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Nhận xét về nhân vật Salzman trong The Magic Barrel, Analyze Pinye Salzman in The Magic Barrel through Name, Job, Appearance,Characteristics. And the theme of Love and Marriage. This paper is original and just personal opinion. Consider carefully.
Pinye Salzman Name Salzman may sound like sales man That may remind his job That means he may sell something About the name’s origin, “salz” is from German that means salt And salzman means salt merchant So, it still has a connection with the activities of selling goods Job Pyne Salzman is a matchmaker with 25 years of experience That means he is a professional matchmaker In Judaism he can be called a Shadchan And the matchmaking system is called a shidduch The function of a shadchan is to help single Jews can form a couple for the purpose of marriage Traditionally, single Jews, or their parents, close relatives, friends, come to a shadchan and make inquiries about the partner, such as, character, intelligence, level of learning, financial status, family and health status, appearance and level of religious observance And the shadchan will find some candidates based on the inquiries A Shadchan may receive money, or gifts or nothing, which, the payment, based on the agreement between a single and the shadchan In the story, Salzman is called as a commercial cupid and as Salzman said, “I am in the business for twenty-five years”, he had “two-line advertisement” in a newspaper, the Forward That means he worked as a matchmaker to make a living Appearance 3.1 Appearance We first see him as an old man having an unkempt appearance: - In paragraph 2, page 1: with an old and worn black portfolio, an old hat, a too short and tight overcoat, smell of fish, lost a few teeth, “amiable manner curiously contrasted with mournful eyes His voice, his lips, his wisp of beard, his bony fingers were animated”, “his mild blue eyes revealed a depth of sadness” - He also had horn-rimmed spectacles Through those details especially his mild and mournful eyes, which contained “depth of sadness” people can see that Salzman is not a happy man 3.2 Health - Losing a few teeth suggests that Salzman has dental problem and problem with eating That may be the reason why he loves eating fish so much Because fish is softer and easier for him to eat than meat Having bony fingers and once he appeared as “a skeleton with haunted eyes” that convey that he doesn’t have a good health Even his wife looks not much better, a think, asthmatic, gray-haired woman in felt slippers” 3.3 Poverty His appearance may also suggest that he was living in poverty And that is true when we see how his apartment was described: in a very old tenement house, but the old house was “less than a block from the subway, nor a loft, nor a store” Three dark flights to his apartment And looking inside his room, we can see that it is not tidy with full of stuffs and those are not good anymore: “It was sunless and dingy…one large room divided by a half-open curtain…a sagging metal bed The near side of the room was crowded with rickety chairs, old bureaus, a three- - legged table, racks of cooking utensils, and all the apparatus of a kitchen… An odor of frying fish makes weak to the knees.” (at the beginning and the end of paragraph 2, page 11) In conclusion, Salzman was an old man living in a boring and old place, in a scruffy, and gloomy room with full of raged stuffs Maybe because of his poverty, his daughter left him, left her home, and Salzman disowned his daughter, as he said: “Like an animal Like a dog For her to be poor was a sin This is why to me she is dead now.” And “she should burn in hell.” Salzman wasn’t proud of his daughter, but the way he called Stella “This is my baby, my Stella,” I think it shows that he still loves his daughter But, at the same time he Our old commercial cupid is not only not successful in his career, not happy in his life, not living in good condition, but also doesn’t have a good health Characters - As a commercial cupid, or a marriage broker, Salzman is well-spoken, and kind of good at persuading and observing people as a sales person At the end of page 6: When observing Leo’s hesitation and Salzman thought that he had persuaded Leo And he was right, because on Saturday afternoon, Leo met Lily He usually says “I give you my word—” to make Leo believe in what he told Leo And Salzman was sometimes a tactless broker, line 8, page - On page 9, near the middle of the page, Salzman said that: he was so happy that he would talk too much about two fine people, who he thought those were wonderful to get married That was his weakness But what does it mean by his “too much”? Then it turns out Salzman is an untrustworthy commercial cupid • He told Leo that Lily was 32 then reconfirmed that she was just 29 But Leo found out later, Lily was actually “a woman past thirty-five and aging rapidly.” (we can see that on page 8, par 1, line 5) • That was not a mistake, I think Because on page when reading card of Sophie P, Salzman mentioned her age first, but later when moving on Lily H He didn’t mention Lily’s age deliberately That is why Leo said: “I don’t believe you mentioned her age?” (on the beginning of the next page) • When reconfirmed Lily’s age, Leo doubted Salzman, but after listening to Salzman’s excuse Leo decided to meet Lily So, I think Salzman is good at persuading and lying to people • Not only not telling Leo the true age of Lily, Salzman also exaggerates things about Leo: He told Lily about a completely different Leo, “a total stranger, some mystical figure, perhaps even passionate prophet that Salzman had dreamed up for her” (the first lines of the first paragraph of page 8) And Leo said that "You told her things abut me that weren't true You made out to be more, consequently less than I am She had in mind a totally different person, a sort of semi-mystical Wonder Rabbi." (page 9, in the middle of the page) • That was why Leo called him a trickster His dishonesty may be the reason why he is not a successful matchmaker - Through the way Salzman reads his cards mechanically, I think Salzman is also a traditional matchmaker He follows the traditional standards in choosing a partner for Leo, he bases on: characters, intelligence, level of learning, financial status, family and health status, appearance and level of religious observance - Salzman is a materialistic man To him, wealth, dowry, money are the priorities in his criteria As we can see how he reads information about Sophie, Lily, Ruth K • Another example: On page 3: “If Rothchild’s daughter wants to marry you, would you say on account her age, no?” and Leo said “yes” that means Leo would refuse such a proposal, so “Salzman shook off the no in the eyes.” The Rothschilds has been an unimaginable wealthy and powerful Jewish family since late 18 th century Leo was not a man from an aristocracy or a wealthy family, or a financial dynasty It is impossible for Leo to be a candidate for a Rothschild’s daughter So, to Salzman that would be a great opportunity for a man like Leo to be rich, and to have a good social status That is to say how Salzman value wealth, fortune - Salzman is working for the sake of Leo but he doesn’t care about what Leo needs, he choses the candidates based on his own priorities not Leo’s inquiries and dishonesty may be the main reasons why he is not successful as a matchmaker He was working not because of people’s happiness but because his own purpose of getting rich That is why in the last sentence of paragraph 3, page 1, when Leo gave compliment, and Salzman felt that: “he experienced a glow of pride in his work, and emotion that had left him years ago” A mythical commercial cupid - Salzman who has only two lines advertisement in a newspaper, the Forward - He always appears in nights or dark settings that makes him so mysterious: • The 1st time: “one night out of the dark fourth-floor hallway of the graystone rooming house” • The 2nd time: “So good evening I am invited?” (line 9, from the beginning of page 5) • The 3rd time: “The marriage broker, a skeleton with haunted eyes, returned that very night.” (the first lines of paragraph 1, page 9) • The 4th time: in a day that: “Although the day was bright his (Leo’s) view of it was dark.” (line 3, par started by “The days went by”, page 10) • And when Leo climbs the upstairs in the place where Salzman living, there were “three dark flights” (line 3, par 2, page 11) • At the end of the story, in the night Leo met Stella, Salzman were leaning at a wall of a corner - On Saturday afternoon, Leo’s first time dating with Lily, Leo felt that “whom he uneasily sensed to be somewhere around, hiding perhaps high in a tree along the street…” final lines of the first paragraph on page - And things even get more mysterious when Leo asked Salzman’s wife where his office was, and she said: “In the air.” “In his socks.” Those ambiguous answers made the commercial cupid more mysterious - Salzman once told Leo that he had so much cards in his office, his drawers are full of cards, so he put them in a barrel But when Leo went to Salzman’s apartment, he looked in Salzman’s room and found no sign of the magic barrel Whether he lied to Leo or he was telling the truth, we and Leo don’t see Salzman’s magic barrel because it is not in his apartment, and perhaps, because they are all “in the air” and “in his socks” as Salzman’s wife said Is that because he is a cupid even a commercial one, but still a cupid? So, he has magic and works in the sky - The way Leo contacts Salzman is not convenient when they can make a phone call to get things done, it is old fashioned as well “No phone number was listed…he has originally communicated with Salzman by letter.” Salzman is also unpredictable when he usually appears suddenly: • “the matchmaker appeared” • But as if on the wings of wind, Salzman had disappeared • Leo was astounded and overjoyed “How did you get here before me?” and despite of Leo’s surprise, Salzman just said shortly that he had rushed (line 6, page 12) • On page 13: “He perhaps did not know that he had come to a final decision until he encountered Salzman in a Broadway cafeteria He was sitting alone at a rear table” • When Leo was talking with Lily, he felt that Salzman was watching them: page 7, the first paragraph, line 8) Salzman not only appears in nights, dark settings, but also appears and disappears suddenly as if he has magic to go to anywhere in a blink of an eye, he also appears when Leo needs him as if he was watching Leo So, Salzman is the mythical feature in the story Conclusion: Salzman is an old man, doesn’t have a good health, and living in poverty He is not a trustworthy matchmaker even a trickster He is materialistic His life is not happy at all And Salzman is also a mysterious commercial cupid Love and marriage - Salzman is materialistic, so to him, financial and family status are important than other factors, such as age, appearance, characteristics • “So, what is the difference, tell me, between 27 and 32?” • “five years don’t mean a thing.” • And the way he introduces Lily, Sophie to Leo, he always emphasizes financial status The way he reads the cards shows how he thinks of the women – his clients To him those women are just goods that he sells out to make profit • He said “first comes family, mount of dowry, also what kind of promises” “After comes pictures” • He did lie to Lily about Leo’s characters So, we can see that his priorities are not age, appearance, or even characters To Salzman: because he values material properties more than anything, so marriage is a way to get rich, to have money, real estate Marriage is not taken at heart, doesn’t need to have love and it is just a plan, a calculation, in which he has something from And marriage is just a tool, a means, by which he can move up to a better life Being wealthy is the purpose of an arranged marriage, as what Salzman thinks of - To Leo, age and appearance are very much important, more important than being wealthy, or social status, intelligence, level of learning To Leo, women like Lily “all past their prime” and when he looked at Stella’s picture “It gave him the impression of youth—spring flowers, yet - - age” (first lines of the final paragraph on page 10) it is said that men love by eyes, and that is true to Leo Leo’s first reason to come to the matchmaker because marriage helps him easier to win himself a congregation So, the purpose is not because he wants to love someone but to be successful in his career as a rabbi The second reason is that he was not capable to find a lover, • “He wondered if it could be…that he did not, in essence, care for the matchmaking institution?” (the final paragraph on page 4) • Then “He gradually realized … that he had called in the broker to find him a bride because he was incapable of doing himself.” Because he was unconfident about himself, not a rich man, not “a talented religious person”, not yet a rabbi He was a rabbinical student, but he came to God because he did not love God, as Leo confessed On page 7, the first paragraph, it described how Leo thinks of Lily: “She was au courant, animatedly, with all sorts of subjects, and he weighed her words and found her surprisingly sound” that shows how Leo amazed at Lily’s characteristics, he might feel that he was not as good, and intelligent as Lily Lily was more active in the conversation, she gave more questions, she talked more than Leo-her sentences are usually longer than Leo’s That is to say how unconfident he was, and why Leo confessed to himself that he was not capable to find a girlfriend by himself - - - He thinks about and for himself rather than for Stella To him this relationship with Stella is just a tool for him to “help him seek whatever he was seeking” • On page 10, the final lines of the final paragraph, we will see how selfish Leo was: • “But before he had finished drinking, again with excitement he examined the face and found it good: good for Leo Finkle Only such a one could understand him and help him seek whatever he was seeking She might, perhaps, love him.” Why he wants to be loved so much and at that much? I think the reason is “he saw himself for the first time as he truly was—unloved and loveless” (on page 8, the paragraph in the middle, the final lines) So, to Leo, the relationship with Stella would fulfill his need, his desire to be loved Because he lacked love for so long, he wanted someone to love him As he said: “I know, I know… I’ve thought of it often Love, I have said to myself, should be a byproduct of living and worship rather than its own end Yet for myself I find it necessary to establish the level of my need and fulfill it.” Finally, on the final page The writer described that: “He pictured, in her, his own redemption.” (at the end of page 9) • “the true nature of his relationship to God, and from that it had come upon him, with shocking force, that apart from his parents, he had never loved anyone Or perhaps he went the other way, that he did not love God so well as he might, because he had not loved man.” Therefore, Stella was just a tool for Leo to came to God, to be e true religious man, a true rabbi And he did it by starting with Stella Then when he can love a person, he can love God and be loved by God So, to Leo, love and marriage are just a device to get what he wants At this point, Leo and Salzman share the common: Despite the differences, Salzman and Leo share the same view that marriage bases on benefits not love Marriage is a means that helps them get what they want, wealth for Salzman, a congregation and need fulfillment, redemption Marriage is not taken at love They are both selfish, they think about and for themselves rather the other ... doubted Salzman, but after listening to Salzman s excuse Leo decided to meet Lily So, I think Salzman is good at persuading and lying to people • Not only not telling Leo the true age of Lily, Salzman. .. Rothschild’s daughter So, to Salzman that would be a great opportunity for a man like Leo to be rich, and to have a good social status That is to say how Salzman value wealth, fortune - Salzman is working... when Leo went to Salzman s apartment, he looked in Salzman s room and found no sign of the magic barrel Whether he lied to Leo or he was telling the truth, we and Leo don’t see Salzman s magic