24 pages • 48 minutes read
Philip RothThe Conversion of the Jews
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1958A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Allegory
An allegory is a story that has a second meaning connected to a political or moral message. In the case of “The Conversion of the Jews,” the ideological clash between Ozzie and Rabbi Binder mirrors that between Jesus and the Pharisees in the New Testament. The Pharisees were religious leaders who felt morally and intellectually superior to such an extent that they refused to acknowledge the teachings and philosophy of Jesus. Ozzie’s doubts about Jewish traditions and authority figures provoke physical abuse from his mother and his rabbi, just as Jesus’s questioning of these same traditions led to his death.
Christ Figure
The Christ figure, or messianic figure, is a common character archetype in literature. The messiah is regarded as a singular savior with the ability to restore order, justice, and peace to the world. The messiah is usually reluctant to assume their role, and their ultimate victory comes through self-sacrifice. Harry Potter, Neo of The Matrix, and Superman are examples of Christ figures in popular culture.
Ozzie functions as a Christ figure, but in an inverted sense. He does stand up to injustice, saving his school from the tyranny of Rabbi Binder’s. However, Ozzie does not sacrifice himself. He threatens suicide but does not follow through. Moreover, the new order that Ozzie establishes, namely the conversion of the Jews, is inauthentic and farcical.
Foil
A foil is a character who serves as a contrast to another character in a narrative. The foil is not necessarily the antagonist of the story. Rather, the foil highlights certain traits of a character through contrast.
Itzie is Ozzie’s foil in “The Conversion of the Jews.” They both rebel against Rabbi Binder’s oppressive classroom, but Itzie chooses a more passive, hidden form of resistance compared to Ozzie’s blatant challenges to the rabbi’s authority. This distinction serves to highlight the bravery in Ozzie confronting Rabbi Binder with probing questions and challenges to his assumed theological expertise. Itzie is also an intellectual foil to Ozzie, emphasizing Ozzie’s earnest search for truth in distinction to Itzie’s nihilistic classroom misbehavior.
Juxtaposition
Juxtaposition in literature intentionally places two disparate images next to each other to create an interesting, contrasting effect. “The Conversion of the Jews” employs several juxtapositions to express the postmodern themes of the story. The irreverent way Ozzie and Itzie discuss religion is juxtaposed with Mrs. Freedman’s traditional Jewish piety. “Free-discussion time” in Rabbi Binder’s class is met with silence since the students would rather talk about baseball, juxtaposing the spiritual with the temporal. Ozzie’s existential crisis and serious thoughts of suicide are juxtaposed with moments of glee as he runs around taunting the firefighters attempting to catch him if he falls.
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By Philip Roth
