Professor Clark                                                                                                                                                                    Aaron King

October 21, 2019

Annotated Bibliographies

Svonkin, Craig. “Ozick, Cynthia.” Encyclopedia Judaica, 2^nd ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik, vol. 15, Detroit MI: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007, pp. 557-558.

                        In the entry on Cynthia Ozick in Encyclopedia Judaica, Craig Svonkin provides a comprehensive overview of important events in Ozick’s life. Svonkin claims that Ozick’s work explores the conflicts between the Jewish and pagan worlds. The entry offers information regarding Ozick’s origins and accomplishments and gives a comprehensive summary and analysis of controversial issues confronted in her writings.

                        Contained is a short summary of each piece of literature Ozick published. Svonkin determines that the most common themes in her work combine philosophy, comedy, and tragedy to display Judaism as it is responsible for the past and future, the devastating impacts of the Holocaust, and the life of Jews in America after the Holocaust. He presents a summary of Ozick’s literature from her earliest published story, Trust, in 1966, to her collections of essays, Quarrel and Quandry in 2000. Svonkin claims that Ozick takes Judaism more seriously than other post-World War Two Jewish authors, believing that any of her work published in English was somewhat a betrayal of Judaism, and therefore to remain Jewish, must focus on themes central to Judaism and reject assimilation with the western world. She emphasizes the Jewish commitment to faith as an answer for contemporary idolatries.

                         This source contributes valuable information regarding a timeline of Ozick’s works. The entry imparts useful information regarding what Ozick accomplished as well as giving a small insight into some of her literary works. This source contains accurate biographical information; however, if the reader is looking for a more extensive analysis of a particular work, this would not be a good source for that. Svonkin excels in providing a summary of important occurrences and works from Ozick’s life.

Finkelstein, Norman. The Ritual of Creation: Jewish Tradition and Contemporary Literature. New York, State University of New York Press, 1992, pp 65-78

                        Norman Finkelstein’s book, The Ritual of Creation: Jewish Tradition and Contemporary Literature, analyzes certain literary concepts significant to Jewish-American authors and offers an evaluation of several of these authors’ works including Cynthia Ozick’s. In his chapter about Ozick, Finkelstein concentrates on Ozick’s struggle for historical validation. He uses Ozick’s literature to identify how her work opposes normal ideas of historical literature.

Finkelstein states that it is a common assumption in the literary world that only religious writing endures the passing of time. A central idea to Ozick’s writings is the balance between historical truth and parables. Finkelstein refers to it as the Malakah – the Mosaic Law – and the Aggadah – a fictional story or parable. Another aspect is linearity, or predictability throughout Ozick’s work. There are few surprises in Ozick’s writing. A tension between imagination and faith is another common aspect. Ozick uses her interpretation of a period set in time and a timeless lesson to show her readers that historical relevance does not need to come through religious works only. However, she longs for a metaphorical “shtetl of the soul” to protect and nurture the Jewish-American identity through historically redemptive literature. Finkelstein believes that Ozick’s writing has less to do with history and more to do with a Jewish interpretation of the experience.

                        This book is an excellent resource to gain knowledge of concepts important to Jewish American literature as well as to attain a deeper insight of themes central to Ozick’s writing. The theory most commonly addressed is Ozick’s struggle with the common assumptions of writing. She uses several methods to disprove previous ideas of historical validity in literature. Finkelstein does an excellent job of explaining these ideas through Ozick’s writings. This source offers the reader a deeper understanding of why Ozick writes with her unique style and how she is able to contend the assumed theories of historical relevance.

Canales, Gustavo Sanchez. “‘Prisoners gradually came to Buddhist positions’: the presence of PTSD symptoms in Rosa in Cynthia Ozick’s The Shawl.” Studies in American Jewish Literature, vol. 30, 2011, p. 29+. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A309589408/AONE?u=cuny_ccny&sid Accessed 16 Oct. 2019.

                        In Gustavo Sanchez Canales’s article, “Prisoners gradually came to Buddhist positions”: the presence of PTSD symptoms in Rosa in Cynthia Ozick’s ‘The Shawl’, he explores the possibility of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the main character, Rosa. Canales is Senior Lecturer of English and Vice-Dean for Research and Innovation at the Autonomous University of Madrid.

Canales begins by observing that Ozick feels it wasn’t her place to write a fictional story about the Holocaust because she didn’t experience it, and she has unintentionally offended those who did. She feels that stories from the Holocaust should be based on real events. Canales continues to explain how other authors have analyzed the roles of art, symbolism, and identity in the story, but the effects of PTSD in The Shawl have been overlooked.

Canales hypothesizes that Rosa Lublin has PTSD. He observes how her actions strongly correlate with the symptoms of PTSD and it would explain many of the illogical actions that Rosa takes. He begins by explaining the situations that could cause PTSD and that Rosa has definitely experienced them and is therefore eligible for the diagnosis. Then he describes how her current symptoms such as her fantastical fixations of her dead daughter are clear signs of PTSD. Rosa has immediate associations when one of her senses discerns what she is presently experiencing, be it the heat of Miami, the sight of barbed wire, or the associations with fire. Another common symptom of patients with PTSD is outbursts of rage. Rosa shows this many times throughout the story from ranting at Dr. Tree to smashing her cups to yelling at Finkelstein.

One aspect of the story Canales suggests that I had not thought of before was that Magda may have been a product of rape. Although never explicitly indicated, Canales notes places in the story where Ozick may have subtly implied it. This would obviously be another reason for Rosa having PTSD. Another idea that Canales presented and I had not been fully aware of is that Simon Persky could be a redemptive motive in the story. He helps Rosa begin to relate to people again and instigates positive change in Rosa’s life. Persky begins to untangle Rosa’s life and initiates the healing process. I found this article to be extremely informative and a good analysis of aspects of The Shawl which before were not obvious. Canales excels at connecting common themes in the story from fire to barbed wire. This article would be useful for a study concerning ideas addressed in The Shawl.  

Hellerstein, Kathryn. “The envy of Yiddish: Cynthia Ozick as translator.” Studies in American Jewish Literature, vol. 31, no. 1, 2012, p. 24+. Literature Resource Center, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A309589421/LitRC?u=cuny_ccny&sid  Accessed 16 Oct. 2019.

            In her article, The envy of Yiddish: Cynthia Ozick as translator, Katherine Hellerstein illustrates how Cynthia Ozick manipulates the English and Yiddish language to her advantage. Hellerstein observes, “Ozick layers the English prose of ‘Envy’ with Yiddish–inserting actual Yiddish phrases, sentences, and stanzas of poems; translating Yiddish idioms and sayings into an English that is often deliberately unidiomatic, and bending and reversing English syntax with Yiddishisms that transform English into Yinglish.”

Ozick, Hellerstein claims, uses Yiddish expressions in place of English ones and vice versa to create a fused combination of the two languages that leads the reader to the emotions of the character. Ozick uses the combination of the two languages to her advantage to keep the meaning obscure so that more than one result can be interpreted. The joke, though, is only obvious to the reader who speaks both languages. This leads to Hellerstein’s next point in which she confirms that Ozick is showing spite to the reader who only knows English and has to go to the dictionary every time to look up a word. Another aspect that Ozick uses is diminutive to give a feel of the insignificance that was key in the world of Yiddish. Ozick also trivializes the poems written in Yiddish and translated to English, but she then advocates these poems and therefore gives them a reason to be included in her works. The last idea that Hellerstein expounds on is how the character’s sexual desires influence the language. The translations or expressions of these thoughts also imply the relevance of Yiddish in future generations and the necessity of continuation of the Yiddish culture through reproductive means.

When infusing the two languages, Ozick uses the English to sound Yiddish and the Yiddish to sound English, but still keeps the two separated because the ironies are subject to the reader’s comprehension of the piece. Essentially, Ozick has crafted a barrage of double meanings to indulge the reader. Hellerstein demonstrates how translation in Ozick’s work gives the reader a transformation to a higher understanding or even enlightenment. Her analysis of Ozick’s writings helps the reader more fully understand the influence of Yiddish in Ozick’s works and the repetitive styles that help her express the character’s emotions. This source provides useful information about Ozick’s writing styles.

Goren, Arthur. The American Jews: Dimensions of Ethnicity. Massachusetts, Belknap Harvard, 1982, pp. 73-114

                        Arthur Goren’s book, The American Jews: Dimensions of Ethnicity, explains the migration of Jews to America from 1654 through to the 1970s. I will focus, however, on the last two sections concerning the twentieth century. Goren expounded on the different demographics of Jewish society in America and how that changed through immigration. As well, he exhibits the influence that Jews had on business in the twentieth century. Another major topic he discusses is the antisemitism Jews faced, not only on college campuses around the United States, but also discrimination encountered at work. Goren traces the migration of Jews around the country. For instance, in Harlem, New York, the population of 177,000 in 1923 had diminished to under 5,000 by 1930, while other communities outside New York City were rapidly expanding. Then the 1970s saw Jewish women entering leadership positions in the synagogues. The floor was changing geographically as well. After the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, now many Jews were emigrating back from the homeland to America, leaving that which their ancestors had sacrificed their lives to gain. Goren determines that the Jews, now removed by generation from the horror of the Holocaust and no longer faced with the discrimination shown to their ancestors, were straying from their ancestral foundations and moving towards the more secular America.

Goren’s comprehensive study of the migration of Jews to America is a useful insight into how the Jewish-American identity came into existence. The study thoroughly describes the hardships that new immigrants faced as they stepped out into the unknown dangers of the New World. Goren gives helpful graphs and other statistical data on an array of subjects ranging from small businesses to women in religious leadership roles. Dimensions of Ethnicity is a reliable source for information regarding important historical events for Jews in America.

Heilman, Samuel. Portrait of American Jews: The Last Half of the 20^th Century. University of Washington Press, USA, 1995.

                        Samuel Heilman’s book, Portrait of American Jews, provides extensive research on Jews in America beginning in the 1950s through the 1990s. The book focuses on the demographics of Jewish-American ethnicity, religion, education, and secularism.

                        The book is divided into three chronological time periods and offers an in-depth analysis of various aspects concerning Jewish conditions in America. The first period covers the fifties. Heilman concentrates on Jewish assimilation to American life, and how over the years, the immigrant Jews slowly integrated with American society and gradually felt accepted. With most Jews finally immigrated to America by the late sixties, Heilman investigates how Jewish life progressed. More Jews started attending synagogue, and Jewish education slowly integrated into American schools, moving from their Jewish identity towards the more secular education. With more interaction between the Jewish community and the rest of America, Heilman observes the shift towards intermarriage and a decline in antisemitism. The seventies saw the emergence of two types of Jews. The secular Jews saw their identity as a Jew more symbolic, but the more orthodox were deeply concerned with the plight of American Jews. In the eighties and nineties, Heilman tracks the Jewish population growth, residential patterns, orthodoxy, marriage, and the idea of the Jewish identity. He also covers the Jewish political influence and economic situation.

Heilman provides a comprehensive index in the back of the book, citing all his sources and giving his work a well-researched, comprehensive plan. This source would provide exceptionally useful for any research on Jews in America in the second half of the twentieth century. The book gives the reader an extensive understanding of the Jewish-American identity, based on historical information presented in this work. Heilman observes almost every aspect critical to the formation of Jewish life in the United States in the twentieth century.