Asher Lev
Submitted by spesoli on 06/30/2008 05:21 PM
- Category: Social Issues
- Words: 1762
- Pages: 8
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Asher Lev
Every person is unique in his or her own way, and each person has a different role in society. These people are little pieces of a puzzle to the whole, which we consider the community. As Plato informs us, if one piece of the community does not work correctly, the whole community could be hurt. Throughout the book, My Name Is Asher Lev, the author Chaim Potok puts the main character Asher Lev, in conflict with both himself and the community. His family's beliefs and background create a hostile situation for him when he begins painting at a very early age. Asher was caught between following his father's rules and religion, and his true gift in life, painting. Asher's gift of painting caused him to turn on his religion, his family, and his friends, to allow himself to become an individual and break away from the community.
Asher was born into a Jewish family, with strict beliefs in the Hasidic tradition. His father Aryeh worked for the Rebbe, the spiritual leader of their religion who is a tzaddik, one who does the right thing in deed and thought (Armstrong 4-29-02). Aryeh traveled around the world spreading the word of the Rebbe, building new places for Hasidic Jews to come together and practice religion, and fighting for the rights of many Jews overseas. He saved many families from violence and death by helping them get out of hostile territories and come to the United States. His beliefs were straight forward, and he listened very closely to what the Rebbe told him to do. According to Carl Jung this would be considered mass-mindedness, and it would be equivalent to illusion from Plato.
Mass mindedness is when people follow the crowd, and go along with what others say (Armstrong 3-11-02). It affects the views of many people, and hurts the overall complexion of a society. Asher's father was a prime example of this because he did not do what he wanted to do; instead he listened to what the Rebbe told him to do. If the Rebbe did...
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