Yeshiva University - Masmid Yearbook (New York, NY)

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28 - M ASMI D The great disadvantage of a novel in this form is, that style, which so powerfully re- flects the individuality of the author, is rela- tively lacking. All we can gather from the book are some of his views: that he aban- doned religion, that he is a social iconoclast. A psychoanalyst might undertake to analyze the character of the author of such an original work, but such activity lies outside of our scope. One cannot help thinking that this form of presenting novels typifies, in some import- ant aspects, our entire age. We are a fast lot and an impatient one. We sweep through the pages of novels, omit descriptions of landscapes and of idyllic life but devour the plot and lose our breath when somebody ' s life is at stake. The talkies are our ideal. There we do not even have to read; scenes from the underworld, from upper society, from the end of the world — stories unreal, bizarre and absurd — are presented to us in a matter-of-fact way and we are pleased. This form of novel, moreover, represents our era from another angle. A story in draw- ing can be understood by people in all parts of the world, irrespective of the language spoken by them. The post-war movement to foster an international spirit is quite in conformity with this form of novel-writing. It is unlikely, however, that this sort of book will in any way advance the cause. In order to sympathize with another nation, one must appreciate its spirit, and this insight into the spirit of another nation cannot be gotten without words, idioms and style: for through them one perceives the subtleties, idiosyncrasies and inner struggles of a people. A speechless book will not do. But is not this very failure characteristic of all the effort expended today on the establishment of uni- versal peace? In our machine-age everybody is trying to wipe out all individual distinctions: our aim is mental equality, standardization of habits, and conformity. In concealing his own char- acter, the author of this book is typical of the age. CLASSIFICATION By Louis Engelberg After many forays into the various centers of canned education in our cultural metro- polis, I have become more and more con- vinced of the hypermechancial nature of our system of learning. Every daily recitation, every weekly quiz is marred by that inevitable query: into how many groups can so and so be divided. ' ' Every final examination con- sists of something like ten classification ques- tions, though once in a while some original instructor may vary the monotony by giving only nine classifications and perhaps one dif- ferentiation. It is to avenge myself upon these many pedagogues for having trans- formed me into a mimicking puppet, a memo- rizer of category and subdivision names, that I am turning the tables — and in a last des- perate rally, hope to gain an everlasting triumph. It is to receive that satisfaction emanating from a task well done that I pro- pose to give the instructor a dose of his own medicine — and classify him! In carrying out my design I shall be as subjective as possible, thus affording myself a protective shelter from the many potential objectors who surround me. I shall thus be able to answer any query by that impregnable reply. Well, that ' s the way it appears to me. For the sake of convenience, moreover. I shall consider you. dear reader, a pal of mine attending classes with me at one of our New York Universities — hoping against hope that we procure a degree of some sort. We may divide all instructors into three classes: The young, the middle aged, and the old: that is. the inexperienced, the disillu- sioned, and those having relaxed into com- plete placidity. But let us leave abstractions and come down to facts.

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M A SM I D 27 That he did not appreciate the real character of the Jews needs no further discussion. He looked upon the Jew as one who is incapable of virtue, whose heart is the hardest thing in the world (Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene I) and who is the very devil incar- nate . (Lancelot in Act II, Scene II). Yet this view was nothing but the general atti- tude of his age toward the Jew. If Shakepeare gave a very vivid and true picture of how the Christian world regarded the Jew, Lewisohn carries us to the Jewish world and invites us to note the Jew there. The Christians saw in Shylock a base crea- ture, crafty and cruel, selfish and material- istic; among the Jews, however, he was pious and charitable, patient and wise. In the Ghet- to, he walked among friends: outside it, he dealt with enemies, with people of a different attitude towards life, with men who consi- dered him no more than a dog. His reac- tion towards people, therefore, was of a dual character. To the Christian who called him dog and spit upon him and spurned him, he retorted with a demand for a pound of flesh as surety; his fellow Jews, however, who respected him and sympathized with him, re- ceived from him kindness and devotion. Thus, while Lewisohn admits all that Shakespeare had to say about the Jews, he in- sists that that was a one-sided picture of them, a description of their so-called second- ary nature . He points out that although the Gentiles saw in the Jew a miser and observed also his attachment to his people, they did not recognize the connection between these two characteristics. The reason why the Jew sought wealth, Lewisohn explains, was his desire to make the position of his community secure. It was money that the dukes exacted of the Jews and it was money with which princes could be bribed into the withdrawal of harsh proclamations. Again, while Shakespeare justifies, in a way, the revenge of the Jew, and attributes it to his manliness, Lewisohn makes it clear that vengeance was not the rule with Jews. Shylock ' s desire for revenge was a mere tem- porary outbreak ;.fter a long chain of insults and injuries had been hurled at him. Jews have been so crushed by the Gentiles that they took persecution as a matter of fact and merely hoped that ultimately the oppressor: would change. As for the novel itself, The Last Days of Shylock both in style and content, succeeds in creating an atmosphere of medievalism. Historic characters and . events are called to life, and Jewish life and suffering become vivid before us. The book is a real contri- bution to modern Jewish literature. OUR TIMES REFLECTED MADMAN ' S DRUM A novel in woodcuts By Lynn Ward By Hugo Mantel This novel is the result of an experiment. In a series of woodcuts the author relates the story of a man who cuts himself off from the turmoil of life and absorbs himself in his books, thus bringing about the destruction of his family. His youthful wife, whom he had neglected, becomes faithless to him and, being keenly sensitive, commits suicide. His elder daughter, an idealist like her father, falls in love with a communist who becomes the scape-goat of politicians and is tried for mur- der. The girl ' s father vainly appears before the court to prove conclusively the innocence of the man; the influence of the politicians is stronger and the verdict is capital punish- ment. The unhappy girl follows her lover to the other world. The younger daughter who, due to the father ' s negligence and the mother ' s early death had grown up without proper breeding, is ultimately led astray. The father finally recognizes the fallacy of leading a sec- luded life and throws himself into the stream of life. The story is simple and its moral is plain. A novel in this form, being intended for the general public, must of necessity be simple; subtleties and complications, either in theme or in form, are not practical. The pictures must be vivid and suggestive.

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M ASMID 29 As the gong sounds for our first intellectu- al bout, we meet Instructor A — the youthful representative of our categorical division. A well-dressed chap, sporting a newly raised mustache, proudly struts before us. Over- bubbling with enthusiasm and chock-full of confidence, he boldly flaunts his Master ' s deg- ree. Just as Old Glory, caught by the wind, waves its tail end more vigorously than its others parts, just so does he ostentatiously dis- play the degree that he had garnered. He im- mediately lets us feel the iron hand of author- ity by assigning fifty pages in the text for the next day ' s assignment. To strengthen his so recently acquired power, he reads a chap- ter from a standard text book, and literally tears it to pieces, destroying argument after argument with infallible logic. Fortunately we are saved from further abuse at the hand of this tyrant by that well-known toc- sin, so heartily welcomed by fallen boxers and tired students. Assistant Professor B, next on our calling card, is a well-built, iron-jawed Irishman who has served his four-years sentence at Yale. Even yet, how sadly does he gaze at his Phi Beta Kappa pin, mournfully lament- ing the fact that it doesn ' t mean what it used to! A typical middle-aged professor, he has long given up the idea that he will make the average student work, and instead, concen- trates upon his mental faculties with the hope of making him think logically. Forcefully he develops his economic theory in a coherent fashion from the very rock bottom. Vainly he tries to stimulate the gray matter in ir- responsive skulls, only to be met with reson- ant snores — disturbed finally by the sharp ring of the bell announcing the end of the period. The change is welcome for more than one reason. Our inferiority complexes have had dominated us in the presence of these despots, but now we cheerfully regain our composure upon entering the classroom of Professor C — a scholar and a gentleman, whose fifty years of educational service had taught him to en- dure the pangs of teaching with complacency. Unlike his predecessor he had given up the hope of making students either work or think, and had adopted as a modus vivendi a passive lecture method in which he labored diligent- ly — while the students praised his eloquence. This life was soon to come to an abrupt halt. As February ushered in the examina- tion period, all our sources of shelter were in- vaded. The youthful and pretentious instruc- tor bore a sarcastic look that was sure to spell disaster to many an aspiring Phi Beta Kappa man. The Assistant Professor who had so vainly endeavored to put his economics across logically, wore a smile of triumph as he po- litely remarked: Well, you wouldn ' t listen to me, so now you ' ll sweat instead. And even the old professor, our pride and fortress, became a mere scholar — forfeiting the gen- tleman in his title by that look of revenge which demanded retribution for wasted ener- gy during an entire semester. What can we poor students do in the face of such odds? We came back the next day like sheep being led to the slaughter in an at- tempt to pass the exams. Of the thirty ques- tions which I had to answer, every one was of the classification type! At any rate I have gained revenge for the three failures that my report card showed. What else can a poor, downtrodden, puppet- ized student expect?