cultural norms of her time, or the author challenging the reader and the fictionalized character, Rivka falls back into the way her society functionsand succumbs to the pressure the author puts on the reader and other characters to “fix” Rivka’s way of thoughtto conform to their society. The previously mentioned quote from page 123 in Rivka’s Way, is the perfect example of how Rivka ends up being “fixed” and conforming back to her society’s wants, despite her own needs, she ends up surrendering her freedom to her parents, her fiancé, and her society(Kanefield). However, the book would have moved further onto the patronizing and productive spectrum had the author thought to challenge that norm in her book. Perhaps had Rivka not fallen into Oskar chaperoning her when she left the compound, or if she would have stood up for herself to Oskar, her family, and even the social norms of her society, Kanefield would have allowed Rivka to keep the agency she attempted to earn throughout the novel and in turn would have created a more productive novel. All of these points from All of a Kind Family and Rivka’s Way that make these books patronizing and Typical Case Prototype books, are important to understand and remember while comparing to Anne Blankman’s book, Prisoner of Night and Fog.

Anne Blankman does a superb job in letting her book explore the productive side and the non-Typical Case Prototype of the spectrum. Even though her book’s main character is a German, Blankman still delves into relationship between a German and a Jew, and the Jew quickly because a important character in her novel. In Prisoner of Night and Fog, Anne Blankman does not write the typical “Holocaust” story, which is what is most read in terms of Jewish and German Characters. She did not write about the tragedy of the Holocaust, for example The Boy in the Striped Pajamas written by John Boyne, or Night written by Elie Wiesel, which are depictions, one even a true story, of the Holocaust. However, typically Jewish literature is assumed to be in relation to the Holocaust events. Even though Adolf Hitler is a key character in her novel, this story only focuses on his role to a minimum. Her novel does not focus on the Holocaust, however it focuses on the time before, and the other Historical events that happened leading up to the Holocaust with some attention paid to Adolf Hitler and his role in the events. The elements within Prisoner of Night and Fog make this book more productive and non-Typical Case Prototype as compared to All of a Kind Family and Rivka’s Way, as well as typical “Holocaust” narratives.

In reference to the productive versus patronizing chart, Prisoner of Night and Fog highlights many elements located on the productive side. For example, number five on the chart on the productive side, states, “text assumes that experience rather than age determines child’s characteristics; the story is about people, not about “children.”” Even though the main protagonist, Gretchen, is seen as a child, the main story is about Adolf Hitler, the controversy behind the death of Gretchen’s father, along with the treatment of Jews and their relationships with the Germans. The conflicts within this novel are at a much higher stakes than they are within All of a Kind Family and Rivka’s Way, which mainly deal with minimal problems within a family unit. Throughout this story Gretchen is investigating the death of her father with the help of a Jewish character, Daniel, which is a high stake in itself due to her being German and her family being a part of the Nazi Regime. Gretchen is also seen as a niece figure to Adolf Hitler, so when she discovers the truth that Adolf Hitler killed her father and Gretchen goes against Hitler and his Nazi regime, this action initiates a high stakes conflict for the main protagonist. The author also is not quick to resolve the conflicts that the protagonist faces, and often prolongs any solution to the conflicts Gretchen faces throughout the novel. Anne Blankman trusts the reader enough to handle the difficult and controversial content of the novel, along with not feeling forced to rush through certain topics because her readers could not handle it.

Number thirteen and sixteen on the chart are also important elements to highlight withinPrisoner of Night and Fog. Number thirteen explains how the child character gets what she wants, but the conclusion is not self-serving, the child is righting wrong and establishing meaningful conclusions. This idea is the whole plot of Prisoner of Night and Fog, Gretchen gets the conclusion she wants of figuring out what happened with the death of her father, however this outcome was not just for her, but also for her whole family. In this instance, she is righting the wrong that is her father’s death, which is the main point of this line of the chart. This idea falls in line with number sixteen on the chart, which discusses empowering children. Throughout the story, Gretchen is empowered by her Jewish friend to continue to investigate the death of her father to finally have realization and clarity within her life of what happened to her father.So even though Gretchen overall does not hold the power, she is still empowered throughout the novel, which is an element that helps to lean this novel more on the productive side of the spectrum.

Throughout the novel, the author is not concerned with “fixing” the fictionalized character, which if Blankman attempted to “fix” Gretchen, she would have been creating a patronizing novel, however because she does not attempt to “fix” Gretchen, her novel becomes more productive. Anne Blankman challenges the reader to accept the fictionalized character the way she is, even though she rebels against her mother and the Nazi Regime. At one point in the novel, Gretchen cuts off her long hair to demonstrate her refusing to conform to what the Nazi Regime expected of her, this is a big turning point in the novel showing how Gretchen is refusing to become what society wants from her. This allows the reader to exercise their thought process to focus on the story and the main conflicts of the novel instead of focusing on the author trying to adjust the fictionalized character to conform to the fictionalized society’s expectations of Gretchen.

Another element that sets this book apart from All of a Kind Family and Rivka’s Way, is number twenty-four on the chart, which states, “adult or child, it doesn’t matter; the central conflict is hard to negotiate.” Any character placed in Gretchen’s position to investigate her father’s death and go against the Nazi Regime and Adolf Hitler, would have a troubling time, no matter the age. Another semi-conflict within the story is the fact that Gretchen starts to fall in love with her Jewish friend, Daniel. On page 193 Blankman writes, “She liked him. The knowledge paused her heart for a beat, then sped its rate so quickly she swore she could feel the blood cursing through her veins.” The conflict of a Jewish person and a German falling in love is a pretty high stakes conflict during this particular era. The element of a difficult central conflict is something that Anne Blankman makes apparent throughout her entire novel, and does not base Gretchen’s success in confronting the conflicts off of her age but off of the knowledge she has gained throughout the experience and how she has grown from the events she has previously gone through throughout the course of the novel.

Prisoner of Night and Fog also requires the reader to think about the meaning the author wants the reader to take away from her novel. The text in Anne Blankman’s novel was not didactic; the text required the reader to search for the meaning that Anne Blankman creates. Blankman allows the reader to have the power to exercise their mind and their imagination when it comes to creating his or her own meaning out of the text she has provided, instead of providing one strict meaning. Along with this element, number twenty-two on the chart also applies. This point concerns whether or not the text employs guilt in the reader about certain behaviors. Anne Blankman’s novel does not rely on employing guilt within the reader, because instead of focusing on a didactic text, or forcing her text to have an underlying message, Blankman creates her story and allows the readers the creativity to unveil their own meaning, depending on how they interpret the book and the events within her novel (Blankman).

Another crucial element that separates Anne Blankman’s novel from All of a Kind Family and Rivka’s Way, along with other Jewish narratives, is the mystery that takes form throughout her novel. The basis of the novel is that Gretchen and her friend, Daniel, are on a hunt to discover what actually happened regarding the death of Gretchen’s father. This requires Gretchen and Daniel to gather clues from newspaper articles, witnesses, and other means to be able to accurately find the conclusion about what happened to Gretchen’s father. The fact that Blankman not only creates an intriguing piece of Jewish literature, but also manages to weave a mystery into, furthers the confirmation that her novel is a more productive illustration of Jewish literature than previous examples discussed in class, or more widely known examples such as Night or The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

Anne Blankman’s mystery in Prisoner of Night and Fog is an example of a hard-boiled mystery. She demonstrates a hard-boiled mystery by starting the mystery out simply, but increasing the complexity as Gretchen and Daniel find clues. When she begins to search for the truth behind her father’s death, Gretchen starts out with minimal clues, however as the novel progresses Gretchen gains access to more people who help her, along with more clue that range in complexity for her to discover. Another element that makes this novel are hard-boiled mystery is the fact that the setting is a city. Because the setting is a city, it creates a more challenging setting for Gretchen to navigate through and discover clues in. The world that Gretchen has to navigate through is not only a city, but it is a corrupt world due to Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime.

When it comes down to it, Prisoner of Night and Fog encourages the reader to think more about the reading, conflicts, and characters than All of a Kind Family and Rivka’s Wayallowed the reader to. All of a Kind Family and Rivka’s Way, neglected to engage the reader in a way that allowed the reader to think deeply about the material they read. The authors of these two books have created characters that lackfurther development and characterization. When you compare and contrast All of a Kind Family and Rivka’s Way to Prisoner of Night and Fog, it is easy to see how Anne Blankman’s novel overpowers the other two. She creates and intriguing story line, along with characters that develop, grow, and gather strength and agency throughout the story. Because of these elements, Anne Blankman has been able to achieve a novel that leans over towards the productive side of the spectrum, and is nowhere near a Typical Case Prototype book. Also, the fact that Blankman was able to create a mystery while still writing about another culture proves that her novels are a more productive form of Jewish literature. For authors who write about other cultures, it is crucial for them to create productive and Non-Typical Case Prototype literature for children to have access to read. The way authors depict other cultures is crucial to creating productive literature featuring the diversity of other cultures. When the three books discussed are compared, it is clear to see how Prisoner of Night and Fog advances in productive Children’s literature featuring Jewish characters, and also providing an underlying mystery within her novel.

Work Cited

Blankman, Anne. "Prisoner of Night and Fog (Prisoner of Night and Fog, #1)." N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.

Kanefield, Teri. "Rivka's Way." N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.

Taylor, Sydney. All-of-a-kind Family. Chicago: Wilcox and Follett, 1951. Print.