In the Beginning: Analysis of Major Characters
"In the Beginning: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the complex relationships and backgrounds of key figures in a narrative centered around David (Davey) Lurie, a Jewish boy in New York City. The story delves into Davey's struggles with illness, a vivid imagination influenced by his family's history, and his pursuit of knowledge that challenges traditional interpretations of sacred texts. Key figures include Max Lurie, Davey's father, a practical and determined man shaped by his experiences of anti-Semitism and personal loss, and Ruth Lurie, his compassionate mother, who imparts lessons about nature and joy but is deeply scarred by the death of her family during the Holocaust.
The narrative also presents Uncle David, whose intellectual legacy influences Davey, and Alex, Davey's younger brother, who embodies a more carefree and practical spirit. Other notable characters include Saul, Davey's cousin, who initially serves as a model for him, and Shmuel Bader, who inadvertently inspires Davey's critical study of Scriptures. The story is rich in themes of identity, trauma, and the quest for understanding, offering a nuanced perspective on how familial legacies shape individual paths. Readers interested in the interplay of personal history and broader cultural dynamics will find this character analysis insightful.
In the Beginning: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Chaim Potok
First published: 1975
Genre: Novel
Locale: New York City
Plot: Impressionism
Time: Primarily the 1920's to the 1940's
David (Davey) Lurie, the narrator, a Jewish boy growing up in New York City. Davey's childhood is plagued by what he sees as terrifying accidents and is dominated by his illnesses, nose and throat infections made frequent by a deviated septum, the result of falling with his mother the day she brought him home from the hospital as a newborn. His rich imagination is filled with a combination of his father's harsh history, his mother's bittersweet memories, and his cousin Saul's stories from the midrash (commentaries on the Hebrew Scriptures). To the distress of his father and cousin, Davey's brilliant mind eventually leads him to study higher criticism of sacred texts and to question the safely orthodox understandings of Scripture with which he has been reared. After his ordination as a rabbi, Davey leaves home to study for an advanced degree at the University of Chicago. At the end of the novel, in the cemetery at Bergen Belsen, he finds in a vision of his father and his Uncle David courage to “nourish the present” without losing its roots in so tragic a past.
Max Lurie, Davey's father, a real estate agent in New York. Short, thickset, and muscular, Max is known for his strength and his ability to get things done. After serving in the Polish army in World War I, Max returned home to his Polish village, only to find anti-Semitism and pogroms awaiting him. In response, he founded the Am Kedoshim Society to help Jews survive by physical and financial force. During the early parts of the novel, the society is trying to bring its members and their families to America. Max hates the goyim (non-Jews) but is above all a practical man of action. When the stock market crashes, financial and political action become impossible for him, and he suffers an emotional breakdown. Eventually, recognizing that he must rebuild, he learns to repair watches, gradually building a successful business as a jeweler and returning to his involvement in politics.
Ruth Lurie, Davey's mother. A gentle woman reared on a farm in Poland, Ruth has been wounded by the death of her fiancé and by separation from her parents, who remain in Poland. Davey remembers her as constantly writing letters. From Ruth, Davey learns tenderness and joy in the natural world—trees, water, and birds. When all the remaining members of her family in Europe are killed in Bergen Belsen, Ruth is almost destroyed; such realities are part of the burden Davey bears as he leaves the clearly defined boundaries of orthodoxy in search of vital, unowned truth.
Uncle David Lurie, Max Lurie's youngest brother, who was killed in a pogrom in Poland. He was engaged to marry Ruth. An intellectual, David supplied his brother with ideas, which Max then put into action. Uncle David is to Davey Lurie a not-always-welcome role model of intellectual courage and integrity.
Alex Lurie, Davey's younger brother. Practical, athletic, and carefree, Alex is a sharp contrast to his fragile brother. Alex develops a love of fiction and wants to be a teacher and writer of literature.
Saul Lurie, Davey's cousin and friend. When Davey is very young, Saul tells him stories from the midrash and helps him understand his Jewish world. Later, Saul is the model rabbinical student, the model others expect Davey to follow, yet from which he is in reality radically departing.
Shmuel Bader, a successful businessman and operative for various agencies helping European Jews. Bader teaches Davey the Bible and unintentionally starts him on his way to critical study of the Scriptures.
Mrs. Horowitz, a neighbor of the Luries when Davey is very young. A lonely, superstitious woman, Mrs. Horowitz befriends Davey and at her death leaves him several cartons of books, among them works that introduce him to higher critical study of biblical texts.
Rav Tuvya Sharfman, Davey's Talmud teacher after he graduates from college. A lonely and tormented man, tall, thin, and neatly groomed, Rav Sharfman is the greatest living Orthodox Jewish Talmudist. He encourages Davey in his quest for truth and warns him, above all, not to be shallow.
Eddie Kulanski, a Polish boy in Davey's neighborhood, violently anti-Semitic. He and his cousin threaten Davey and one day ambush him, pulling down his shorts and underwear to see his “Jew cock” and badly frightening him.
Larry Grossman, a boy in Davey's class at school. Larry is a large and unintelligent boy who resents Davey's intelligence and reputation. Larry paws Davey when no one is watching and threatens to hurt him. Davey learns from Larry that not all of his enemies are non-Jews.