Tevye The Dairyman By Sholem Aleihem

In Sholem Aleichem’s Tevye the Dairyman, there are examples of both hope and realism.Tevye proves he is capable of balancing hope and realism by looking at his surroundings,such as his village, his family, and the comparison between him and the rich people of Yehupitz. His family symbolizes hope, the rich is a symbol for realism, while his village balances both out. As a Jew with many struggles, he is still capable of finding hope in life. Tevye’s job as ruler of his household leads him to encourage his family to hope for the best. When he has guests over he says, “Put up the blintzes and have the girls carry out the table and put it on the grass-our house isn't such a museum piece that we have to show it off to visitors…” ( page 87,paragraph 3) He acknowledges the fact that he's not wealthy, yet we appreciate what god gives us. He shows his family that life is not about storing things until you die, you use your items so that you can appreciate what you have. He mentions many times how fortunate he is to have such exquisite daughters, yet still acts as boss to encourage his household. Tevye is full of encouragement to his family and always being inspirational, and even in the worst times he is always giving compliments and encouragement.

He views his village as nothing fancy, however he feels himself fortunate enough to at least have a home.“Why don't you come spend a day with us in the village? It will be a chance to rest your weary bones.” (page 24, paragraph 5) Tevye is proud of his village, “well, I said, anyone wanting to visit Tevye only has to get to Tevye’s village…” (page 85, paragraph 6), showing he believes himself fortunate to at least have a home. Tevye realizes his good luck, for he sees many jews just like him struggling with poverty. He realizes he is nothing special, but knows from experience that things could always be