Aleichem, Sholom | Sol Gittleman (essay date 1974)
Sol Gittleman (essay date 1974)
SOURCE: "Stories for Jewish Children," in Sholom Aleichem: A Non-Critical Introduction, Mouton, 1974, pp. 143-60.
[In the following essay, Gittleman examines Aleichem's portrayals of Jewish mothers and sons in his short fiction and finds similarities in Philip Roth's novel Portnoy's Complaint.]
"If only you realize what we're doing for you. Do him a favor and he doesn't appreciate it. Don't jump, don't run. Walk like a human being."
—Mother to her child in "The Ruined Passover"
1. PORTNOY IN KASRILEVKE
It may seem somewhat strained . . . to make reference to a rather sensational bestseller in America which appeared in 1969, but, for better or worse, there is no denying that Philip Roth's Portnoy's Complaint1 has a certain attraction to the student of Sholom Aleichem who has had...
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