Criers and Kibitzers, Kibitzers and Criers (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Stanley Elkin
- First Published: 1962
- Type of Plot: Domestic realism, psychological
- Time of Work: The 1950's
- Setting: A street of small stores
- Principal Characters: Jake Greenspahn, Harold, Frank, Harold, An Irish police officer, Margolis, Mrs. Frimkin
- Genres: Short fiction
- Subjects: 1950’s, North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Parents and children, Twentieth century, Jews or Jewish life, Fathers, Death or dying, Truthfulness and falsehood, Funeral rites or ceremonies, Bereavement or grief, Jews and Gentiles, Coffins
- Locales: United States
The Story
Jake Greenspahn returns to work in his small supermarket saddened and disillusioned by the death of his now idealized son, Harold. The story, told in third person in prose infected by Jake's vision and vocabulary, tracks his thoughts from a rejection of the seamy world to awareness that all mortals, including his Harold, are flawed. As participants in the imperfect processes of life, people must accept imperfections.
Jake, feeling bloated, his belly pressed against the steering wheel of his car, begins his day of disillusionment as he pulls in next to a parking...
[The entire page is 1497 words long]
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