Parenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz Analysis

Success transpires in many different ways, but when it comes to materialistic goals, one almost always has to pay a high moral price and sacrifice personal relationships. In the novel The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler, Duddy is an apprentice of each character that comes in and out of his life, teaching him valuable lessons which he can either choose to act upon or ignore. Throughout his apprenticeship, Duddy struggles to discover his identity and succeed in the goals that he sets for himself. By being an apprentice, Duddy learns how to survive in his harsh environment, but sacrifices his principals and happiness to do so. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler suggests that our societal values and interactions

Firstly, Duddy’s father Max gave Duddy little affection growing up, and instead valued his brother Lennie, the designated doctor of the family. Unable to compete with his brother’s promising future, nearly everyone in Duddy’s family, including his Uncle Benjy, considered Duddy a social and academic failure incapable of becoming anything else. For instance, when Drapeau accidentally confused Duddy for Lennie, Max laughed expansively and mentioned, “He’s not gonna be sawbones. Duddy’s a dope like me. Aren’t you kid? Lennie’s twenty-one. He’s had scholarships all through school”(18). The lack of attention Duddy received compared to his brother Lennie gave Duddy the impression that he wasn’t good enough, even in the eyes of his father. Duddy’s sense of inferiority within his family becomes a driving force in his goal to discover his identity and make something of himself. Secondly, Max introduces Duddy to the concept of material success by idolizing the Boy Wonder, giving Duddy the false idea that material possessions are the ultimate source of happiness. Max’s tales about Jerry Dingleman rising from selling bus transfers to owning a chain of nightclubs urge Duddy to pattern his life after his hero, the Boy Wonder. For instance, as a schoolboy, Duddy participated in suspicious activities such as selling pornographic magazines and stolen hockey sticks. With

Having chosen the path of avarice and greed, Duddy will now find it nearly impossible to live a life of meaning and will instead fixate on gaining material things, destroying any semblance of human connections with friends and family; this ultimately leads to unhappiness. Duddy is ready to face the world because he is no longer an apprentice and has achieved his goal even though he sacrificed his morals, the respect of others and his conscious to do