MarquelleMaxfield
January 3, 2011
English Period 4A
Literary Analysis of short story “The Magic Barrel”
The Magic Barrel
A literary element is an individual aspect or characteristic of a whole work of literature. The essential techniques used in literature, such as characterization, setting, and plot. Characterization is the process of how the author reveals the personality of a character. For example; indirect and direct characterization are is great examples. An individual in a story or plot is a character. He or she always has human traits even if the character is an animal. There are two main characters in the book, The Magic Barrel. They are; Leo Finkle and PinyeSalzman. I chose to do my essay on Leo Finkle, this includes his personality, characteristics, and trials. Here is Leo’s powerful story on his journey for love.
Most people in the world are on their search for love. The same goes for the soon to be rabbi, Leo Finkle. As a result, he shamelessly calls PinyeSalzmen, a matchmaker. He still wasn’t convinced that this “matchmaker” was going to be able to find him true love, but he tried anyways. Not too long after, he found himself about to go on a blind date with a woman named Lily. After the date he was so unsatisfied, he decided not to see help from Salzman any longer. However, after a couple of days a package full of pictures arrived at his house. While going through them he came to an abrupt stop, looking at a girl named Stella. He knew this woman was the one, quickly gathering his things he scrambled to find the Salzman. Unfortunately he was not at his house. When he returned home he found Salzman at his door. He brought him upstairs and pulled out the snapshot. Just as Salzman saw her face, he was out the door. Leo realized he was very upset. For Stella was his Daughter, you also could describe her as quite the troublemaker. After a couple weeks Leo ran into Salzman at a coffee shop once again begging to meet his daughter. Finally Salzman agreed, and told him where, and when. Leo showed up with flowers, to see her in a red dress and white heels. Little did he know, Salzman is around the corner taking notes. The end of this book leaves you wondering about many possibilities. Also the question of who is the real Leo Finkle? He is described in so many different ways throughout the book.
Leo Finkle is more described through direct characterization. A quiet man with long, bony fingers, and a not so pleasant smell. He has mournful eyes, which are hungry for knowledge. He is an elderly man that is very dignified. His personality is pretty straight forward. His perspective on love is different then most peoples. In the end, he still comes to find happiness, regardless of how he got their. Bernard Malamud brings out Leo’s personality great. It makes “The Magic Barrel” so much more interesting.
However, Bernard Malamud still describes Leo through indirect characterization. Meaning the author refers details about the character, but doesn’t come out and tell the reader straight forward. For instance, you can assume Leo is pretty lonely. That is the reason he was asking Salzman to help him find love. Throughout “The Magic Barrel” the reader will find that Leo is very quite. That also, would be considered indirect characterization. The author doesn’t state that Leo is a quiet man. He just gives the reader clues for the reader to assume that about Leo. He is a very complex character, leading us to our last question about him.
There are two ways to describe a character, astatic or dynamic character. A static character is a character that does not undergo a change over the course of the story. They usually only have one or two qualities to them. From reading this, you would assume Bernard Malamud wanted Leo to be a. Just in the sense that he only has a couple qualities to him. On the other hand, he could be described as a Dynamic character. A dynamic character is a character that changes, especially one who comes to a major realization. The realization may or may not change the character's actions, but the character must never be able to see the world in quite the same way. Exactly how Leo all the sudden comes to the conclusion that he wants to be a rabbi. So in this case, Leo is described as a static and dynamic character in “The Magic Barrel”. The reader can choose what you personally think describes him more strongly.
In the end, Leo becomes happy, at least as far as we know. He is a very confusing and conflicting character. He is kind of hard to work with; however, he picked a great matchmaker. Whether he meant to or not, Salzman found love for Leo. Though he may not have been happy about it, he definitely did his job. Hopefully Salzman can come to realize it might be a good match for the both of them. Leo is a great person, and his look on life was very interesting to learn about. In conclusion, your opinion on the story is totally up to the reader.
1| Maxfield