Davita's Harp: Analysis of Major Characters
"Davita's Harp: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the complex lives of characters intertwined by themes of faith, identity, and disillusionment during the tumultuous backdrop of the Great Depression and World War II. The narrative is centered on Ilana Davita Chandal, who struggles with her Jewish heritage as her parents turn away from their religious roots. Following her father's death and a traumatic experience with a family friend’s deportation, Ilana faces a crisis that leads her to re-evaluate her beliefs and ultimately reclaim her faith, despite gender-based challenges in her community.
Supporting characters further enrich the story: Channah Chandal, Ilana's mother, initially abandons her Jewish faith after enduring hardship but later reconnects with her roots through the encouragement of friends like Ezra Dinn. Michael Chandal, Ilana's father, represents a commitment to communism influenced by personal trauma, sacrificing his life for the cause during the Spanish Civil War. Jakob Daw, a family friend, embodies the disillusionment with communism through his stories, while Sarah Chandal, Ilana’s aunt, provides nurturing support and spiritual guidance.
As the characters navigate their personal struggles and victories, the narrative effectively illustrates the search for identity and meaning amid societal upheaval, showcasing the resilience and complexities of human faith and connection.
Davita's Harp: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Chaim Potok
First published: 1985
Genre: Novel
Locale: New York City
Plot: Fiction of manners
Time: The 1930's and early 1940's
Ilana Davita Chandal, the narrator, who recounts her experience of growing up in New York City during the Great Depression and the beginning of World War II. Because both of her parents have rejected their religious heritage, Ilana Davita is forced to seek her own understanding of faith. Her father dies when she is about nine years old. After her family friend, Jakob Daw, is deported from the United States for his former association with the Communist Party, Ilana Davita has a breakdown and attempts suicide. While recovering on the family farm in Maine, Ilana Davita is cared for by her Aunt Sarah, who continually prays for her spiritual and physical well-being. Subsequently, Ilana Davita reclaims her Jewish heritage but is shocked to learn that she has been denied the Akiva Award for having the highest academic average in her Jewish school simply because she is a girl. In a dream, her Aunt Sarah counsels her to let go of her anger, then learn to be discontented with the world while also being respectful of it.
Channah Chandal, the young mother of Ilana Davita. As a result of abuse at the hands of Russian soldiers and her own father's refusal to help, Channah abandons her Jewish faith and later devotes her life to supporting the communist cause of helping the exploited working class. She and her first husband, Michael Chandal, are especially supportive of the communist cause in the Spanish Civil War in Spain. After her husband's death, she continues to support communism until Joseph Stalin signs a nonaggression pact with Adolf Hitler. Her disillusionment leads to a nervous breakdown. After she recovers, with the help of her sister-in-law, Sarah Chandal, she renews her friendship with her longtime friend Ezra Dinn and rejoins the Jewish faith community. She and Ezra marry soon there-after.
Michael Chandal, the father of Ilana Davita Chandal and a young correspondent. Because of a brutal anticommunist incident he witnessed in Centralia, Washington, in 1919, Michael renounces his Christian heritage as well as his wealthy family and joins the communist cause against fascism as manifest in all Western countries, including the United States. In an effort to aid the communist cause in Spain, Michael goes there to cover the Spanish Civil War. He dies at Guernica when Ilana Davita is only nine years old.
Jakob Daw, a longtime friend of Channah Chandal from her days in Vienna. He supports the communist cause primarily through his unusual stories. He becomes disillusioned with communism after seeing Stalin's deeds in the Spanish Civil War. He visits the Chandals three times in New York and is finally deported to France, where he dies of pneumonia. Channah translates and edits his stories for publication. Jakob's story about the little bird who comes to life in the door harp becomes symbolic of the inspiration for living to which Ilana Davita learns to cling throughout the novel and which she tries to pass along to her new baby sister at the end of the novel.
Ezra Dinn, a lawyer and a widower who has known Channah Chandal since her days in Europe. He tries to encourage her to reclaim her Jewish faith but has no success until she becomes disillusioned with and abandons the communist cause. He eventually marries Channah, and they have a daughter named Rachel.
David Dinn, the son of Ezra Dinn who becomes the step-brother of Ilana Davita. He is instrumental in helping Ilana Davita come to understand and accept the Jewish faith.
Sarah Chandal, the sister of Michael Chandal, a nurse who devotes her time and talents to relieving human suffering in the world. Much like Michael, she risks her life to help people, especially in war-torn regions. Several times, she comes and helps Ilana Davita's family, and she prays for them to become Christians. She is the only family member of the Chandals who continues to associate with Michael.