Exodus: Analysis of Major Characters
"Exodus: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate relationships and backgrounds of key figures involved in the early Jewish settlement of Palestine. Central to the narrative is Barak Ben Canaan, a towering yet gentle leader who embodies nonviolent negotiation tactics while advocating for Israel's statehood. His younger brother, Akiva, contrasts sharply with a fiery temperament and a propensity toward violence, which ultimately leads to a rift between the siblings. The story also highlights Ari Ben Canaan, Barak's son, who demonstrates resourcefulness as a military leader in the Palmach, balancing his duty with personal sacrifices.
Katherine (Kitty) Fremont, an American nurse, represents a compassionate outsider who finds purpose in helping Jewish children, while Karen Hansen Clement, a Jewish refugee, seeks to reconnect with her heritage amid the harrowing aftermath of the Holocaust. Dov Landau, a survivor from the Warsaw ghetto, grapples with his own bitter past, finding solace and hope through the relationships he forms. Together, these characters navigate the complexities of identity, conflict, and resilience during a tumultuous period in history, reflecting diverse perspectives on the Jewish experience and the challenges of the time.
Exodus: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Leon Uris
First published: 1958
Genre: Novel
Locale: Primarily Cyprus, Palestine, and Israel
Plot: Historical
Time: The early to mid-twentieth century
Barak Ben Canaan, also called Jossi Rabinsky, one of the pioneer settlers and political leaders in Palestine. Although he stands more than six feet tall and has bright red hair, he is a gentle giant with a quiet, meditative personality. Growing up Jewish in a Russian ghetto, he quickly learns how to defend himself physically, but he prefers to exercise nonviolent methods whenever possible. His restraint and wisdom become powerful tools that help him negotiate with the United States for Israel's statehood and, later, with individual countries for arms.
Akiva, also called Yakov Rabinsky, Barak's younger brother, another pioneer settler and military leader in Palestine. Although considerably smaller than Barak physically, Akiva is easily stirred and fights at the slightest provocation. He even carries stones in his pockets to throw at people who threaten him. When Simon Rabinsky, his father, is killed in a riot, Akiva stabs to death the man he believes is personally responsible. Barak arrives too late to prevent the murder, but he is observed at the scene and is accused of the crime. The brothers flee Russia together and walk across the continent to Palestine. As other Jewish settlers arrive, Barak and Akiva organize them into communal kibbutzim. Barak barters with the Arabs for land while Akiva develops a strike force called the Guardsmen. Akiva's tendency toward violence eventually results in a fifteen-year silence between the two brothers, and only when Akiva is about to be hanged by British soldiers does Barak attempt to help him.
Ari Ben Canaan, a Palmach military leader. Like his father, Barak, Ari is a handsome man more than six feet tall. Cunning and resourceful, he serves as an invaluable leader for the Jewish secret army, the Palmach, by smuggling refugees and weapons into Palestine in addition to planning and instituting brilliant military strategies. As a boy, he is taught by his father how to defend himself by using a bullwhip; he is also told never to use the weapon in anger or revenge but only in defense. Ari follows that advice throughout his life, as evidenced by his joining the Palmach, the Jewish army, rather than the Guardsmen, his uncle's terrorist group. He becomes so dedicated to his work, however, that he ignores his emotions and refuses to acknowledge his grief for his dead friends or to proclaim his love for Kitty Fremont.
Katherine (Kitty) Fremont, an American nurse. Having blonde hair and a sad smile, she is an attractive middle-aged woman mourning the deaths of her husband, Tom Fremont, and their only daughter, Sandra Fremont. She meets Ari on Cyprus, and he persuades her to use her nursing skills with the children of a Jewish internment camp who are trapped on the island. While trying to decide if she should accept the position, Kitty meets Karen Hansen Clement, a young Jewish refugee who reminds her of her dead daughter, Sandra. Wanting to adopt Karen and whisk her away to America, Kitty follows her to Palestine, and together they work with children who have survived the German concentration camps. By Karen's example, Kitty rediscovers a selfless love within herself and is able to overcome her grief. As one of the only Christian characters in the novel, she provides a commentary on Jewish-Arab tensions.
KarenHansenClement, a Jewish refugee and Palmach soldier. Unselfish and tender, she is first depicted as a child giving her doll to her father to protect him. Smuggled out of Germany before the beginning of World War II, Karen is forever separated from her family but is quickly adopted by the Clements in Denmark. They rear her as their only child and attempt to provide a stable and loving home for her, but, after the war, she travels alone throughout Europe in an attempt to locate her original family. She discovers the atrocities committed in Germany against the Jews and against her relatives in particular, and she decides to live as a free Jew in Palestine. During her trek, she encounters Kitty Fremont and, from her, acquires formal nursing training. They live together in Gan Dafna, an orphanage, until Karen decides that she can be of greater assistance in Nahal Midbar, a frontier settlement. Her brutal murder by Arabs on Passover night serves as the final horror of the novel.
Dov Landau, a Jewish survivor of the Warsaw ghetto rebellion. A small-framed blond youth, he is deeply embittered by the time he meets Karen in an internment camp on Cyprus. At ten years of age, he is the youngest member of the Redeemers, an underground organization in Poland that attempts to fight Nazi occupation. From the Redeemers, Dov learns how to forge passports and to survive in sewers, two skills that help save his life on numerous occasions. When captured by Nazis during World War II, he escapes death in Auschwitz by forging money for the German government. After the war, he joins the Maccabees, a terrorist group in Palestine, and is instrumental in several raids against various Arab factions. Only through Karen's tenderness and promises is Dov able to forget his wrath and to find goodness in his own life.
Jordana Ben Canaan, a Palmach leader in Gan Dafna, a Jewish orphanage. With flaming red hair like her father, Barak, she is also tall and shapely, but as a Palmach leader, she has no time for feminine frills. Immediately, she resents Kitty's presence in the orphanage, viewing her as an outsider who competes for Ari's attention.
Bruce Sutherland, a British military commander. With a roll around his middle and a whitening of his temples, at the age of fifty-five Brigadier Sutherland resigns from his command post in Cyprus and moves to Palestine. Having led one of the first armies into Bergen-Belsen, a German concentration camp, and then been assigned to maintain peace at the internment camp in Cyprus, the half-Jewish general suffers from chronic nightmares.