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Take pity by Bernard Malamud

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  • Take pity by Bernard Malamud

    Take pity

    Bernard Malamud





    Discuss the title of the story?

    Bernard Malamud is alive to the modern sensibility, he has extensively written about the social, cultural and economic problems of the 20th century.
    “Take pity” is the story of a women’s never ending struggle in the face of bitter social, economic and emotional situation. She resisted every attempt that could weaken her struggle. She aimed at becoming self sufficient and self reliant but the social and economic factors failed her badly and she again and again came at zero. She struggled to have a good life for herself and her two little orphan daughters but she always failed. She struggled only to preserve her self-respect and did not want anyone to take pity on her but her circumstances again and again landed her in to a pitiable condition. So the title of the story shows the main tussle of a lady… who did not want to be pitied but was of course in a pitiable condition…. and a man who pitied and wanted to help a helpless lady but was always frustrated at the lady’s persistent refusal to accept his help.

    What was the main conflict of the story?

    A polish refugee Axel Kalish came to America after Hitler’s invasion in Poland. Axel and his wife had lost almost all their relatives in the war. They came to America and Axel worked like a blind horse and collected some money. The conditions were getting better for them when he decided to open a little grocery shop in the area where he lived. He applied for loan to Rosen’s company and thus he became a friend of him. His shop was not successful and the stress and tension of the conditions helped to frustrate axel Kalish who one day died of heart attack. His wife Eva was a strong lady she tried to establish the shop again with the insurance money. Rosen tried hard to detain her from this effort but she did not listen to him. She doubted the intension of Rosen and paid no heed to any of his pleadings. Rosen was an experienced man and he knew the future of their store. He wanted to stop her because he had developed the feelings of sympathy for widowed Eva and her two daughters. He wanted to help but Eva did not want to accept any help or even his advice. She wanted to rely on herself and make life better for her kids. She was an inexperienced lady so all her efforts failed and thousand pounds of insurance were also gone. Even then she was not willing to take any help from Rosen who even offered to marry her for her children. He again and again tried to help her in different ways but she again and again refused to take any help. This is the main conflict of the story… a lady unable to realize the ground realities of the world tried to rein the circumstances but was thwarted at every step. She hated to accept any body’s pity but the situation was other wise, and at the end she had to come to Rosen, asking for help and support which he denied then.

    How did Rosen try to help Eva?

    Rosen was Axel Kalish’s friend and he had developed strong feelings of sympathy with his family. He advised Axel fervently to leave that inconsequential business, which did not have any capacity to grow. He repeatedly asked Axel to leave that place and find a job. Finally Axel agreed with him but unluckily before he could move away he died of heart attack. His wife and daughters were left badly off. After Axel’s death his wife intended to stick to that place. Rosen insisted that Eva should go away from that place but she told him that she would not go anywhere. Moreover she was determined to stock up her store again with the insurance money. On this Rosen again tried to stop her but she did not listen. In spite of Eva’s ardent efforts the store didn’t get any better, as Rosen had expected, and she was again in trouble. She asked for a loan from Rosen’s company, which she got, because Rosen had paid out of his own pocket that she did not know.
    The little girls were starving and their health was going from bad to worse but their mother was not ready to succumb before the temptation of getting any help from Rosen or anyone else. Once he saw the little girls in the street, their bones could be seen in their cheeks. He gave some cake to the little girls but their mother told them that they couldn’t take anything because that was a fast day. Then one day he brought a piece of meat to her home that she did not welcome either.
    Rosen advised her again to declare the store bankrupt and leave that place to creditors. He told her that she could shift to the upper portion of his two- family apartment and find some job in the city but again she was firm on her refusal. Infact she was worried that Rosen might ask for any sort of reward except money and she was not ready to be exploited in any way. She was suspicious about his intention that’s why she declined every offer made by him. When Rosen realized that she was insecure about his intentions he thought of asking her to marry him, as he was a sick man and did not expect to live long. When he talked to her about marriage she got extremely furious and asked him to leave and never come back. Rosen was really miserable, as he wanted to help her but she was not ready even to listen… in spite of fact that her kids were starving.
    Then Rosen made another plan and wrote a letter that he was a friend of Axel who had borrowed some money from Axel before his marriage and wanted to pay it in easy installments. He placed twenty dollars in a letter and managed to get it posted from another city to avoid suspicion. So, now what happened? She sent all the letters back with out even opening them.
    This infuriated Rosen and he said to himself that he would do something that she could not say” no” to. So he went to his lawyer, prepared his will leaving all his money, investments, car, houses and insurance to Eva and later to her daughters. Then he went home and tried to commit suicide that of course failed. So he was brought to the mental hospital on account of this act.
    Though at the end she came back to Rosen but then he was not ready even to see her. His effort to kill himself asserted his sincerity before Eva. She was convinced of his good and clean intentions but it was too late.

    Discuss the end of the story?

    This is a deep story of a lady’s determination to make her own way in the world but the bitter realities of life do not let her do anything. On the other hand there is a man who pities a family and intends to help but is again and again frustrated by the hard liner attitude of Eva. Her self-respect rebels against having any favour form any one and she becomes very inflexible. She suspects the man who repeatedly tries to help her.
    Rosen makes unending efforts to bring them out of this disaster but Eva doesn’t co-operate. He devises too many ways and that’s why his frustration leads him to an effort of committing suicide. His final act proves his sincerity and selflessness that even convinces Eva. Finally she comes to him with raised arms but then Rosen shows a natural reaction and swears her asking her to go back. Now he has learnt the way to say “no” like her… he refuses to see her. His frustration has mounted to its peak when she rejects him again and again. She suspects his intensions and fears that he will exploit her as a lady but in fact this is not the case. Rosen is sincere and wants to have a little peace of mind by helping a poor widow. But of course there is a limit of every body’s patience so his limit has exhausted at the end and he rejects her at the end.
    Never stop learning
    because life never stop Teaching
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