The Magic Barrel

Discuss the role of children in The Magic Barrel. Is their function in the stories generally an optimistic one (e.g., one of hope for the future), or more pessimistic—what Francis Bacon called “hostages to fortune”? Cite examples from the text to support your interpretation.

In the title story, Leo Finkle makes the fatalistic statement that “a Jew suffered” (205). Does fate play a major role in the good or bad decisions of the characters? Why or why not?

In “Angel Levine,” the beleaguered tailor Manischevitz believes that his suffering is “wasted” because it goes “nowhere.” Citing examples from the text, discuss characters whose sorrows have led them forward to wisdom or to the creation of a better life.

The short story “The Prison” concerns a New York City candy store, but its title could apply to almost any of the stories in The Magic Barrel. Cite three examples of characters who consider themselves to be trapped by their circumstances. To what extent do they liberate themselves?

As befits its title, The Magic Barrel employs magical realism in some of its stories, notably “Angel Levine” and “Take Pity,” though there is always some ambiguity in these scenarios. Choose one of these stories and craft an interpretation in which none of the action is supernatural, and in which all apparently magical events are explained by way of everyday phenomena.

Books and learning play a prominent role in The Magic Barrel. Compare and contrast the use of books in several of the stories. In what ways do they facilitate the acquisition of wisdom? In other stories, how do they create an obstacle to true knowledge or to human connection?

Discuss the use of seasonal change in The Magic Barrel. Cite examples of how it signifies, or brings about, a change in the hearts or minds of the characters.

The protagonists of the Italian stories (Henry Levin, Carl Schneider, and Arthur Fidelman), are all Americans who travel abroad to an ancient land in hopes of enriching their lives, and they all meet with some form of disaster. Compare their ambitions and explain how they went awry. Do their failures have a common cause?