The Analysis of the Characteristicsof the Protagonists in Neighbors

趙嘉

【Abstracts】 Issac Bashevis Singer， is a famous Jewish writer， who writes and publishes only in Yiddish， and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978. He wrote numerous masterpieces among which the short novel Neighbors impressed me a lot. In the novel Neighbors， the author depicts two main protagonists—Morris and Margit in the first person narrative. The two elderly neighbors are American Jews whose lives are full of poverty， loneliness and misery. The author successfully shapes two images of American Jews characters with different characteristics. However， their different personal characteristics reflect the same miserable ending and pathetic destiny in their process of looking for identity.

【Key Words】Morris； Margit； characteristic； identity

In this short novel Neighbors， the author depicts two old Jewish immigrants who have no relatives in America.The narrator witnesses their lives and death as their neighbor. He experiences the process of two old Jewish people from constant quarrel to mutual dependence. The author gives the protagonists Morris and Margit their own unique personal characteristics with his concise， vivid and humorous language. Meanwhile， though the depicting of the two protagonists， the author shows great sympathy and deep pity upon two helpless and poor Jewish old persons.

1. The Analysis of the Characteristics of Morris

Morris， a poor Jew， lives at the bottom of society. He is a rootless Yiddish writer whose stories teemed with cliches without the notion of syntax. He insists writing， but not accepted by the pubic. He likes boasting， but theres no one listening to him sincerely. At last， Morris died of illness.

Morris has a deep passion for his own culture and tradition， which also his rebellion of the inequality. At that time， the American Jews are discriminated and excluded by the society. Although the Yiddish and Jewish culture is not approved by the majorities， he still insist writing in Yiddish that represents his culture and tradition.

2. The Analysis of the Characteristics of Margit

Margit lived in a single room as the boarder of an old maid and survived on Social Security. She is a pathetic， lonely and poor old lady with strange personalities.

Margit， an old maid with a strange personality， who suffered a unfortunate childhood which has a deep impact on her strange personality. She is a lonely old maid who too eager for love and friendship. Besides， she has the spirit of persistence. When Morris was diagnosed with diabetes and prescribed insulin， Margit took subway downtown twice each week to pick up and return the proof for Morris. Though she suffered others bullying and abuse， she still persist.

During that period in America， the Jews were marginalized. Margits pathetic destiny not only because of her miserable childhood， but also the special time.

3. Conclusion

The novel Neighbors reflects the American Jews miserable life and pathetic destiny through the description of the characteristic of Morris and Margit， two protagonists. On the whole， the two lonesome and helpless old persons is an epitome of lives of American Jews. They reflect their characteristic of persistence， kindness and their misfortune in such a tough circumstance. Whats more， the author also express his compassion for the Jews and calls for humanity of the society.

References：

[1]Issac Bashevis Singer.Neighbors[M].

[2]辛格.楊絳譯.辛格短篇小說集[M].外國文學出版社，1980.

[3]尹岳斌.辛格短篇小說淺析[J].益陽師專學報（哲科版），1984 （3）.