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A review by thelizabeth
The Conversion of the Jews by Philip Roth
3.0
I was surprised when I learned that this story is funny. I thought it was sad? I don't know. I'm weird like that. Chekhov is the same for me. I know they're comedies, I just really want them to get to Moscow.
Anyway. I guess the sadness is what interested me in the story, so I'm going to hold on to it. There is a situational joke at the end, foretold by the story's title, but if that is the purpose of the story then I don't think it's very strong.
But the story of Ozzie and his questions was good. The story is about his need to ask questions of his rabbi at Hebrew school, and his consistent denial. The rabbi wants to teach him to stop asking questions, and the confrontations grow heated as they accumulate.
What's so sad, though, is that while this is going on, Ozzie is realizing that nobody knows him. They don't understand what he's thinking -- whether because they're stuck in the obedience of religious belief or because they haven't made the effort -- and he cannot successfully explain. Even his friends start acting like the children they are, taking it all the most un-seriously they possibly can. He's really alone, and it upsets Ozzie so much he starts acting childishly, using the unexpected power of the moment to make silly things happen (like the joke of the title). But this is the kind of childish behavior you root for, that makes up for harm done. This weird situation allows him to get attention for his ideas, and ask his questions, and demand answers.
I like Ozzie and what he's going through, and I liked thinking about how his needs compare to what his community expects him to need. But personally I wanted a little more than that from the story in the end, because to me, it really doesn't seem like a joke. Something about it disappoints me, but maybe I'm taking things too seriously.
Anyway. I guess the sadness is what interested me in the story, so I'm going to hold on to it. There is a situational joke at the end, foretold by the story's title, but if that is the purpose of the story then I don't think it's very strong.
But the story of Ozzie and his questions was good. The story is about his need to ask questions of his rabbi at Hebrew school, and his consistent denial. The rabbi wants to teach him to stop asking questions, and the confrontations grow heated as they accumulate.
Spoiler
His mother is unhappy with his performance, and slaps him one night. Then at school, the rabbi slaps him. The primary action of the story happens after he runs onto the roof to get away, and they think he plans to jump.What's so sad, though, is that while this is going on, Ozzie is realizing that nobody knows him. They don't understand what he's thinking -- whether because they're stuck in the obedience of religious belief or because they haven't made the effort -- and he cannot successfully explain. Even his friends start acting like the children they are, taking it all the most un-seriously they possibly can. He's really alone, and it upsets Ozzie so much he starts acting childishly, using the unexpected power of the moment to make silly things happen (like the joke of the title). But this is the kind of childish behavior you root for, that makes up for harm done. This weird situation allows him to get attention for his ideas, and ask his questions, and demand answers.
I like Ozzie and what he's going through, and I liked thinking about how his needs compare to what his community expects him to need. But personally I wanted a little more than that from the story in the end, because to me, it really doesn't seem like a joke. Something about it disappoints me, but maybe I'm taking things too seriously.