The Assistant: Fictional character Analysis Essay, Research Paper

The Assistant: Fictional character Analysis

The Assistant is a fresh written by Bernard Malamud. It is a narrative set during the Depression. This narrative involves several cardinal characters. The two supporters are Frank Alpine, a vagrant, and Morris Bober, a Judaic food market shop clerk. Morris & # 8217 ; married woman Ida and girl Helen are besides to a great extent involved in the narrative.

Frank Alpine is the supporter of The Assistant. He is a typical Malamud character. Frank is existent and memorable. Malamud knows this character good, like he knows all his characters, and he keeps them free of theatrics and mawkishness. These qualities add to the character & # 8217 ; s sense of pragmatism and simpleness.

Frank is looking for a new life and finds it on the East Coast. It is at that place where he becomes a felon. Frank and his friend Ward Minogue interruption into a food market shop, attack the elderly clerk, and rob him. This is where we find Frank at the novel & # 8217 ; s gap. He is non a good individual, he is a condemnable ; but he feels guilty about his short life as a felon. Frank wants expiation for his wickedness and he feels the lone manner to accomplish it is to work for the adult male he robbed.

Morris Bober, the clerk, finds Frank life in his cellar. Frank has been stealing milk and axial rotations for nutriment. Morris gives Frank a occupation as his helper, which starts Frank & # 8217 ; s character growing. He does non go a good individual right off. Frank bargains from the registry and even watched Morris & # 8217 ; girl, Helen, take off her apparels in the bathroom. However, character alteration takes clip and Frank is willing to make what he must to alter. Populating with an honorable Judaic household is a great influence on him. He works hard in the shop when Morris is non experiencing good.

Frank Alpine defeats himself after he has gained so much. One dark Frank and Helen meet in the park. Helen is early and finds herself confronted by a raper. Fortunately, Frank arrives in clip to contend off the aggressor but he ruins things for himself by picking up where the raper left off. Again Frank seeks expiation for his wickedness. Morris has passed off and Frank forfeits himself for the Bobers. He takes over all the duties of the shop and works off his wickednesss against the household.

Frank could be seen as anything but a hero. He lacks the virtuousnesss that a hero should hold and alternatively has virtuousnesss of a scoundrel like cowardliness, ignorance and, dishonesty. Malamud dispels this image by making illustriousness from within Frank. He evokes understanding from the readers and succeeds in making a hero in Frank.

Morris Bober is the other supporter in The Assistant. He is a Judaic tradesman, an old adult male, and a good adult male. The food market concern is his life ; he seldom leaves the shop. Morris is a nice adult male. His composure and interior peace are his lone qualities that let him last. He endures all the wretchedness that befalls him. The poorness and the despair around him do non alter his staunchness and honestness.

The food market shop is Morris & # 8217 ; fate. He could hold sold it but he let that chance slip off. Any chance for alteration he allow steal off. He let them go through because he wanted them to go through. Morris sees the shop as his grave but he cares for it and would non desire to lose it.

The best manner to understand Morris & # 8217 ; character is by detecting how he reacts to the people and events around him. When he finds Frank in the cellar, he volitionally gives Frank nutrient and shelter. When Morris begins to understand what sort of individual Frank truly is, Morris doesn & # 8217 ; t give up on him. Alternatively, he tries to transform Frank into a better individual. He tries to convey out the good in Frank that he knows is at that place. Morris fires Frank when he finds out Frank was stealing from him. He doesn & # 8217 ; t make this out of choler, but out of letdown. Morris helps Frank more than he kno

tungsten. He offers Frank religious counsel and aid on affairs of humanity. Morris does this with nuance, so much so that he doesn’t even recognize that he is making it. Morris is a living illustration of honestness and goodness.

Morris dies shortly after firing Frank. Against his married woman & # 8217 ; s will Morris shovels the pavement in forepart of the shop. He dies with an interior peace and felicity. Karp, the spirits storeowner following door, offers to purchase the food market shop. Morris is happy and financially good off because of this. He has prevailed against the forces of darkness and his agony has non been in vain.

Helen is the girl of Morris. She is attractive and immediately catches the oculus of Frank, much to the discouragement of Ida. She is a alone individual and doesn & # 8217 ; t cognize what she wants for herself. She is trapped in her state of affairs because her household does non hold the money to give her more than they have. She is a charitable individual and a spot obstinate.

Helen & # 8217 ; s past fellows have all been letdowns. Alternatively of making anything for her, they have either taken from her or merely did nil but talk. Helen did non desire to settle for any of these people, she wanted much better for herself. So she waited. Her senses have been sharpened because of these past fellows and she is careful when it comes to choosing a future mate. At first she feels Frank is the same manner the other male childs, but so she realizes he is different. He sacrifices his eventides to work a 2nd occupation. Frank uses this excess income to set money back into the shop. This helps do up for the money he took out of the registry, but Helen doesn & # 8217 ; t know that.

Frank is different than other people, there is a good individual fighting to acquire out and Helen sees this. This good individual does non ever come out. When Frank saves her from the raper, he could hold won her for life. Alternatively, he ruins all future opportunities with Helen by ravishing her himself.

Ida Bober is Morris & # 8217 ; married woman and Helen & # 8217 ; s female parent. She has acted as Morris & # 8217 ; helper in the yesteryear when it came to running the shop. She is able to run the shop, but she let Morris take attention of it. Morris would non halt her from assisting him unless he thought it was excessively much for her. She has a really strong influence on Morris, as any married woman should.

Ida was against Frank & # 8217 ; s presence in the shop every bit shortly as he arrived. He was stealing milk and axial rotations from them. Morris had to lie to Ida and state her the stealer had stopped merely so she would halt pecking him. She was against Frank kiping in the back room of the shop. Ida was certain all the ware would be gone in the forenoon, and when it wasn & # 8217 ; t she still did non swear him.

Ida tried really difficult to maintain Helen off from Frank, and she did a good occupation of it excessively. She gave Frank dinner before Helen got home in the eventide. She let Frank hold the darks off so he would non be around when Helen was. But her attempts could merely travel so far. A determined immature male will ever happen a manner to be with the adult female he wants. Ida was crushed when she saw Frank and Helen snoging on a door stoop one dark.

Malamud did a fantastic occupation in making these characters. Frank Alpine is a credible and simple character, even with all his defects. Everybody has defects and can associate to him. By following his illustration we can endeavor to be good people even in the thick of our wickednesss. Morris is besides a simple adult male. He is a moral and does his best to assist out his fellow adult male. He does non look for wagess for his actions ; merely cognizing he did a good title is reward plenty. Helen has been hurt in the past and those lesions define who she is. She is careful of who she dates in instance she would be hurt once more. Ida is a realistic individual, more concerned with the well being of her household than making the right thing. She is a good married woman and female parent. Malamud used the right characters in stating his narrative, The Assistant.