The Pawnbroker is a novel about holocaust survivor and pawnbroker Sol Nazerman as he struggles to cope with the memories of the atrocities he witnessed during the Holocaust. Haunted by his past, Sol adopts an isolationist mindset as a way to emotionally distance himself from people and avoid thinking about the trauma he has suffered. Although he shows a glimpse of enjoyment and happiness being around others, he continuously tries to push these feelings down as he feels immense guilt and shame over his own survival. Despite this, he unknowingly becomes a crutch for many people to rely on such as his assistant Jesus Ortiz and his nephew Morton who both view him as a father figure. Through his various interactions with these characters, his stern …show more content…
A tide of succeeding skin. The brown, the tan, the red-veined, the large-pored, pimpled, and scarred world of flesh.” (Wallant 209). Although a seemingly unimportant issue, Sol’s vision problems are meant to serve as a representation of how he is beginning to recognize the humanity and life in people. This comes as a shock for Sol as he is now acknowledging those he interacts with as actual individuals rather than a nuisance or pest which is why he believes it is a “problem”. This is also why in his prior exchanges, Sol would never look the customer in the eyes as he is trying to avoid seeing their humanity and soul which would in turn break his hard demeanor. On the other hand, after the death of Tessie’s father, Sol is able to look his corpse in the eyes because he no longer demonstrates any sign of life or existence. It is not until he witnesses Jesus’s death that he begins to feel alive and human again and feels the need to stop punishing himself as it helps him realize the importance and preciousness of his