“A man without land is nobody.”
This is advice that Duddy gets from his grandfather while still a young boy. By the time of the events of the narrative, the advice has transformed into a mantra that Duddy will repeat often to several others. This idea of owning land is the driving mechanism of his ambition. The irony is that his ultimate success in acquiring the land that has made him a “somebody” is rejected by his grandfather because of the questionable means by which he acquired the money to buy the land.
“It’s the cretinous little moneygrubbers like Kravitz that cause anti-Semitism.”
Duddy’s single-minded pursuit of the cash required to buy the land required to keep him from being a nobody is made problematic by virtue of the fact that he is Jewish. The stereotype of the Jew interested only in money and control is, of course, deeply embedded within the sordid history of anti-Semitism. Therefore, his religion plays a significant role despite the fact that Duddy isn’t particularly spiritual. Irwin Shubert cannot be accused of anti-Semitism in this statement of dislike toward Duddy in part because he is also Jewish, but mainly because he is Duddy’s nemesis who is committed to relieving him of his means to buy the land he desires so much.
Some sixty miles from Montreal, set high in the Laurentian hills on the shore of a splendid blue lake, Ste. Agathe des Monts had been made the middle-class Jewish community's own resort town many years ago.
It is while working as a lowly waiter in a summer job at the resort that Duddy finally discovers the location of his dream. It is not just land which he pursues without much conscience or consideration; it is a lake. Hidden and secreted away where the impossible has taken place: the lake has remained unspoiled by progress and construction. It is as pure as it gets. And Duddy decides almost at first sight that he is going to get it.
“I can see what you have planned for me, Duddel. You’ll be good to me. You’d give me everything I wanted. And that would settle your conscience when you went out to swindle others.”
Something else is as pure as it gets in Duddy’s life: his grandfather’s disapproval of underhanded means of getting what you desperately want. The advice which has become Duddy’s mantra came from his grandfather; the old man essentially constructed Duddy’s view of what it takes to become someone of worth and respect in the world. He accomplished his goal, but at a surprisingly high cost.
