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Essay / Gimpel's self-awareness, true feelings, and wisdom in the short story Gimpel The Fool by Isaac B. Singer
Poor Gimpel; Daily life is not easy for the everyday bread maker. Every day, he is the butt of jokes and pranks by the townspeople, some of which are downright cruel. I sympathize with poor Gimpel; I remember what it felt like to be bullied and abused like Gimpel. I know what it feels like to be mistreated like this. Later, he is betrayed by his own wife, Elka, for numerous infidelities. Just because Gimpel lets everyone in town make fun of him and Elka constantly lies to him, does that really make him a jerk? Is Gimpel really a bit of an idiot, incompetent or lacking in moral thinking? Singer portrays Gimpel as a fool in his story, "Gimpel the Fool", but this is really not the case because he demonstrates self-awareness, true feelings, and even wisdom. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original EssayDoes a person who is fully aware of his surroundings and understands what is happening around him make him a fool? Showing self-awareness does not make Gimpel a fool, as he is able to recognize himself individually among others around him. Gimpel shows this throughout the story; explaining how he is aware that the townspeople are playing a prank on him. “And I love the golem, everyone believed” (1356). Gimpel shows that he understands that he is being played a prank and is able to convince everyone that he actually believes them. “Secondly, I must have believed it when the whole town attacked me!” If I ever dared to say: “Ah, you’re kidding!” » there were problems. People got angry. "What do you mean! You want to call everyone a liar? (1356). Gimpel is also aware that if he were to rebuff everything that was said to him in any way, people would scold him. He believes he has no choice but to play the game and believe every word he is told, rather than face consequences Gimpel avoids this at all costs. He carefully assessed the situation and knew exactly how to handle it. He played with every trick that was told to him. Just like Gimpel, I sometimes allowed people to tell me what they wanted and pretend to be. Okay in the hopes that they would back off and stop I knew if I argued I would just create a scene so I just played along, and I never felt stupid about it. 'have done. That's exactly what Gimpel thinks. Singer indicates that Gimpel is expressing his true feelings, which is far beyond the expectations of a fool. Showing no emotion towards loved ones or secretly hiding your feelings is a real fool. Furthermore, what makes a person far from stupid is having a heart big enough to show love towards children, whether they are one's own or not. Seventeen weeks after their marriage, Elka had a child and insisted it was Gimpel's, which he initially refused to believe, but later "he found out he loved the child and that the child loved him." (Geimer, par. 3). He may not have fathered any of the children, but he was a loving father figure and raised them as if they were his own. There are men in real life like Gimpel, who enter into relationships, or even marry women who already have children from previous relationships or marriages. Although the men are aware of their lover's real past, unlike Gimpel, Gimpel and the men in the reallife show them love and are proud to call them their children and support them by working long hours whether they know it or not. t the biological father, because men like Gimpel have big hearts. Now, what scenarios here make the man a real fool? What would you say about someone who simply abandons these kinds of responsibilities and wants nothing to do with children, whether they are their own or not? Or worse yet, someone who is cruel enough to abuse children? We have all heard numerous stories on the news of men being arrested and tried for abuse, sexual assault or murder of their girlfriend's child. Besides making him a coward, it really makes him a fool. Gimpel is clearly not that kind of person. On the contrary, he is a loving father, even if he is not actually the father. This shows biological or not, real men love and support children. Gimpel is a real man, and a real man is not a fool. Gimpel also tries to show his true feelings for Elka when they get married. In a marriage, you swear to love each other until death do you part, but obviously, Gimpel and Elka's marriage didn't turn out that way. Gimpel loves his wife, or at least makes an effort to love her, despite the number of beatings Elka gives him throughout the story. “His desire to please her, his outpouring of affection, of which he obviously has an immense reserve and which he can allow himself to develop without return, makes him reluctant to deprive himself of the happiness of her presence” (Goonetilleke, par 6 ). Before she was even officially married, Elka first cheated on him about her virginity. When he discovered that Elka was “both widowed and divorced (1357),” he illustrates his feelings by saying, “It was a dark moment for me.” He shows that it was clearly devastating for him to discover that his new wife was not a virgin after all. But it doesn't stop there. Until her death, for most of their 20 years of marriage, Elka committed numerous infidelities and gave birth to six children, none of whom Gimpel fathered. She was able to manipulate Gimpel into believing he was the father, despite the lack of intimacy between them. There was always an excuse every time Gimpel tried to move towards the bed. Elka always pretended there was something wrong, whether it was a headache or her period. One night everything changed when Gimpel came home after the bakery oven burst and explained: “I approached the bed and everything suddenly went black. » Next to Elka was a human form. Another in my place would have made a tumult, enough noise to wake the whole city – (1359).” Gimpel discovers that Elka has betrayed him. It must have been devastating to come home and find your wife having sex with another man, and walking all over her a second time as well. What's even crueler is that Elka denies everything. It doesn't matter that Gimpel clearly saw with his own eyes what Elka was doing. Although he followed the rabbi's advice to divorce him, he does not, and he even ends up forgiving Elka on her deathbed when she finally confessed everything and begged Gimpel to forgive her. After her death, he had his mourning period, which shows that he truly loved Elka despite her betrayal. Gimpel is definitely not a jerk to be honest with his feelings. Gimpel shows his wisdom despite Singer, the townspeople, and Elka describing him as a fool. “His wisdom lies in his foresight and realistic acceptance of the world as it is” (Goonetilleke, par 3). Showing wisdom means showing your understanding and sharing your knowledge with those around you in every way..