How Characters Develop Self-Acceptance in “The Magic Barrel” by Bernard Malamud and “At the Bottom of the River” by Jamaica Kincaid Anonymous 12th Grade

Self-identity is the personal recognition of one’s individuality especially after a period of ignorance about one’s interests, abilities, weaknesses, characteristics, and motivations. In Malamud’s “The Magic Barrel” and Kincaid’s “At the Bottom of the River”, characters undergo a period of self-transformation before they develop self-awareness about their own identity. By characterizing Leo Finkle in “The Magic Barrel” and the daughter in At the Bottom of the River as naïve and exploring them through to self-acceptance, Bernard Malamud and Jamaica Kincaid allow the characters to undergo a transfiguration that occasions their self-identity.

In “The Magic Barrel”, Leo starts as a naïve bibliophile who spends most of his time reading books and studying to become a Rabbi. He is significantly detached from the world and its dilemmas which he has to confront later when Pinye Salzman, the matchmaker, convinces him to find a partner for marriage. Leo approaches his overwhelming desire for love and spirituality with mixed reactions that help Salzman identify a wife who best suits Leo. After his transformation, Leo is able to question his past self and realize the hypocrisy in his past life. Similarly, in At the Bottom of the River, the...