Gimpel the Fool
Introduction
A fool is a person who behaves unwisely due to lack of wisdom. Gimpel is considered as a fool by the townspeople, not because he lacks wisdom but simply because he is gullible. There is a conflict between townspeople and Gimpel since the society is taking advantage of his weakness for personal enjoyment. Because of his naivety, Gimpel is mocked and ridiculed but what shows that Gimpel is not a fool is that he acknowledges he is not a fool and believes that people show practical jokes to him because he is naïve but not because of his unintelligence. In the story, it is clear that Gimpel struggles to move out from the evil society to gain the deeper truth. Despite the fact that Gimpel lives in a deceitful world, he is an honest man. Society and Gimpel have different views on his personality as society believes he is fool but he recognizes that he is not a fool. It is important to note a fool cannot understand whether people around him are tricking him or not, but in Gimpel’s case, he understands the people’s reactions and tries to keep them happy. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the various events which justifies that Gimpel is not a fool. In every situation that Gimpel comes across in his life, he develops a successful personality and at last, he triumphs over evil.
Gimpel admits that the townspeople take advantage of him and this clearly shows that he is a not foolish because he understands how people view and treat him. It is ironic that the townspeople refer to Gimpel as a fool yet he has wisdom which guides him toward bearing the burden, showing goodness and creating a positive relationship with people. In the story, Gimpel is persuaded by the townspeople to marry a prostitute (Elka) and agrees to take care of children yet he very well knows that he is not the biological father (Bausch, 1357). After 17weeks of the marriage, Elka bears a child and in this scenario, it is apparent that Gimpel is not a fool. He says that “…I didn’t believe her…” (Bausch, 1358). He shows parental love to the children and his foolishness expresses the true wisdom not only for loving the kids but also for showing virtuous actions toward the immorality behaviors of the villagers. Indeed, townspeople focus on outward appearance of Gimpel but fail to consider the person inside. In other words, Gimpel is caring and kind and he is looking for acceptance from the society. Gimpel is not a fool but rather he is character who shows knowledge and ignorance. He has a special wisdom and he shows ignorance to the outrageous things by doing according the will of the townspeople. For example Rietze tells him that his parents who dies have risen, Gimpel says that “…I knew very well that nothing of the sort had happened” (Bausch, 1358).
Gimpel uses his wisdom to build a relationship with God rather than being closely associated with human beings. His personality behavior is therefore rooted from religious perceptions and believes that he is not a weakling. Hadda (284) argues that Gimpel is not a fool but rather he is a person who avoid causing anger and to others and who accepts the will of people with an aim of creating a strong rapport. The important point to understand is that Gimpel is a successful person seeing that he goes through an intense pain which a less daring person could not tolerate. He is a complete human being who is controlled by love and respect. Hadda (289) introduces the term pathology and decides to argue that Gimpel is a not a fool but rather his behaviors are pathological and he presents such behaviors to search for a well-balanced existence (Hadda, 289). Note that Gimpel is an orphan and unlike other children, he is raised by his grandfather who later dies. His pathological behaviors are apparent when he marries Elka. In their marriage, he tells Elka not to be deceitful for he is an orphan. Since Elka abuses and treats Gimpel in a negative way, he tells her that he needs a special treatment and to speak openly, an orphan should not treat the way he is treating him. Note that his naivety or else what townspeople refer as foolishness is expressed by Gempel for the purpose of regaining warm connections from the society (Hadda, 289). Given that his parents died, Gimpel have to go through the jokes and pranks and he have to bear the unbearable. Gimpel is deprived and so he has an intense and pervasive need for special tenderness, strength and stability which he did not get from his parents (Hadda, 289). However, townspeople know that he is in a vulnerable position and rather than treating him like a normal human being they treat him like a fool. Actually, Gimpel is a not fool but rather he has a high level of intelligence. This is because, he understands that the townspeople are important to his life and he uses strategies to create rapport with them. Note that his parents and his guardian are dead and so the society around him will help live a meaningful life (Hadda, 290). However, it is worth saying that the townspeople are fool because they fail to notice and fulfill the special need of Gimpel.
Gimpel is a not a fool because he has a self-realization. He has a consciousness which helps him understand the life experience and his self-image. In other words, through all the events he comes across in life, he is able to respond and to act (Gale, 1). Self realization in his life means that he has a sense of certainty and a sense of completeness. Despite the fact that Elka shows infidelities, Gimpel has a self realization and a strong presence in the society. The process of bearing the unbearable gives him the power and vitality to become a successful person later. The point to note is that in order to be successful, live a meaningful life and become an important person in life; you have to stumble upon pain and humiliation. This tells that Gimpel is not a fool but he is preparing his well-being. The reason why Gimpel persevere the harsh condition presented by Elka is because he feels that he has a sense of worth and courage when Elka is around him (Gale, 2). In addition, Gimpel understands that Elka play a role in his life as a business man and society will respect him. He author of this article asserts that there is a connection between self object functions and provider. This implies that Elka makes Gimpel feel contented with life and gains self-esteem.
Gimpel is morally superior and his honor and integrity is apparently seen. Despite the fact he is rejected by the villager, he acts kindly and compassionately. Remarkably, he is transformed from his naivety by two dreams. First, he is persuaded to revenge the townspeople for deceiving him. He is advised by the devil to mix the dough with the urine and provide it to the townspeople (Gale, 3). In addition, he is told that there is no life after death but Gimpel is surprised by this dream and decide to not to do so to avoid damnation. He also does not believe that there is no God and that after death there is no life. In the second dream, Gimpel decides to free from the deceit and corrupt society to find a rebirth and enlightenment. At this point, he is not controlled by naiveté and innocence but rather he follows truth. He is no more in hostility and he is lives faithfully. He successfully frees from society’s frivolity and clings to deeper truth and truthful afterlife. Rather than describing Gimpel as a fool, it is worth saying that the society is evil and Gampel does everything with kindness (Gale, 3). Gimpel makes all the townspeople to become his friends regardless of their negative reactions toward him. In times of confrontation, Gimpel acts positive simply because he wants an acceptance from the society. The problem with the townspeople is that they do not see the virtue and true wisdom in the foolishness. Regardless of threats and abuse from Elka and people, he remains loyal and lives humbly and morally. Gimpel shows superiority toward the immoral behaviors of the townspeople (Gale, 3).
Conclusion
‘Gimpel the Fool’ is a short story which illustrates the nature of reality. Gimpel is considered as a fool but he does not understand the reason why people name him a fool. Due to his naiveté, he is told terrible lies but he avoids hurting people by showing them love and respect. In reality, the townspeople can be considered fools because they have a limited understanding on Gimpel‘s situation. They fail to understand that Gimpel is an orphan who need acceptance by the society. He is intelligent in that he tries to keep people happy by accepting the deceit. He also faces hardships and conflict with his wife Elka but he holds fast to integrity, honest and kindness. The entire story shows that his naiveté helps him in achieving life contentment. In ordinary sense, townspeople should not consider him as a fool simpliy because he is partially naïve and he fully understands their reaction. All the same, Gimpel has a self realization and he understands the world he lives in. He develops and realizes oneself and frees from the deceitful society.
Work cited
Bausch Richard. The NORTON ANTHOLOGY of SHORT FICTION. SEVENTH EDITION. University of
Memphis. 2013
Gale, Cengage L. Study Guide to Isaac Bashevis Singer's Gimpel the Fool. Detroit: Gale, Cengage
Learning, n.d.. Print.
Hadda, Janet. "Gimpel the Full." Prooftexts, vol. 10, no. 2, May 1990, p. 283. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=7162523&site=ehost-live.
