Lily Featherstone

Ms. Nochomovitz and Ms. Davidow

US Experience FIQWS 10115

December 10 , 2024 

Literary Analysis of 2 texts

Confront your trauma or let it remain in the past? Each person deals with their own baggage and responds to trauma in different ways. Some choose to deal with it head on, while others try to repress what they’ve been through. But at what point does your past trauma catch up to you? Over time, one is forced to deal with the issues they try to bury in the past. One may consider the stories of “Eli the Fanatic” by Philip Roth and  Rosa by Cynthia Ozick to be completely different; but some details are parallel. Eli is not directly affected by the Holocaust, as he did not live through it. He lives in a modern Jewish neighborhood in the 1950’s where most everyone has assimilated and are not observant. Because of the secular values he’s used to, when a community of Holocaust survivors move into the neighborhood, presenting themselves as an education center for the children, Eli simply does not want to deal with them or their presence in his neighborhood. Eli’s refusal to accept the victims presence in his community distances himself from the trauma his neighbors had to endure. This leads Eli into his own journey of self discovery, and his struggle in finding out how he identifies as a Jew. Differently, Rosa was a victim of the Holocaust and is forced to face her past trauma every day, and deal with losing her daughter in the camp. Although these two protagonists have different backgrounds, they both have issues that they are confronting regarding their Jewish identity. Despite Eli initially being unaccepting of the Holocaust victims and the traditional Jews who have moved into his neighborhood, he eventually has an identity struggle, leading his biases to change. Both characters face their issues in different ways, with Rosa dealing with survivors’ guilt, and Eli letting his prejudices rule his judgment. The protagonist’s response to trauma reveals that trauma can heavily impact people in different ways, and shape their 

identity. 

Rosa’s direct connection to the Holocaust shapes her identity after the events. After numerous attempts to get her daughter Magda’s shawl back, Rosa’s Niece Stella finally gave in and returned it. Upon opening the package with the remnants of the shawl, its shriveled, lifeless appearance shocked Rosa, bringing back the memories of her daughter’s passing, and her life in the camps. When inspecting the shawl, to Rosa’s surprise it “didn’t instantly restore Magda”(Rosa 78). Rosa had sent countless letters to her niece Stella in hopes of getting the shawl back in her possession. Rosa believed that having the shawl would somehow make the pain of losing her daughter go away. But, all of the anger, sadness and hopelessness Rosa has felt ever since losing her daughter still remained.  When Magda’s presence wasn’t immediately restored with the return of the shawl, Rosa was met with the harsh truth that her daughter cannot be brought back, but only remembered. Rosa’s fixation on a physical item that’s associated with her trauma demonstrates how she still struggles with dealing with her past, and the loss of her daughter. When Rosa is in Florida, her life there isn’t as pleasant as she would hope. She lives in a small, rundown apartment, and rarely goes out. Rosa writes to her niece Stella, calling her all these beautiful nicknames in hopes to subdue her, so Rosa can eventually get her shawl back. In one letter describing her living arrangements, Rosa claims that she assumed her life in the camps was the worst thing they could possibly have to endure. But now with her life in Florida, Rosa claims that, “after the worst there is still more”(Rosa 14), implying that her life now is worse than her life in the camps. Rosa’s detachment from her life in the cams is very apparent. Her comparison depicts how It’s as if she has forgotten all she had endured during her time in the camps. Michael Nutkiewicz wrote in his piece, “Shame, guilt, and anguish in Holocaust survivor testimony,” that Holocaust survivors tend to, “downplay individual trauma”(Nutkiewicz 1), which is exactly what Rosa seems to be doing. She lost a child due to the Holocaust and is either choosing to lose sight of that, or she is simply trying to forget. This shows Rosa’s inability to accept what happened to her at the camps, and that she hasn’t taken the necessary measures to healthily deal with her past trauma. This now leaves Rosa with a debilitated version of her personality, because she is closed off to any growth in regards to overcoming what happened to her during the Holocaust.  

Eli eventually accepting the secular Jews in his neighborhood allowed him to accept and transform his own Jewish identity. After giving away a suit to the more observant Jewish man in the neighborhood, Eli was now left with the traditional clothing the Jewish man once wore. Out of curiosity, Eli put on the clothes and began walking around town like the Jewish man once did. Eli found the Jewish man and tried to have a conversation with him. As Eli was now face to face with the man he once tried to get rid of, Eli realized that he is , “now two people, (Roth 289), or, “one person wearing two suits”(Roth 289). Eli’s realization shows that he now sees himself in the Jewish man. He doesn’t have to be one thing or the other, and can now be tolerant of the people in his community who are different from him. Eli’s revelation also demonstrates how he’s now developing his own relationship to Judaism , and he’s open to being more observant. He now knows that there doesn’t have to be a fine line between secular and modern. Seeming as this story took place somewhat directly after WWII, Eli could have been less tolerant of the Holocaust survivors and the observant Jewish man in his community because he just wasn’t comfortable with the horrid events that occurred. The article, “Being Jewish in the Twentieth Century: The Synchronicity of Roth and Hawthorne”, by James Duban explores this concept’s relevance in Eli the fanatic, stating that Roth’s story is about the, “human unwillingness to see the horror”(Duban 1) of the Holocaust. This is precisely what Eli once dealt with, when he was not accepting of the members of the community that once had to endure such horrors. Additionally, when Eli was in the hospital visiting his wife after she just had his baby, he was still wearing the traditional Jewish clothing. His refusal to take off the clothes led people to believe that Elis wasn’t in his right mind. This led him to not being allowed to hold his son after he was born. When Eli was looking in at his son while standing in the hallway, many of his friends tried getting his attention and began asking if he wanted help. When Eli refused, someone approached him, suggesting that Eli is a Rabbi, and requesting his presence in the Temple (Roth 298).  The person approaching Eli only referred to him as a Rabbi to get his attention, so Eli  would later get sedated. Although misleading, perhaps Eli appreciated being referred to as a Rabbi, because he has become accustomed to the traditional clothing that he had been wearing all day. He felt no shame showing up to the hospital in the clothes despite his friends and neighbors disapproving. His community’s disapproval is apparent because Eli was drugged promptly after being referred to as a Rabbi, suggesting that he is now the outsider in the neighborhood. Although his community turned on him, Eli wearing the traditional clothes, “awakened pride”( Duban 2) regarding Eli’s Jewish heritage. This feeling of pride depicts that Eli now has more understanding of Judaism through wearing traditional clothes, and is now more accepting of the Jewish  Religion. 

Through the stories of  “Eli the Fanatic” by Philip Roth and  Rosa by Cynthea Ozick, the main characters demonstrate how trauma has heavily influenced both of their lives. With Rosa surviving the Holocaust, and living with the guilt of losing her daughter , and Eli coming to terms with others around him being different, both protagonists show a clear example of how trauma influences people in a myriad of different ways. Rosa’s survivor’s guilt has demonstrated that sometimes it’s difficult for people to get over their past trauma, and deal with what happened to them. While Eli’s journey of self discovery shows that trauma can sometimes lead people to change for the better. Ultimately, trauma plays a big role in shaping who people are because of the impacts that it inflicts. 

Duban , James. “Being Jewish in the Twentieth Century: The Synchronicity of Roth and Hawthorne.” Gale Literatue, 2002, go-gale-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T001&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&retrievalId=06781401-9f1d-4573-a0c7-1b9ec5c89fa4&hitCount=49&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=2&docId=GALE%7CH1100063868&docType=Critical%2Bessay&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=LRCCLC&prodId=GLS&pageNum=1&contentSet=GALE%7CH1100063868&searchId=R7&userGroupName=cuny_ccny&inPS=true. 

Nutkiewitz, Michael. “Shame, Guilt, and Anguish in Holocaust Survivor Testimony.” Gale Literature, 2003, go-gale-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T001&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&retrievalId=d078c05d-4ec6-44b2-9c65-ea722c48032c&hitCount=2399&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=4&docId=GALE%7CA100808555&docType=Critical%2Bessay&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=ZLRC-MOD1&prodId=GLS&pageNum=1&contentSet=GALE%7CA100808555&searchId=R2&userGroupName=cuny_ccny&inPS=true. 

Ozick, Cynthia. Rosa. Vintage International, 1990.

Roth, Philip. Eli, The Fanatic, The Paris Review, 1959.