Short Story 'Jeremy Goldblatt Is So Not Moses'

807 Words4 Pages

The short story, Jeremy Goldblatt Is So Not Moses, written by James Howe, is about a boy named Jeremy and the strange event that happened at his bar mitzvah. Jeremy allowed a homeless man whom he befriended to carry around his Torah and chant about candy. In this story, there are many different viewpoints, and many people reflect on what happened at Jeremy's bar mitzvah. It is these different recounts of Jeremy's bar mitzvah which are meant help the reader decide if they believe what Jeremy did was right. The differing point of views in the story offer insightful and varied views of the event at Jeremy's bar mitzvah, that help the reader better critique what happened.

The readers gains this clarity as a result of the different viewpoints …show more content…

This is why the author used different points of view of people reflecting on Jeremy's bar mitzvah. The reader is constantly fed different opinions about what happened, so that the retelling of the story wouldn't be biased. Contradicting to what Chelsea says, Jeremy's grandmother says "That was a good thing you did Jeremy, don't let anybody tell you otherwise." (Howe, 104). This represents one of the few positive quotes about Jeremy's bar mitzvah. If this quote was not included in the book, the reader might only have a negative view about what happened. Despite what others thought, Jeremy's grandmother was supportive and positive of what Jeremy did. This keeps the story unbiased because the reader now knows that there was someone who supported what Jeremy did, and that not everyone has a negative view. However, because it was his own grandmother, the reader might believe that she supported Jeremy out of love, rather than because she thought what he did was right. This is all left for the reader to decide. Although this relative of Jeremy's supported him, his own mother thought differently. In a conversation with his mother, Jeremy says, "I don't understand you, Mom. Your should be proud of me," to which she thinks, "Proud? I should be