Jewish American Literature

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how, even though they often express themselves in multiple languages, through diverse media and with differing intentions, Jewish American authors are somehow united in creating a common body of literature that can be identified as both Jewish and American. It looks at how, although the links between some Jewish American works may seem obscure, authors such as Isaac Rosenfeld and Elie Wiesel have elucidated their common underpinnings by exploring the obstacles, responsibilities, and strengths shared by their writers.

From the Paper:

"Since many early writers of Jewish American fiction focused on the experiences of new immigrants and their children, they by definition had to deal with balancing their Jewish and American selves. In doing so, they questioned aspects of mainstream American culture ranging from adherence to religious standards to prioritization of material success, consequently delving more deeply into staples of American distinctiveness than their non-Jewish peers. Precisely as Rosenfeld suggests, early alienation was fruitful in that it forced writers to question their surroundings. As the protagonists of Jewish fiction seek to move from outsider to insider, they confront the very meaning of Americanism and are forced to choose which aspects of their earlier Jewish identities they are willing to sacrifice."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Antin, Mary. The Promised Land. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1969.
• Cahan, Abraham. "The Rise of David Levinsky." The Rise of American Jewish Literature. Ed. Charles Angoff and Meyer Levin. New York: Simon and Schuster. 21-68.
• Chametzky, Jules, Felstiner, John, Flanzbaum, Hilene, and Hellerstein, Kathryn, eds. Jewish American Literature: A Norton Anthology. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2001.
• Glatstein, Jacob. "Without Jews." Chametzky, Felstiner, Flanzbaum, and Hellerstein 374-75.
• Hecht, Anthony. "The Room." Chametzky, Felstiner, Flanzbaum, and Hellerstein 805-6.

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