An Analysis of "The Magic Barrel"
Bernard Malamud's short story The Magic Barrel takes place in uptown New York and is centered around Leo Finkle, a rabbinical student who is about to be ordained. In hopes that being married may help him win over a congregation, Finkle solicits the help of a marriage broker by the name of Pinye Salzman. Salzman presents Leo with card after card each representing a potential marriage candidate. The number of possible suitors is so great that Salzman claims to have a barrel filled with these cards. After having rejected women based on such things as limps and widow status, Leo reluctantly agrees to meet a woman named Lily Hirschorn. During their encounter, Lily asks a seemingly simple question, "When did you become enamored of God?" This question stirs the depths of Leo's soul and makes him realize that he does not, in fact, love at all. After much deliberation and torment, Leo asks Salzman for help once more. Consequently, Leo comes across a photograph of a young girl which he immediately drawn to. He comes to find that the girl in the photograph is Stella, the daughter of Pinye Salzman. In spite of Salzman's warnings and claims that "she should burn in hell," Leo insists on meeting the young woman. The story ends upon Leo meeting Stella on a street corner. Man may find fulfillment through struggle, suffering, and self-knowledge, but happiness requires self-delusion and belief in self-destiny and choice. Leo Finkle is a testament to this being the human predicament. I will first discuss Leo's fulfillment through struggle and then discuss his happiness through self-destiny and choice.
In the Magic Barrel, Leo Finkle seems to be a pretty accomplished young man. Leo's primary concern has been ...
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...pursuit of a wife. This is also the only time that he is happy to meet someone.
Fulfillment and happiness though both appealing, are two different things. Fulfillment is the feeling of accomplishment whereas happiness is joy and true contentment. The feeling of fulfillment as we have discovered comes through struggle. We see this as Leo pursues his goal of being a successful rabbi. His soon-to-be status as rabbi has not come easy. Leo's search for a wife proves to be equally as difficult as he has trouble coping with the idea of an arranged marriage. True happiness, on the other hand, is derived from self-destiny and choice. The only time Leo is happy about meeting a girl is when he has made a conscious decision to do so. Putting his destiny in the hands of others has only brought misery. It is when he takes matters into his own hands that he is truly happy.
In the memoir The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion narrates her personal struggle of coping the realization of John being dead and will never resurrect to reunite with Joan. Joan exerts many sorrowful expressions as medical information and the vortex effects instill a sense of anticipation that John will soon come back. Consequently, Didion’s hopefulness opaques her true identity as she still associates herself as a married woman, when in reality, she needs to move on from John to reestablish her extroverted personality to the world once again. On the contrary, Didion comes to a consensus that John’s death was inevitable, Joan starts to ponder about her future with the exclusion of John. With Joan grieving
Many live attempting to decipher the riddle of life. What is life? What is the purpose? What makes? Even though we only seek happiness why can’t we ever seem to achieve it? When we do reach happiness why can’t we seem to grasp it and hold it for more than the few short hours that pass like seconds? The question we must answer first is “What makes happiness, true?”
Everyone wants to be “happy.” Everyone endeavors to fulfill their desires for their own pleasure. What makes this ironic is, the fact that most don‘t know what the actual definition of happiness is. “In Pursuit of Unhappiness” presents an argument, which states that not everyone will be happy. Darrin McMahon, the article’s author, explores the ways our “relentless pursuit of personal pleasure”(McMahon P.11;S.3) can lead to empty aspirations and impractical expectations, making us sad, and not happy. Rather than working to find the happiness of others, we should all focus on finding what makes ourselves happy. It is easier to find happiness in the little things
The irony connected with the obstacle in achieving happiness is the pursuit of happiness. Those who pursue happiness with deliberate effort find themselves having to work harder and harder over time to achieve their ends. By trying to pursue happiness, we look for obvious, insubstantial objectives to achieve the happy life. Existentialism, however, may provide both the antidote to this vicious cycle, and give direction on how to find happiness-- by filling our lives with what T.S. Eliot calls real substance. Purpose is not easily found and comes with a costly price tag; we must look into ourselves, find the hollowness that exists in each of us, and dive into the abyss of our inner self. Most people are easily discouraged by the idea of shining a light into the shadowy realm of our mind and heart. We do not want to discover what may lie in the shadows, but if we have the courage to grope in the dark, we may discover our truest self. The darkness is a gift and not a curse.
to share in his wealth, is undoubtedly in search of a wife. In Pride and
pursuit of wealth and a life with Daisy, but how does this show up his
...sness and being loveless to Stella, in how her picture (in its apparent evilness and abandon) seems to appear in his eyes. Thus, by willing to convert her, to change her, to dominate her will with his own, Finkle seeks redemption for himself. He will be a renewed man, a man with a high purpose of returning this "fallen woman" to the fold. Thus Stella becomes an outlet for Finkle to practice his Rabbinical studies; furthermore, in her character Finkle will have the chance to rectify social wrongs, such as the strained relations between father and daughter, or perhaps between "fallen woman" and society.
...f being satisfied in life: There is no rule. Each individual has the right to look at things from his own point of view. We can all choose different paths and ways to fulfill our happiness. We can see it in wealth, in the dream-job, or in the people around us. As long as we choose that direction and take those decisions by ourselves, without being influenced by any external thought, happiness is inevitable. Here, I agree with Daniel Gilbert when he said “I don't think that's the problem. The problem is you can't always know what you want.” That is why the most important thing for happiness to be achieved is recognizing our wants and desires because just when we do, we will finally get to say “I am happy with my life!”
But in this debate, one question still raises its head - What is happiness? Happiness is not actually leading a luxurious life, but the luxury of living a life. Happiness is not actually about expanding your business, but it lies in expanding the horizons of life. Happiness is not having a meal in the most famous restaurant, but having it with your most beloved family. It does not lie in attending honorable parties, but to attend a party with honor.
It’s probably hard for you to imagine living in a world where it doesn’t matter who you hate and who you desire. A world where a relationship isn’t made up of two people in love, but of two individuals who are “chosen” for one another. Modern-day America teaches us that arranged marriages are just something we see in the movies so it’s easy for us to forget that it actually does take place worldwide. I didn’t put much thought into this idea until I read “The Magic Barrel,” By Bernard Malamud. This story sparked more questions in me than any other text this semester.
The pursuit of happiness ultimately leads to disappointment and a lack of satisfaction because people’s cravings can never be entirely fulfilled. Dalai Lama once said “When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself, ‘Oh yes – I already have everything that I really need.’” This quote shows that having high expectations of anything leads to disappointment when the expectation is not met. Also, having anticipations for what happiness is makes attained happiness irrelevant and inadequate relative to what one wanted to get
...orking progress to reach a stage where one can focus on oneself and see the larger picture, as an adventure and experiences. The one secret to actually getting happiness has nothing to do with setting goals or achieving them. To obtain your definition of happiness, firstly, be more optimistic and have a positive outlook on all opportunities and not look for “happy moments,” because “happy moments” can last for so long. All in all, happiness equals appreciating each and every moment for whatever it has to offer, and to add personal values and purpose onto your life. This all might make happiness hard to achieve, but the up side is that happiness can be created in any situation. There are plenty of stories of people facing hardships in their life, but would still find happiness in their family, faith, and career, and the hardships just doesn’t seem too hard after all.
Happiness is a feeling that humans naturally desire. Without it, one feels incomplete. In this generation, happiness has taken on a definition by how we are presented to one another. It is measured by how much money we have, how famous we are, or the things we possess. When in reality, none of these things guarantee a happy life. Happiness is something that cannot be bought with money, but rather, it must be found, earned, sought after. Each and every one of us has our own list of things that we consider to make us happy. However, happiness shines brightest through the relationships we create, and the goals we make for ourselves to strive after. Along with these two essential sources, we then can mix and match those things in life that we enjoy to create our own unique formula for happiness.
Throughout my life, I have learned to see that happiness is not such an inaccessible dream. Although its notion varies from one person to another, happiness is often times only one inch away. Some people will experience happiness in the pursuit of it. Some will find it in sacrificing themselves for greater goals. Others will find it in people’s company, in lust or in drugs. There is no recipe for success or happiness, and it is only up to us to define what we want from life, and how we want to get it. The only certain thing is that it is never too late for anybody to achieve their dreams, to make peace with their feelings, and ultimately, to be happy.
A happy life and meaningful life are associated with one another, since happiness is a feeling that can drive you toward finding this meaningful life. Depending on where you are in your life, be it a student or worker, happiness should be incorporated into it. Having the passion in your work will make it more valuable and respected for yourself as we spend most of our time at school or work. Also connections with people are made throughout your time at school/work which become a part of a meaningful life. Having happiness will help create more of these relationships and be able to give you the needed support for life.