The Initiation Of Frank In The Assiatant

Bernard Malamud is generally acknowledged as an outstanding American Jewish writer after the Second World War. His second novel, The Assistant, was warmly accepted when it was first published in1957and has been praised for its depiction of moral forbearance as well as for its linguistic art. Critics generously focus on the vivid struggles of Jewish characters and its theme of pursuing virtue through suffering, but seldom analyze the initiation of the protagonist, Frank Alpine. This thesis, applying the theory of the initiation story, is mainly to explore the development of Frank from three aspects:love, Jewishness and morality.The thesis consists of four chapters in addition to the Introduction and the Conclusion. The introduction makes a general survey of the literary achievements of Bernard Malamud, reviews briefly Chinese and foreign studies of his works especially The Assistant, and presents the basic views and structures of the thesis. Chapter One begins with an introduction to the history, definition and evolution of the initiation theory. It then illustrates the initiation theme in The Assistant. Chapter Two concentrates on Frank’s development in love from his lack of love to obtaining love and his contribution to love. Chapter Three discusses Frank’s growth of Jewishness. The change of his attitude towards Jews, from contempt to conversion, exemplifies his growing Jewishness. Chapter Four explores Frank’s moral transformation with his growing Jewishness. The conclusion emphasizes his development in love, Jewishness as well as morality and points out the significance Frank’s initiation implies in modern society.