Jewish Lit active recall

When did the history of Jews in North America begin?

In 1654, when 23 Jewish refugees arrived in New Amsterdam.

Why did American Puritans frown upon Jews?

Because they considered themselves the only chosen people of God.

Who were the earliest wave of Jewish immigrants to America?

Sephardic Jews from Spain.

When did the second wave of Jewish immigration to America occur and from where?

In the 1820s–30s, mainly from Bavaria and other parts of Germany.

What triggered the third wave of Jewish immigration in 1881?

Pogroms in Russia.

Who were notable Jewish immigrants to America after 1933?

Albert Einstein, Marc Chagall, Hannah Arendt.

Where did most Jewish immigrants settle in America?

In big East Coast cities.

How did Jewish communities enforce religious observance?

Synagogues sometimes fined members for not observing the Sabbath.

What shows the emphasis on education in Jewish communities in the US?

In 1922, 21.5% of Harvard students were Jewish.

Which postwar US Nobel Prize winners were Jewish?

Saul Bellow, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Joseph Brodsky, Bob Dylan, Louise Glück.

Why does the number of Jewish US Nobelists matter?

It highlights the importance of Jewish immigration and literature in the US.

Which major Jewish American writers were never awarded the Nobel?

Philip Roth, Joseph Heller, Bernard Malamud, Norman Mailer, Arthur Miller, Woody Allen.

How does Hana Ullmanová describe American Jewish literature?

As a kind of regional literature, often focused on specific urban areas.

Which cities and areas are common settings in Jewish American literature?

New York, Chicago, Newark, and their suburbs.

What does Jewish and Southern literature have in common?

Both depict cultures in decline, trying to redefine traditional concepts.

What emotional power does Jewish American literature draw from?

The struggle to escape or redefine old cultural patterns.

How is historical consciousness reflected in Jewish American literature?

Through retelling past events, strengthening cultural identity.

What example shows writers drawing on family history in Jewish lit?

Isaac Bashevis Singer's stories based on his rabbinical family.

What is a key thematic feature of Jewish American literature?

Generational conflict due to differing stages of assimilation.

What did Delmore Schwartz say about bilingual childhood experience?

It creates language sensitivity but also hesitation and fear of mispronunciation.

Why can Jewish maternal protectiveness become problematic?

It may become stifling in safer, more modern contexts.

What is a stylistic trait of Jewish American literature related to language?

Mixing street idiom with sophisticated cultural rhetoric.

How does Yiddish influence Jewish American writing?

Through ironic undertones and melancholic humour.

What does the use of Yiddish in Portnoy’s Complaint highlight?

Sophie Portnoy’s difference from her Americanized son.

What characterizes the tempo of Jewish American literary speech?

A rapid, persuasive rhythm like a salesman’s pitch.

Why is syntax sometimes loose in Jewish American literature?

Early immigrants spoke fast and assumed English lacked strict rules.

What was Isaac Bashevis Singer's background?

Son of Hasidic rabbi; born in Poland; wrote in Yiddish.

What American event prompted Singer's emigration?

Fear of Hitler’s rise in 1935.

What is Enemies: A Love Story about?

A Holocaust survivor torn between three women representing his traumatic past.

What literary effect does Herman’s “triple life” in Enemies create?

It is both farcical and tragic, symbolizing trauma and secrecy.

What is significant about the setting of Enemies: A Love Story?

It is Singer’s first novel set in contemporary America.

What is the plot of Gimpel the Fool?

A naive man mocked by others but full of forgiveness and goodness.

What is Yentl, the Yeshiva Boy about?

A girl who disguises herself as a man to study Jewish texts.

What was Saul Bellow's literary style praised for?

Richness, precision, and life

Which thinkers influenced Bellow’s work?

Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Henry James, Hegel, Pascal.

How did Bellow help Isaac Bashevis Singer?

He translated “Gimpel the Fool” into English.

Who is the protagonist of Herzog and what is his crisis?

Moses Herzog, a professor near breakdown after his wife leaves him.

What narrative technique does Herzog use for self

therapy?

What is Bellow’s signature literary effect?

Mixing comic self

What makes Bellow's prose "germinal" according to James Wood?

It awakens the reader’s perception with vivid sensory detail.

How does Herzog showcase Bellow’s style?

Through fast, impressionistic, detail

What literary quality does Flaubert attribute to talent that Bellow demonstrates?

Slow patience and discovering the unknown in small things.

What stereotype did Philip Roth aim to challenge?

The “nice Jewish boy” with loving family and sexual restraint.

What made Portnoy’s Complaint stand out?

Its candid treatment of sex, narrative energy, and comedy.

Who is Nathan Zuckerman?

Roth’s fictional alter ego, a recurring character in nine works.

What criticism do Roth and Zuckerman often face?

Being narrow, misogynistic, self

What is unique about the later “Historical Zuckerman” novels?

Zuckerman narrates but is no longer the main focus.

What are the themes of American Pastoral, I Married a Communist, and The Human Stain?

Radical politics, McCarthyism, and political correctness.

What is the twist in The Human Stain?

Coleman Silk “passes” as Jewish but is actually Black.

How does Roth critique identity politics in The Human Stain?

Through a character falsely accused of racism based on misunderstood language.

Why did Joseph Heller avoid Jewish identity for Yossarian?

To create a universal character and avoid stereotypes.

What is the paradoxical premise of Catch

22?

What influenced Heller’s portrayal of Yossarian?

His own WW2 experience as a bombardier.

How does Heller criticize war novel stereotypes?

By mocking the “sensitive Jew” trope in a satirical manuscript.

What did Arthur Miller's early life contribute to his themes?

The 1929 crash and anti

Which play of Miller’s deals most overtly with Jewish trauma?

Broken Glass.

What is the central metaphor in Broken Glass?

Hysterical paralysis as a result of repressed Jewish self

How does The Crucible connect with Jewish themes?

Through general themes of persecution and societal denial.

What kind of Jew is Willy Loman seen as?

A “closeted Jew” representing a failed American Dream.

What was Miller's personal stance on Judaism?

He was an atheist and critical of anti

How did Miller describe the psychological effect of persecution?

As internal denial due to the need to believe society makes sense.

Why did Miller avoid nihilism in his work?

Because of a "psychic investment in the continuity of life."