Making the Cut: Judaism in Bernard Malamud’s The Assistant

Abstract: In this essay, I argue that the moral and ethical themes in Bernard Malamud’s The Assistant depend on a Judaic tradition that manifests itself as much in the novel’s technique as in its plot. The first part of this essay provides an overview of the critical heritage. The second part argues that, through the novel’s use of midrash , moral themes associated with the Judaic tradition emerge from the creative use of interpretive commentary and exegesis. I argue that such conventional literary narrative strategies as parable, symbol, exegesis, and commentary in The Assistant often belong to the more specific stylistic and thematic attributes associated with midrash. To make that case, I analyze two exemplary episodes: a scene where Frank Alpine asks Morris Bober what it means to be Jewish and a scene from the novel’s last page where Frank Alpine is circumcised and becomes Jewish.