To Whom It May Concern:
First I would thank you for taking time to read my selected works in the portfolio. I choose five essays in my portfolio—reading log, draft one, draft two, draft three and the final timed-writing, which record my improvement in English academic writing. Under the guidance of my instructor Mr. Ron I have read four stories in International Story this semester. In the story of The Necklace, I discussed the character of a vain woman called Loisel, who spent ten years just for compensating a fake necklace. And I wrote a reading log to express my admiration on Shadrach Cohen’s success in blending into the American society and his steadfast adherence to his original religious after reading the story of the Americanization of Shadrach Cohen. Then in Dead Men’s Path I made comments on an ambitious headmaster and discussed whether he was responsible for a woman’s death. And I also analyzed the deep social reasons for Ajit Babu’s misery after reading The Grass Eater. All of these analysis and comments are presented in my reading log in the “Nicenet”. And I choose one of them—the reading log of the Americanization of Shadrach Cohen in this portfolio. Also, based on that story, I wrote the essay--“Was Shadrach Cohen Americanized?” And you can find how I have revised this essay through Draft One, Draft Two and Draft Three. You can also see how I perform in the final timed-writing in the portfolio.
At the beginning of the semester I considered writing was a process to record what one thought freely. In that period, I preferred to connect a topic to my daily life and inserted my experience to interpreter that topic. For example, when I was working for the topic of “which story do you like best and why” in timed-writing one, I frequently related Cohen’s experience with that of China and me specifically. However, as Mr. Ron pointed out, too much of this was about that and not the story. So most reasons I wrote intending to support my contention were too personal to be persuasive. Yet, after the studying in class I have learned that before one prepares to analyze a story the most important task is to make a clear and strong thesis statement and then find evidence in the story to support it. And too many subjective judgments or comments would undermine an essay’s reliability and credibility. While for me making a strong thesis statement is not an easy procedure, since I always cannot find sufficient and valid evidence to bolster my thesis and even some evidence serve in reverse direction. For example, before I worked on Draft One, I made a thesis statement that “It is Shadrach's original beliefs as a Jew and his inborn intelligence which is closely linked to Jewish religion that lead him to gain economic success, respects from others and self identity”. While for most readers this statement is obvious and thus not strong. Furthermore I did not explain how inborn intelligence is related to the Jewish culture. Then I read the story again and again. Based on more details found in the story I rewrote my statement: “Actually, Shadrach Cohen had been little Americanized”. Although I find plenty of evidence to support this statement, the word “little” makes it weak. And Mr. Ron advised me if I argue that he was not Americanized it would be stronger because I would be challenging the title and the author. So finally, I set the thesis statement as “Shadrach Cohen was actually not Americanized”. During Draft one to Draft three you can find that I have made a clear and strong thesis about the story I analyze, which helps me develop the essay further.
Before I take the writing class, I did not pay enough attention on language error. What I thought was if these errors did not impede one to understand the author’s ideas, then they can be omitted. In timed-writing one, although I wrote a lot of long, complex sentences and “profound” vocabularies, I made numerous language errors, such as fragment, run-on and subject-verb agreement. In fact, errors shift readers’ attention away from my meaning and prevent readers from understanding what I am saying. This can be substantiated that when Mr. Ron was making comments on my timed-writing one he could not well understand my words and thus used many question marks. From that time, I realize the importance to avoid language errors in my writing, especially in the formal writing. And in the class I have learned how to proofread my essay: read word by word; look for typical errors and try to avoid making them in future. Although such procedure is tedious, it helps me a lot and you can find few errors existing in my timed-writing two and in my selected works in the portfolio.
After the whole semester’s study I find that the most effective and efficient way to improve one’s writing competence is to revise again and again. Revising not only helps me to dig out language and logical flaws I overlooked before, but it also aids me to become a critical reader of my own writing. In Draft One, I write a syllabus and cite several contentions to support my thesis that “Shadrach Cohen is not Americanized actually”. Yet the whole essay fails to be organized into a logical sequence. My assertion that “It is Shadrach’s individual talent and capability rather than his Americanization, which lead the success in business realm…” has little connection to my statement. Meanwhile, numerous language errors exist and some words are not using appropriately. In Draft two I replace that assertion with “Shadrach was not americanized concerning his ways in running business” and explain that it is unjustifiable to judge Shadrach was Americanized because of his impressive performance in business. It is more reasonable and related to the thesis more closely. And I change the order of several paragraphs too—make the most obvious and persuasive contention that “Shadrach’s appearance and habits did not change” as the first evidence to support my thesis. However, Mr. Ron points out that there are so many quotations in my essay and I had better to use my own words to paraphrase them. It is true that in Draft two I became too dependent on the exact language of the story, which breaks the flow of my own discussion. Then I learned how to select and paraphrase a quotation and made them well-incorporated into my ideas. You can notice that in Draft Three I cite fewer words directly from the story and most time I paraphrase them and connect them to other points made in the paper. Through this process my essay become more cohesive and cogent. Meanwhile I cut out repetitions in Draft Two, changing the contention that “Shadrach had not been americanized since he insisted upon a strict observance of every tenet of the original religion consistently…”, which was already covered earlier in the paper, into “…Shadrach had not been americanized by realizing his consistency in instilling his sons the fundamental values and principles as a Jew”. Then each part of my essay can support my thesis statement from different aspects.
Through Daft One to Draft Three, you can detect how I progress in academic writing this semester. Except Mr. Ron, I would like to thank my teammates Fanyi and Eileen, who provide me supportive and valuable advice in revising my essay. By peer review, I discover errors that I probably omit by myself and get familiar with the criteria for evaluating written work. It is undoubted that such criteria would help me to assess my own writing in future.
Thank you for taking time to read my selected work in the portfolio. I hope you enjoy reading my essays and make comments on them. I would like discuss and share my opinions with you!
Sincerely,
Student Baggio Hou
Baggio Hou
2007-6-12
Draft Three
Was Shadrach Cohen Americanized?
“In the latter part of the nineteenth century, many Jewish immigrants fled in their country to escape religious persecution.” (45) They came to America primarily for two purposes: one is to obtain religious freedom; the other is to seek for a better material life. However, not every Jewish immigrant can manage to achieve these goals, since as they stay in a new circumstance, especially in a highly-developed country like America, they have to deal with the conflicts between original culture and the new one. So it is necessary for them to adapt the American culture and life pattern, for the reason that it is the only way for them to be accepted by the mainstream American society. Unless they yield to this new environment, they could find living in this country is really a hard process.
In the story the Americanization of Shadrach Cohen, Bruno Lessing presents us a typical Jewish immigrant – Shadrach Cohen and his experience in America. In the story, Shadrach Cohen succeeded in blending into the American society and achieved great success in business realm. Meanwhile he won respect both from his sons and local business men. Just as Lessing mentions in the beginning of the story: “there is no set rule for the turning of the worm. Some worms, however, turn with a crash. It was so with Shadrach Cohen.”(48) It seems true that as a newly landed immigrant, Shadrach’s success was due to his “tuning” – in other words, the Americanization. However, a close scrutiny of the details and evidence presented in the story gives rise to a question: Was Shadrach Cohen really Americanized, as the tile of the story suggests? For my part, Shadrach Cohen was actually not Americanized.
First of all, it is easy to find that Shadrach’s appearance and habits, such as the praying after dinner, kept the same as when he was newly landed in America. When Shadrach was first landed in this country, he was a “perfect type of the immigrants” (46). The author uses the word “perfect” to indicate that his appearance kept exactly the same as when he was living in Russia: wearing a “gabardine” and having a “long, straggling grey beard and ringlets” (46). He did not prepare a “decent” suit that looked more “American”, which embarrassed his two sons. So they asked him to “trim” his beard and make himself more like an American. Yet Shadrach did not cater to their request. Instead, his “lips shut tightly” (46). From this detail one can see that although Shadrach was eager to express his rejection, he inhibited such impulsion. After all, he did not want to maintain the dignity as a father at the expense of destroying the relationship with his sons. But we can still infer from those words that in the bottom of Shadrach’s heart, he did not want to change his appearance, which was a critical identify as a Jew in his eyes. From the ending of the story one can still see Shadrach’s appearance as “a picture of a patriarch from the Pentateuch” (51). If Shadrach had been Americanized, he was supposed to dress more leisurely or in a more western style, like wearing a T-shirt or sweater. And he should trim his hair and beard too, like what his sons had done. Yet all of these did not happen. He was still a “perfect type of the immigrants” (46). In this sense, we can not draw the conclusion that Shadrach had been americanized, at least with the respect to his appearance.
Shadrach’s habits like praying after meal had not changed either. When newly arriving in America, he “donned praying cap” and “recited the grace” (46) after the first dinner with his sons. For his part, nothing could be more normal than thanking God for the food after diner, whereas his sons looked each other in “consternation”. (46) Why they felt astonished? The reason was that they thought “this is not quite American”. (47) Maybe they had strong reasons to persuade their father to eschew this habit, since it could be a waste of time and even could be derided by others. But Shadrach told them it was wrong to “omit the prayer after meals” since it was “part of your religion.” (47) These words suggest that in his eyes praying was not just a routine to obey every day, but an embodiment of one’s spirit world. So for Shadrach abandoning praying after dinner means a contravention of one’s religion, which he can hardly accept. He did as what he said. In the end of the story we still see the scene that Shadrach “donned praying cap” and “with bowed head intoned the grace” (51) when evening meal had ended, just as the beginning of the story. He did not change, even though people around him had changed a lot. And he had not been Americanized, or he should enjoy the desert and party after dinner, like most Americans do.
Secondly Shadrach was not Americanized concerning his ways in running business. His concept in dealing with business affairs was far away from his sons’, which were more or less marked by the “American ways”. He fired one salesman just because he did not show proper reverence to him. And he substituted Abel for the other salesman without any reason. He hired a new manager to run the store and ruled that one of the two sons should stay until ten. If he was americanized, like his sons, he was supposed to run the business in a more American way. Maybe he should show more appreciation to his employees, not just said “now go away as fast as you can” (49), which could be regarded as an offense and insult to the employee in the American value system. Or he should give enough and substantiated reasons for why dismissing the other employee, since firing an employee without any reason might be illicit in American law. And he should show more care to his sons and not enforce him to work until night, after all most Americans cherished the time shared with family. But Shadrach did not. He preserved the Jewish or maybe his own way in doing business, which had little been remodeled by the circumstance in America. And he succeeded.
Someone may argue that Shadrach’s success in business is due to his adaptation to American society and therefore Shadrach was Americanized. In my opinion, however, it was Shadrach’s individual talent and capability rather than the Americanization that lead his success in business realm. Shadrach had the “true money-maker spirit” (49) and was born to be a good business man. In this world there is no one who can learn how to earn money effectively during a short period of time. So it was impossible for Shadrach to become a successful business man during the first few months in America. And there also existed some “instinct” that “guided [Shadrach] right” (50) in business. It is generally accepted that so-called “instinct” is more related to one’s previous life experience and original value system than the changes or improvements in a new country. It was entirely possible that when Shadrach was still living in Russia, he had owned certain knowledge and experience on how to run business. Since Shadrach’s success in business was spring from other factors, as analyzed above, it is unjustifiable to draw the conclusion that Shadrach was Americanized because his outstanding performance in business.
Last, we can reach the consensus that Shadrach had not been americanized by realizing his consistency in instilling his sons the fundamental values and principles as a Jew. Before he made a success in business he told his sons religion was the “worship of Jehovah” (47) and instructed them to address an old person “respectfully”. (49) After his success in running the store, if he was americanized, it makes sense that he would teach the sons how to make money effectively and share his precious experience with them. But he did not do this. Instead he was still eager to make them aware of “the value of discipline”, “the beauty of filial reverence” and “the severe joy of the earnest life”. (50) The reason why Shadrach did so is that: on the one hand, he loved his sons and hoped to endow their life with something more meaningful than money. So when he realized “there was a wall” (47) between him and his sons, he was “distressed and puzzled”. (47) It can also explain why he told his sons that “I have no one but you two” and that “[I] take no interest in business affairs”. (47) On the other hand, Shadrach did not want to see his sons lost themselves in the process of Americanization. Shadrach thought “becoming Americanized” meant “becoming stupid” (49) for his two sons and their so-called “Americanization” was a failure. Although they were “dapper-looking” (46), they lost numerous good characters as a Jew, like the reverence to elders and the value of discipline. If keeping the same appearance and habits presented Shadrach’s adherence to Jewish religion in an extraneous way, then his earnest expectation toward his sons reflected his inherent eagerness to keep precious Jewish virtues intact and inherited. After all, religion is the only source from which Shadrach and his sons can get consolation, spiritual sustain and self-identity. So essentially Shadrach was not been americanized. It was “the same Shadrach Cohen”. (50)
Work cited
Bruno Lessing. “the Americanization of Shadrach Cohen.” 1903. Rpt. in The International Story: An Anthology with Guidelines for Reading and Writing about Fiction.
Baggio Hou
2007-5-18
Draft Two
Is Shadrach Cohen Americanized?
“In the latter part of the nineteenth century, many Jewish immigrants fled in their country to escape religious persecution.” They came to the America primarily for two purposes: one is to obtain religious freedom; the other is to enjoy a better material life. However, not every Jewish immigrant can manage to achieve these goals, since as they stay in a new circumstance, especially in a highly-developed country like the America, they have to deal with the conflicts between their original religion and the new ones. So it seems necessary for them to adapt the American culture and life pattern, for the reason that it seems the only way for them to be accepted by the mainstream American society. Or they may find living in this country is really a hard process.
In the story the Americanization of Shadrach Cohen, Bruno Lessing presents us a typical Jewish immigrant – Shadrach Cohen’s experience in the America. In the story, Shadrach Cohen succeeds blending into the American society and achieve great success in business realm at last. Meanwhile he wins respects both from his sons and local business men. As Bruno Lessing has mentioned in the beginning of the story: “there is no set rule for the turning of the worm, some worms. Some worms, however, turn with a crash. It was so with Shadrach Cohen.” It seems true that as a newly landed immigrant, Shadrach’s success is due to his “tuning” – in other words, the Americanization. However, a close scrutiny of the details and evident presented in the story gives rise to a question: Is Shadrach Cohen really Americanized, as the tile of the story suggests? For my part, Shadrach Cohen is actually not Americanized.
First of all, it is easy to find that Shadrach’s appearance and habits, such as the praying after dinner, kept the same as when he was newly landed in America. When Shadrach was first landed in the America, “he was a perfect type of the immigrants”. The author use the word “perfect” to indicate that his appearance kept the same as he stayed in Russia wholly: wearing a “gaberdine” and having a “long, straggling grey beard and ringlets”. He did not prepare a “decent” suit that looked more American, which embarrassed his two sons. So they asked him “trim” his beard and make himself more like an American. Yet Shadrach did not cater to their requirement, instead, his “lips shut tightly for a moment”. From this detail one can see that although Shadrach was eager to express his opinion in whether he should change his outlook, he inhibited the impulsion. After all, he did not sacrifice the relationship with his sons in the first day. But we can still include from the sentence that in the bottom of Shadrach’s heart, he did not want to change his wearing, which in his eyes is a critical identify as a Jew. Actually he made it. From the ending of the story we can still see “a picture of a patriarch from the Pentateuch, with a long, straggling beard, and ringlets of hair falling over the ears…” . If Shadrach had been Americanized, he was supposed to wear more leisurely or in a more western style. And he should trim his hair and beard, like what his sons had done, and wear a T-shirt or suit. Yet all of these did not happen. He is still a “perfect type of the immigrants”. In this sense, we can not draw the conclusion that Shadrach had been americanized, at least with the respect to the appearance.
Shadrach’s habits like praying after meal had not changed either. When newly arriving at the America, he “donned his praying cap and began to recite the grace”. For his part, nothing could be more normal than thanking God for the food after diner, whereas his sons looked each other in “consternation”. Why they felt astonished? The reason is they thought “this is not quite American”. Maybe they had strong reasons to persuade their father to eschew this habit, since it could be a waste of time and be derided by others. But Shadrach said: “It is wrong to omit the prayer after meals; it is part of your religion.” These words suggest that in his eyes praying is not just a routine to obey every day, but an embodiment of one’s spirit world. And abandoning praying after dinner means a contravention of one’s religion, which Shadrach can hardly accept. He did as what he said. In the end of the story we still see the scene that “when the evening meal had ended, Shadrach donned his praying cap, and with bowed head intoned the grace after meal”, just as the beginning of the story. He did not change, even though people around him had changed a lot. And he had not been Americanized, or he should enjoy the desert and party after dinner, like most Americans do.
Secondly Shadrach was not americanized concerning his ways in running business. His concept in dealing with business affairs is far away from his sons’, which were influenced by the American ones. He fired one salesman just because he did not show proper reverence to him. And he substituted Abel for the other without any reason. He hired a new manager to run the store and ruled that one of the two sons should stay until ten. If he was americanized, like his sons, he was supposed to run the business in a more American way. Maybe he should show more appreciation to his employee, not just said “now go away as fast as you can”, which could be an offense and insult to the employee in the American value system. Or he should give enough and substantiated reasons for why dismissing the other employee, since firing an employee without any reason might be illicit in American law. And he should show more care to his sons and not enforce him to work until night, after all most Americans cherished the time shared with family. But Shadrach did not. He preserved the Jewish or maybe his own way in doing business, which had little been remodeled by the circumstance in America. And he succeeded.
Someone may augur that Shadrach’s succeed in business is due to his adaptation to American society. Therefore Shadrach was americanized. However, in my opinion, it is Shadrach’s individual talent and capability rather than his Americanization that lead the success in business realm. “He was the true money-maker spirit; there was something wonderful in the swiftness with which he grasped the most intricate phases of trade” indicates that Shadrach was born to be a good business man. In the world there is no one can learn how to earn money effectively during a short period of time. So it is impossible for Shadrach to be a successful business man in a few months in the American. It can be deduced from the sentence that when Shadrach was still living in the Russia, he had had certain knowledge and experience on how to run business. “Where experience failed him some instinct seemed to guide him right…” tells us that there existed some “instinct” that guided Shadrach in business. It is generally accepted that so-called instinct is more related to his previous life experience and original religion than the Americanization. Since Americanization might alter one’s appearance and habits, but it can hardly change one’s deeply subjective world. In other words, the instinct which helps Shadrach when doing business is stem from other source, maybe his early experience as a Jew, not Americanization. Since Shadrach’s succeed in business was spring from other factors, as analyzed above, it is unjustifiable to draw the conclusion that Shadrach was americanized.
Last and foremost, Shadrach had not been americanized since he insisted upon a strict observance of every tenet of the original religion consistently and kept instilling his sons the fundamental values and principles as a Jew. Before he made a successful in business he told his sons “religion is the worship of Jehovah” and instructed them that “address a person who is older than you respectfully”. After his succeed in running the store, if he was americanized, it makes sense that he would teach the sons how to make money effectively and share his precious experience with them. But he did not do this. Instead he was still eager to make them know “the value of discipline, the beauty of filial reverence and the severe joy of the earnest life”. The reason why Shadrach did so is that: on the one hand, he loved his sons and hoped to endow their life with something more meaningful than money. So when he realized “there was a wall between him and his sons” he was “distressed and puzzled”. it can also explain why he told his sons “I have no one but you two” and “take no interest in business affairs”. On the other hand, Shadrach did not want to see his sons lost themselves in the process of Americanization. “If becoming Americanized means becoming stupid, I must congratulate you upon the thoroughness of your work”. In Shadrach’s eyes, his son’s so-called “Americanization” is a failure. Although they are “dapper-looking”, they lose numerous good characters as a Jew, like the reverence to elders or the value of discipline. Just as the two reasons mentioned above, Shadrach saw it was necessary to adhere to the religion as a Jew steadfastly, from which his sons, as well as himself and get consolation, spirit source and self-identity. So essentially Shadrach was not been americanized. It was “the same Shadrach Cohen”.
Baggio Hou
2007-5-7
Draft One
Is Shadrach Cohen Americanized?
Introduction:
“In the latter part of the nineteenth century, many Jewish immigrants fled in their country to escape religious persecution.” They came to the America primarily for two purposes: one is to obtain religious freedom; the other is to enjoy a better material life. However, not every Jewish immigrant can manage to achieve the above purposes, because when they stay in a new circumstance, especially in a highly-developed country like the America, they have to deal with the conflicts between their original religion and new ones. So it seems necessary for them to adapt into the American culture, for the reason that it can help them to get involved into mainstream American society. Or they may find living in this country is really a hard process.
In the story the Americanization of Shadrach Cohen, Bruno Lessing presents us a typical Jewish immigrant – Shadrach Cohen’s experience in the America. In the story, Shadrach Cohen manages to blend into the American society and achieve great success in business realm. Meanwhile he wins respects both from his sons and local business men. As Bruno Lessing has mentioned in the beginning of the story: “there is no set rule for the turning of the worm, some worms. Some worms, however, turn with a crash. It was so with Shadrach Cohen.” It seems true that as a newly landed immigrant, Shadrach’s success is due to his Americanization. Yet after a close scrutiny of the details and evident presented in the story, a question emerges: Is Shadrach Cohen really Americanized, as the tile of the story says? For my part, Shadrach Cohen is not Americanized actually.
The body: (syllabus)
1. Obviously, It is Shadrach’s individual talent and capability rather than his Americanization, that lead the success in business realm, as well as the respects both from his sons and other local business men.
“He was the true money-maker spirit; there was something wonderful in the swiftness with which he grasped the most intricate phases of trade” indicates that Shadrach is born to be a good business man. There is no one can learn how to earn money effectively during a short period of time. So it is impossible for Shadrach to get the ability to be a successful business man in a few months in the American. It can be inferred that when Shadrach was still living in the Russia, he had had certain knowledge and experience on how to run business.
“where experience failed him some instinct seemed to guide him right…” tells us that there exists some “instinct” that guide Shadrach in business. It is generally accepted that so-called instinct is more related to his original religion than the Americanization. Since Americanization can only alter one’s appearance or/and custom, but can hardly change one’s deeply subjective world. In other words, the instinct which helps Shadrach when doing business is stem from other source, maybe his early experience as a Jew, not Americanization.
“the sons promptly yield to the shrewdness of their father…”shows clearly that his sons show respect for their father not because he has been more like an American, but because he shows his shrewdness in business. In fact, Shadrach has not been like an American: he kept his original appearance and adheres to his original religion. Why his sons still yield to their father? Because he makes “the business of the store increased” and “the vista of prosperity is beyond their wildest dreams”. In this sense, his sons’ respect for Shadrach is from his success in business success, which has little to do with his Americanization, as mentioned above.
“…all these business men…seemed to show to their father an amount of deference and respect which they never evinced toward the sons”. We can imagine that if Shadrach failed in the store business, no local business men would show to him “an amount of deference and respect, no matter how his appearance would change to be more like a American. We can still imagine that without his success in business, Gottlieb, one of his sons, would still be unwilling to bring his fiancé to see Shadrach like what has happened before he decides to take charge of the store business.
All the evidence above substantiates that Shadrach’s success in business realm, as well as the respects both from his sons and other local business men come from his individual talent and capacity rather than Americanization.
2. Shadrach insisted upon a strict observance of every tenet of the original religion, and instilled to his sons the fundamental values and principles as a Jew, which was rarely altered by the so-called “Americanization”.
“from that explosive moment when he had rebelled against his sons he demanded from them implicit obedience and profound respect” suggests that although Shadrach has changed a lot after “that explosive moment”, when Gottlieb refuses to bring his fiancé to see him, he is not submissive to his sons. Conversely, “upon that point he was stern and unyielding”. After that explosive moment, we all guess that Shadrach would make himself like an American: “to-morrow we become Americanized-you and I.” But in fact, in his blood he still thinks himself as well as his sons should not forget the tenet of their religion.
So “he taught them. And with the lesson they learned many things: learned the value of discipline, learned the beauty of filial reverence….”from this we can see that Shadrach instills to his sons not the “americanized” value or discipline but those which are cherished in Jewish religion. Shadrach is a clever man. He knows that only by those value, one can earn their bread.
3. Shadrach’s appearance and living customs, such as the praying after dinner, kept the same as when he was newly landed in America.
“a picture of a patriarch from the Pentateuch, with a long, straggling beard, and ringlets of hair falling over the ears…” when Miriam came to see him in the end of the story, Shadrach keeps the same appearance when he is newly landed in the America. It is a strong evidence that he is not americanized. It is seemly required for him to change his appearance in order to get involved to the society, but Shadrach prove that he can earn his bread in the country by other meaning, like shrewdness and hardworking. It also implies that Americanization in a superficial level can do little help for immigrants to win understanding and respects from others. Shadrach’s two sons are good examples: although they are “dapper-looking” and “each of them wear a flaring necktie with a diamond in it”, they still cannot get reverence from other business men like their father.
Shadrach’s custom does not change either: “when the evening meal had ended, Shadrach donned his praying cap, and with bowed head intoned the grace after meal.” As a Jew, Shadrach does not permit himself to accept western custom in dinner. As he says: “it is wrong to omit the prayer after meals. It is part of your religion. I do not know anything about this America or its customs. But religion is the worship of Jehovah, who has chosen us as his children on earth, and that same Jehovah rules supreme over America even as he does over the country that you came from.” It can explain why Shadrach clings to this custom so steadfastly.
4. From the personal perspective and tendency, Shadrach thought certain fundamental principles, like the aggression in one’s enterprise, was inherently take precedence over mere Americanization in superficial level, which to some extend choked his Americanization in turn.
“If becoming Americanized means becoming stupid, I must congratulate you upon the thoroughness of your work”. In Shadrach’s eyes, his son’s Americanization is a failure. They are not aggressive in business, which leads the store’s business is running ineffectively. And, they lose numerous good characters as a Jew, like the reverence to elders or the value of discipline. So from bottom of heart he does not want to follow his sons’ step being americanized. Maybe it can be labeled as insistence but not obstinacy.
Conclusion:
In sum, Shadrach is not americanized.
0430038 Direction: if you were to create a filmed advertisement (a trailer) for a movie based on the Grass-Eater, which scene would you select? Why? Discuss ways in which you might film the scene.
Baggio Hou
June 21,2007
Timed-writing Three
If I was to create a filmed advertisement (a trailer) for a movie based on the Grass-Eater, I would like to choose the scene that Ajit Babu’s wife is sleeping in a moving train while Ajit Babu himself is smiling besides, looking silently at his wife. The reasons why I select this scene are that:
First, this scene can present the theme of the film. As we know, a trailer should tell a movie viewer who are the protagonists of the story. Meanwhile, it needs inform viewers which theme the movie tends to focus on. In other words, from the scene, an ordinary people would get the information about what kind of people would appear in the movie and what their life patterns are. So in this sense, a scene in a moving train could serve this purpose. Ajit Babu and his wife are born in the low class of Indian Society and they even have no stationary home to live in. When they need a place to spend a night, they have to choose an “unwanted-looking” wagon. However, when they wake up in the second morning, they often find themselves in another place. -- when they are sleeping, the train has traveled from one city to another! Such experience is amazing for average people who have a stationary and comfortable home. But it is true for those who are suffering the starvation and exposure in India those days. So from this scene, potential views would see the misery of Ajit Babu and his wife and thus can understand the film itself more easily.
Secondly, the scene that they are sleeping in a moving train can help viewers catch the character of the protagonist of the story, Ajit Babu. He is smiling. He did not mind such adversity. In the film he enjoys such “thrilling experience”. Although his wife wants to live in a stable home, not hoping that their child will be born in a train, Ajit Babu thinks it is a place absolute free of charge and he can get complete freedom here. He always holds an optimistic view toward the adversity: in his value system, every difficulty can find its opposing explanation, which, in some sense, releases his distress in material world. So he is smiling in the moving train. From this detail in the trailer, a viewer can easily detect the character of Ajit Babu.
After I have chosen the scene that I would like to film, I would range the scene in this way: in the moving train Ajit Babu and his wife are wearing worn-out cloths. They possess nothing but few bowls and spoons, which they would use when they are begging for food. The night is deep. Through a small window of the freight train, one can find the objects outside are flying behind, which proves that the train is moving rapidly. In the train, Ajit Babu’s wife is sleeping leaning against Ajit Babu. Through the moonlight outside the window one can see that Ajit Babu is smiling toward his sleeping wife fondly, without any words. The train is moving, while such a peaceful scene would keep on until next morning.
Although this trailer I do not arrange the protagonist to speak even one word, I think it suffices to express what the film would talk about and may make viewers moving.
The reading log entry of “the Americanization of Shadrach Cohen”
Baggio
In my opinion, this story the Americanization of Shadrach Cohen written by Lessing is laden with conflicts, conflicts which are between different countries, cultures and religions, conflicts which are exhibited among family members and variable social classes as well as conflicts which are reflected from individual’s deep heart and nature. And it is these conflicts that render the story edificatory as it stands.
To begin with, the story reflects a deep gap between different cultures in today’s world. When Shadrach, the protagonist of the story, first stood on the land of American, he found himself not able to be involved in this new country. His odd appearance, such as the long straggling grey beard and ringlets that came down over his ears, rendered himself ridiculous in this high-developed nation. Even his sons, who did business in American five years before their father, cannot accept their father at the first glance, since they thought they had well been “Americanized”. Customs and religions cannot be changed easily, since they serve as a cultural identity as well as a pill that can cure people’s misery. In this sense, we may understand the reason why Shadrach was so rigidly clinging to his religions and daily habits, such as prayer after meals, although the circumstance around him had changed so dramatically in comparison to the previous one. It can also explain why when he had reaped tremendous success in the business realm he still kept those habits, which we can find easily from the last paragraph of the story.
In my observation, every one in the world could feel uncertain, insecurity and encounter a myriad of confusing choice; meanwhile one also has to overcome remorse, confusion and guilt. So one need religion to lift their spirits and endow them the courage to face the adversity in day-to-day life. So no matter how rapidly the outside situations are changing, and no matter how fiercely others could reject, Shadrach was still a man who believed in and stuck to the God with tenacity. Just as the author said, “when life is light and free from care, religion is quick to fly; but when growing heavy upon our shoulders, then we welcome the consolation that religion brings.”
In the second place, I find the story is replete with the conflicts between the family members, say, between father and sons. In my point of view, after five years’ life in the American, the sons had been partially Americanized: their life style had been totally “western”; they thought “money talks”; they pursued profit maximization; and they admired those business elites and hope one day they can be one of them. So they cannot easily accept the life style of their father and even show some rejection and resistance to the servant—Marta. On the other hand, Shadrach found himself hard to get along harmoniously with his sons, especially when Gottlieb, one of his sons, refused to bring his fiancé to see him. He even began to feel money was the only bond linking him and them. I think the conflicts between Shadrach and his sons are unavoidable because the totally different concepts between the two generations.
Finally, I would say the conflicts among Shadrach’s heart are the very ones that make me feel the story is worthy to read and evaluate. Facing the misunderstands of his sons and the striking of the American culture, on the one hand, Shadrach needed to maintain the relationship with his sons in order to keep a harmonious family; on the other hand, he should prove that he was not a man just receiving help from others and that he had the ability to earn his life, even a better life, as well. And he made it. He earned the respects both from his sons and his competitors. And he showed his talent in the business areas. But we notice that during this process, he did not lose his root—in other words, he kept his religion, not like other immigrants. This is the very reason why I admire his characters and his tenacity to insist what he beliefs in.
Was Shadrach Americanized? Different readers would hold different opinions. But for my part, he was not been Americanized, at least in the spirit level. He was a victor, who took advantage of material world in American while kept the mental world intact. He may be attracted by American’s life style, liberty and democracy, but he would be steadfast to the eternal mental pursuit forever.