Essay Questions

The quest for religion is explicitly addressed in Malamud’s The Magic Barrel. Show how the theme is brought out in the novel.

A major way in which religion is expressed in the work is through the protagonist’s struggle to be closer to God. In fact, Leo is studying to be a Rabbi. Even though the story does not majorly focus on the theological aspect of this character, Leo is concerned with developing a stable relationship with his God. At the start, he does not feel this kind of relationship and it troubles him. Because he feels empty on the inside, he seeks to create a connection with God. Later, Leo learns that the more that he opens himself up to love the more he feels closer to God. In this way, the character's quest for God and religion is brought out. Show how love is brought out.

Show how the theme of love is brought out in Bernard Malamud’s The Magic Barrel.

At first, Leo is portrayed as a rather lonely character even though he is not aware of it at first. He has only one motive that is to drive people closer to him to have a much larger congregation. However, when the character meets Stella, he soon realizes that without her, he is just a lonely soul. While love or the idea of a soulmate is not at first in his mind, Leo develops a relationship with Stella. In a way, the writer uses this to argue the importance of love in one’s life.

Life can be empty and hollow without purpose. Show how this assertion is emphasized in this novel.

In this work, the emptiness of life without a purpose is explicitly brought out. For instance, before Lily is introduced to Leo through Salzman, his life is brought out as having been quite empty and meaningless. Leo feels that he has been wasting away before learning about religion and after this meeting, he changes engaging more in the community as well as spreading the ideas of God.