Ozzie Freedman Portrayed as a Hero Essay example -- essays research pa

Ozzie Freedman Portrayed as a HeroA poor boy can be defined as one who inspires through politeness and actions who leads through personal example. Under this definition, the character Ozzie Freedman from Philip Roths The reincarnation of the Jews (1959) can be classified as a fighter. The sections of Discoveries liter Stories of the call for (Schechter & Semekis 1992) The portend, The separate, The excursion, Helpers and Guides, The Treasure, and Transformation, can be applied to the story about Ozzie to support its inclusion in this class, entitled Myth of the Hero.The chapter on The Call describes that a hero may be on the brink of a decisive change (21) and they perceive the danger of remaining where they are (22). The hero moldiness be ready to leave his old, familiar life behind and impel on to something new-fashioned (23). In The Conversion of the Jews, we chitchat Ozzie askioning his assurance and going against the Jewish teaching by believing that God could le t a woman have a baby without having intercourse (384). He stood up to the rabbi in class and was prepared to defend his questioning and beliefs.The adversary is a character who embodies the exact opposite personality of the protagonist. According to Schechter & Semekis, the Other causes self-revelation in the protagonist, which his journey would non begin without. In Roths story, Itzie is Ozzies best friend, who does not question authority or his faith, quite the opposite of Ozzie. He gives Ozzie a hard quantify for alship canal asking questions and talk out in class. (What do you open your mouth all the time for? (383)). Ozzie realizes he doesnt want to be like Itzie and blindly play the Jewish belief about Jesus. He defends his right to question something in order to seek validity, and says, Itz, I thought it over for a solidity hour, and now Im convinced God could do it. Discoveries describes The Journey as a portrayal of how difficult the heros quest is (8). In Roths sto ry, Ozzie faces external enemies, agents of conservatism or conformity that must be overcome (Schechter & Semekis, 8). He is speaking out against the Jewish trust, precept that he believes God could impregnate a woman without her having intercourse. When he delivers this defiance to Rabbi Binder, he is... ...nbspBy applying the theory of the heros journey as found in Discoveries Fifty Stories of the Quest and applying it to Roths The Conversion of the Jews, we see that the character Ozzie Freedman truly fits the title of a hero. Ozzie questions his religious beliefs and is not ashamed to bring forth his insight and seek answers and new ways of thinking. He winds up teaching his mentor a lesson in religion and sets out to have his message heard, despite the possibility of ridicule and eve death. Once he realizes he has a different belief than the nation of the Jewish religion, he understands his life will never be the aforesaid(prenominal) and that he cannot go back to the Jewi sh belief that God is not able to produce a child without intercourse. Ozzie gets his message across, that one should never be punished for his beliefs, and he is then born into a new day and a new life journey. Works CitedRoth, Philip. The Conversion of the Jews. Discoveries Fifty Stories of the Quest.2nd ed. Harold Schechter and Jonna Gormely Semekis. New York Oxford, 1992.Schechter, Harold, and Jonna Gormely Semekis. Discoveries Fifty Stories of the Quest.2nd ed. New York Oxford, 1992.