The Last Jew By Noah Gordon Sparknotes

Jews have been oppressed ever since they began to exist as a people. From the Spanish Inquisition to the Holocaust, though many died, few had the ability to withstand the anti-semitism and discrimination and survive. In the book The Last Jew by Noah Gordon, the main character Yonah Toledano witnesses his entire family disappear within a few days, but manages to survive on his own for decades. Living during the time of the inquisition, Yonah learns to adapt to his surroundings and strategically plan how to live through it. Yonah Toldedano was able to successfully evade the inquisition because of his quick thinking, the teachings he received from people he befriended, and most importantly his ability to lie. Yonah was forced to make split second decisions in order to secure his

Yonah was taught how to defend himself from attackers using a dagger by Mingo, and he was taught swordsmanship through Angel and Fierro. When attacked at Grandads wall, Yonah tried to use his sharpened hoe to defend himself. Ultimately he lived, but only thanks to support from Mingo. Mingo then taught Yonah how to truly yield a dagger, a skill which would help him fight off enemies later in the book. While an apprentice at Fierro’s, Yonah Often fought with Angel in the ring, sometimes on horses and other times with nothing but blunt swords and armor. Fierro recognized Yonah’s lack in fighting skills, and offered him “A few words of advice” (page 148) to help ready him for upcoming battles. Those few bits of advice enabled Yonah to fight evenly with Angel in the ring, and later helped Yonah defend himself from Angel when him and Fierro were attacked. If it had not been for the advice from Fierro, both him and Yonah would most likely have died together that night. These skills equipped Yonah with the necessary means to fight off inquisitors who came his