LiuDichen Liu
May 18, 2007
Draft Two
Title
“The Americanization of Shadrach Cohen” written by Bruno Lessing is a story about a new landed Russian Jew Shadrach Cohen ,who had conflicts with his sons because of their Americanization ,with his unswelling endvaour ,won his dignity and his sons’s respects by keeping his belief and work with his own life style.Rather than Shadrach’s persistent in religion , his business skill should also be the key factor to his success.
He stick to his religious belief all the time ,but his sons didn’t give him full respect until he changed his attitude towards them and achieved great success in his business. They just accustomed to the Jewish belief because their surrounding
Evidence 1 For reasons that only business men would understand they conducted the store in their father’s name(p46)
From the context of the story we can get the idea that when Russia Jews new landed in the United
States of America., most of them are so poor that they had to live in ghettos. So compared with them,Shadrach had enough money to give to his sons for opening new store in U.S.,that is a clue that he might be good at business. His sons coducted the store in his name should be a prove that he had a good reputation among business men and his business skill is nice. It reflects the fact that he did have his sons respects before he came to America.
Evidence 2 :after a few months, that their father was clinging to the habits and customs of his old life with a tenacity that filled them with despair(p47)
Af first Shadrach’s perservence in his reglious belief did not make his sons respect him.,and what’s more,they felt despair.He kept his belief and life style ,however ,what he did ,in his sons’ mind ,was just the obstacle perventing him from americanization.
Evidence 3:To the amazement of Abel and Gottlieb the business of Shadrach Cohen began to grow Slowly it dawned upon them that in the mercantile realm they were as children compared with their father(p49)
Since the business of the shop began to grow, Shadrach’s sons started to realized that there was a great gap in business ability between their father and themselves. When this idea occurred to them,they began to change their attitude toward Shadrach.The fact in business instead of the belief made this change.
Evidence4:And gradually ,as the business of Shadrach Cohen increased, and even the sons saw vistas of prosperity beyond their wildes dreams,they began to Look upon their father with increasing respect.(p50)
It was the first time in the story that the author used respect to express Shadrach’s sons relationship with their father.It shows that the direct reasons why Shadrach won his sons’ respect is his business skilll not his religious belief.
Evidence 5:And as his sons began to perceive that all these business men whom, in former days they had looked upon with feelings akin to reverence, seemed to show to their father an amount of deference and respect which they had never evinced toward the sons , their admiration for their father increased.(p50)
The sons amdire their father because the businessmen repected their father.The only reason why business men respect Shadrach could be nothing but his business skills.We can hardly see any impression Shadrach’s clinging to belief had on the other business men as well as on his sons.
Evidence 6:When life became earnest , and we feel its burden growing heavy upon our shoulders they we welcome the consolation that religion brings and we cling to it (p50).
In conclusion, Shadrach’s sons clinged to their belief because life was earnest instead of beacause their father’s stick to religious belief.Before Shadrach change his attitude, even though he stick to his reglious belief all the time,he never made his sons be faithful to the god.All he had done seemed to have no impact on their reglious belief.
Conclusion: It shows that the direct reason why Shadrach won his sons’ respect is his business skilll not his religious belief.
