The Natural by Bernard Malamud

1043 Words3 Pages

Every individual has two lives, the life we live, and the life we live after that. Nobody is perfect, but if one works hard enough, he or she can stay away from failure. The Natural is a novel written by Bernard Malamud. It is Malamud’s first novel that initially received mixed reactions but afterwards, it was regarded as an outstanding piece of literature. It is a story about Roy Hobbs who after making mistakes in his life, he returns the bribery money and is left with self-hatred for mistakes he has done. Hobbs was a baseball player who aspired to be famous, but because of his carnal and materialistic desire, his quest for heroism failed, as he was left with nothing. In the modern world, the quest for heroism is a difficult struggle, and this can be seen through the protagonist in The Natural.

Bernard Malamud was born in Brooklyn, on April 25, 1914. He was the eldest son in their family. The son of Max and Bertha also known as, Fidel man emigrated from Russia, and ran a grocery store in Brooklyn. In his family, great emphasis was placed on the cultural aspects of Judaism, despite the fact that the family spoke both English and Yiddish. According to Abramson (23), Malamud spent a significant time of his life in the Yiddish theater located on the Manhattan’s second avenue, and reading novels from different writers including Horatio Alger. Malamud’s teachers and father encouraged him to develop his talent of story telling. He graduated with a B.A. from City College of New York in 1936. He married Anne de Charia in 1945, and they got a son named Paul. Later on Malamud wrote his first novel, The Natural, a book that has been considered the best-written piece by him.

Malamud writes his book in style. The Natural is a book with m...

... middle of paper ...

...d but he could not achieve his goals. His situation is relatable to the audience even if one is not a baseball player. The book teaches the audience to avoid company and mistakes that can rob them their success. Roy Hobbs misfortunes remind the readers how some obstacles can alter someone’s dreams.

Works Cited

Malamud, Bernard. The Natural. Ney York, New York: Avon Books, 1952. Print.

Wasserman, Earl. "The Natural: Malamud's World Ceres" in Modern Critical Views: Bernard Malamud. Harold Bloom, ed. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. Print.

Abramson, Edward. Bernard Malamud Revisited. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993. Print.

Avery, Evelyn, ed. The Magic Worlds of Bernard Malamud. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001. Print.

Ducharme, Robert. Art and Idea in the Novels of Bernard Malamud: Toward the Fixer. The Hague: Mouton, 1974. Print.

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