Appreciation of lublin Magician's Works

As one of the themes of the novel, desire runs through the novel from beginning to end. From beginning to end, Yasha's behavior and activities are dominated by tortured sexual desire. Faced with this powerful force, he can't control his behavior at all. The singer focuses on the complex mood of the protagonist who is tortured by strong sexual desire. Although Yasha in Singer's works is basically a character driven by lust, Singer is unwilling to portray him as a shameless and dirty character when portraying this character. On the contrary, it can be seen from Singh's description that he has some sympathy for Yasha. In addition, although Yasha in Singer's works can't get rid of the control of lust, she is also condemned by moral conscience and is not a simple "animal man". In the novel, Yasha always feels guilty, anxious, panic and fear when seeking sexual stimulation among different women, because he knows that his behavior is not only disloyalty and betrayal to his wife who loves him deeply, but also a serious violation of Jewish ethics and morality, and will be condemned and punished by God. Yasha often repents from the heart and repeatedly says that she wants to turn over a new leaf, but in the contest between lust, rationality and morality, she reluctantly chooses the former every time. Through artistic means, Singer shows readers the deep desire of human beings, and also depicts the conflict between desire and morality, which makes people interesting and inspired. Most of Singer's works involve desire writing. When asked why, he said, "in sex and love, human personality can be revealed more than in any aspect." Combining the magician in lublin, we can see that Singer admits the power of sexual control, and thinks that human beings try to get rid of this instinctive desire, but they are often powerless.

Second, the theme of believing in God.

Besides the theme of desire that runs through the whole novel, the existence of God is another theme of the novel. As a Jew, Singer's works almost involve Judaism and Jews, and Jews' belief in God is the core of his concern. In The Magician of lublin, Singer focuses on the existence of God, which is the core issue in Jewish life. Yasha's feelings for God in Singer's works are very contradictory and complicated. It is mentioned at the beginning of the novel, "When he arrives at the hotel, he always pretends to be an atheist." But he went on to say, "But in fact he believes in God. God's intervention can be seen everywhere. Every flower, every pebble, every grain of sand that bears fruit proves the existence of God. " It can be seen from this passage that although Yasha pretends not to believe in the existence of God for some reason, he still seems to admit the power of God in his bones. However, when he read some books on natural science, he began to doubt the existence of God, because the theories about the law of gravity, the earth's north and south poles, the principle of lightning rod, the principle of steam engine and the solar system in these books are completely contradictory to the Jewish classic that God created the world. It can be seen that although there are signs that God does not exist in Yasha's eyes, he dare not completely break away from God. Many times, he seems to think that God is really watching everyone. When he failed to steal and hurt his leg, he felt that it was God's arrangement, a warning and punishment for him. So it can be said that believing in God and doubting God are like a huge pendulum swinging in Yasha's heart, sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right. He neither dares to abandon God completely, nor can he convince himself that God exists absolutely. Yasha felt pain in this contradictory mood.

Third, the identity of the theme.

Identity is also one of the themes of the magician in lublin. In short, the core of identity is about "Who am I? Who are we? " problem The connotation of identity is very rich, covering a wide range, such as gender identity, national identity, social status identity, group identification and so on. As an immigrant Jewish writer, almost all Singer's works involve the issue of racial identity, that is, whether I am Jewish or not. The Magician in lublin shows this theme especially profoundly.

The whole novel not only pays attention to Yasha's inner struggle between lust and morality, doubts about the existence of God, but also depicts Yasha's anxiety about identity in detail-"Am I a Jew? Do you want to be a real Jew? " In the eyes of Jews, only Jews are the real "voters of God", so a real Jew will feel infinite glory as a Jew. However, Jews in history did not have their own territory and were scattered all over the world. Although they try to maintain their unique culture and identity, they are inevitably influenced by foreign culture and other factors, and many people have doubts and puzzles about their Jewish identity. In real life, the important way of identity recognition is to participate in various ceremonies that can represent identity and abide by some unique norms. For Jews, being Jewish means observing all kinds of Jewish rituals and norms. However, Yasha did not attend some important ceremonies, nor did he abide by the Jewish daily life norms.

The novel writes: "He has no beard. He only goes to synagogues on Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur, and he happens to be in lublin on holidays. " It can be seen that Yasha rarely observes the most important rituals of Judaism. A true Jew must go to a synagogue at a specified time, such as the Sabbath. In addition, according to Jewish tradition, Jews should grow beards and sideburns, but Yasha didn't follow them at all. Because of this, the Jewish compatriots around him also looked down on him and thought he was a heretic. Yasha pretended not to care about the contemptuous eyes cast by her compatriots around her, but she was very painful inside. In the novel, Singh narrates in the third person: "Although Yasha was born here like his father and grandfather, he is still a stranger-not only because he gave up the Jewish way of life, but also because he has always been a stranger here and in Warsaw, among Jews and pagans." "Stranger" means ambiguity and confusion of identity. Yasha is neither recognized and accepted by Jewish compatriots nor tolerated by "pagans". He became a rootless and wandering man in spirit. There is no doubt that Yasha is very painful inside. In fact, Yasha really wants to be a devout Jew like other Jewish compatriots and his ancestors. All his words and deeds conform to Jewish norms, but he can't force himself to do so. The root cause is related to the theme of God belief mentioned above. In Yasha's view, since even the existence of God is uncertain, all Jewish classics and Jewish norms based on God have lost their foundation, and then they begin to doubt their rationality and necessity as Jews.

It is worth noting that, on the one hand, Yasha does not admit that he is a Jew in the full sense, and he is afraid of completely determining his national identity. On the other hand, when he was asked to give up his Jewish identity completely, he felt scared. It is mentioned in the novel that when Amelia asked Yasha to abandon his wife and get a huge sum of money to elope with her, Yasha didn't seem to have too much resistance and worry about this woman's request, because irresistible lust had made him lose his mind. But when Amelia pushed her luck and hoped that he would give up Judaism completely and convert to Catholicism, Yasha "trembled at the thought of this terrible request." In his view, it is more unacceptable to abandon one's racial identity completely than to abandon one's wife, existing social status and everything else. However, Yasha finally chose to steal, which means that he has made up his mind to give up everything, including Jewish identity, in order to satisfy his desires. Singer is showing readers that identity, a social attribute, often becomes secondary under the teasing and driving of physiological instinct desire. The confusion and crisis of Yasha's identity in the novel can be regarded not only as Yasha's personal identity, but also as a problem faced by the whole Jewish nation in thousands of years of diaspora. Through an artistic image of Yasha, Singer shows readers the inner identity confusion of Jews, and Singer interweaves this identity confusion and crisis with people's instinctive desire and belief in God. Yasha in The Magician of lublin is a Jewish magician living in Poland. His wife Esther said of him: she can't fully understand such a complicated person. He has magical power, and his secrets are more than pomegranate seeds in the New Year. And Yasha's lover Magda also feels that no matter how long she has known him, she still doesn't know him. To her, he is a mystery from body to soul. To sum up, Yasha is actually a contradictory mixture of multiple roles and multiple personalities. This can be analyzed from the following aspects.

First, in faith, Yasha is not only a skeptic and waverer, but also a seeker and watcher.

From the traditional point of view, as a Jew, it is natural to be loyal to the Jewish faith. However, influenced by different cultures and scientific rationalism, Yasha expressed doubts about the existence of God in Judaism, and disagreed with all kinds of canon in Judaism. Others observe all the rituals of the Sabbath, but he chats with musicians and smokes on the Sabbath. During Pentecost, everyone went to the temple and synagogue, but he was alone at home reading a book about the laws of nature. He thought, since God never answers, why should I talk to him? When the most enthusiastic moralist advised him to correct these behaviors, he always replied, "When have you been to heaven? What is God like? "

However, influenced by the strong religious and cultural atmosphere since childhood, Yaxia still believes in the existence of the creator in his bones. He has always believed that there is a patron saint to protect him from danger, and he also firmly believes that the soul is immortal. He didn't completely abandon the Jewish statements and beliefs about God, nor did he fully accept all kinds of theories in natural science. Instead, through constant thinking and exploration, I created my own view of God-"There is a creator, but the creator has never appeared to anyone, and has never said what is allowed and what is forbidden. Anyone who speaks in the name of the creator is a liar. "

However, Yasha's unique belief in God is neither mature nor firm, and is often in a state of vacillation. When he fled to the synagogue to pray after failing to steal, he believed that "God created the world; God sympathizes with all creatures he has created; God rewards those who fear him. " He regarded the failure of stealing as the hand of God stopped him, and thought that God did not allow him to embark on the road of crime. He felt that his long-forgotten childhood piety had returned. "This is a belief that does not need to be confirmed, a fear of God, and a regret for going astray." But as soon as he walked out of the hall, his piety cooled down and vanished. His earlier attacks on religion reappeared in his mind, and a voice in his heart asked: How can you prove that God is listening to your prayers? He looked up at the pale sky and said to himself, "God, show a miracle and let your voice be heard." Within 24 hours a day, two tragedies appeared in front of him: Magda, a lover, hanged herself, and Zeftel, a lover, was fooling around with others. This changed his whole soul and made him truly feel that it was the hand of God in action, which sounded the alarm for him when he was on the verge of sin.

But in the end, when Yasha imprisoned himself in a small room to repent and atone, his faith sometimes wavered. When he was reading the holy book, an idea came to his mind: how can I be sure that what is said in the book is true? Maybe God doesn't exist? Maybe I'm torturing myself for nothing? But he sometimes thinks: We can understand God's wisdom-then why not believe that there is the mercy of the creator behind this wisdom?

Generally speaking, in Yasha, no matter how suspicious and shaky his faith is, one thing is the most important, that is, his devotion to goodness has not been lost, and his persistent pursuit and watch for faith has never given up. In this sense, compared with those who are mediocre, superstitious, backward and lose faith, Yasha can give today's people more inspiration for survival.

Secondly, in terms of feelings, Yasha is both an affectionate person and a fickle person; Affectionate and heartless.

Yasha's wife Esther is a woman who abides by Jewish tradition and lives a quiet Jewish community life at home. As a well-known magician, Yasha ran around all day and performed everywhere, and his lover and assistant Magda accompanied him for a long time. Magda is thin and black, so she has no beauty. Yasha always comforted her when she hooked up with other women, saying, "I will never forget you, just as I will never forget my mother." In the wandering life, Yasha gave Magda affection and care like a lover and father, and also assumed the living expenses of the family. Yasha also has a lover, Zeftel. She is very coquettish, the thief's abandoned wife, and her life is rather embarrassing. Every time she passes by her house, Yasha always takes time to visit her and give her some life support. What fascinates Yasha most is the charming and elegant Amelia. She is the widow of a professor. Although she is in her thirties, she looks ten years younger. She also has a 14-year-old daughter who lives on a limited pension and a little help from Yasha. The beautiful Amelia appreciates Yasha's artistic talent very much and has always encouraged him to develop abroad. This greatly aroused Yasha's great hope and enthusiasm for life. His infatuation with Emilia reached a fever pitch. In order to realize the goal of combining with Amelia and starting a new life in Italy, Yasha, who has always been proud of not associating with thieves, was forced to take risks by her lover and embarked on the road of theft.

If Yasha is affectionate and righteous to his lover, the way he treats his wife Esther gives people a feeling of disloyalty. At first, Esther fell in love with Yasha, despite his bad reputation as an "unbeliever" and a "rogue". Thanks to her, Yasha was able to get married. Yasha herself has always felt that "she has been my only support for so many years, but for her loyalty to me, I would have fallen like a leaf in the storm". Even those thieves think: "even being a thief's wife is better than being a wife of someone like Yasha;" He ran around the dock with a pagan girl and only went home on holidays; His wife got nothing from him, but lost face and made a fool of herself. "On the other hand, Esther knew that her husband lived a dissolute life, but she didn't say it. She doesn't resent him at all. Fortunately, Yasha has not completely lost his conscience. Whenever he considers going to Italy with Emilia's mother and daughter, he is always ambivalent: How can he be so cruel to Esther? After all, over the years, she has shown rare loyalty and unparalleled tolerance to him.

When Yasha's three lovers left him one after another and he wanted to jump into the river to commit suicide, he thought: No, he can't make his wife a widow. He should at least arrange for her to remarry. But when he got home, the only thing he did was to shut himself in a small room and be permanently isolated from the outside world and others to atone for his sins. When Yasha insisted that the mason shut him up in the hut, no matter the wise advice of others, the crying of his wife or the warning, it was completely useless. Esther cried sadly, "I might as well die!" " "He shouldn't have made his wife an abandoned wife, but in fact he made Esther, who had been loyal to him, an abandoned wife.

As can be seen from the above analysis, Yasha cares about his lover from time to time and sometimes helps him, which can be described as friendship. As for his wife, although he doesn't dislike her, he seldom gives her the tenderness and affection she deserves as a wife. In particular, the later practice of "self-penance" saved himself, but greatly hurt his wife, showing his selfish and heartless side.

Thirdly, in terms of personality, Yasha is honest, kind and sincere on the whole, but a little evil and hypocritical.

Yasha always adhered to the principle of integrity and kindness before it was stolen. Many places in the novel write that he has a magical skill, especially that he can open any lock easily. In lublin, everyone says that if Yasha dares to commit a crime, no family is safe. Thieves often say, "If he joins in, his road will be covered with gold." They also strongly encouraged Yasha: "If you cooperate with us, the world is yours." But Yasha sternly refused: "I still believe in the Eighth Commandment." (that is, the commandment "Do not steal" in the Ten Commandments of Moses) All these show that Yasha's integrity is beyond doubt. Yasha is also a kind-hearted person. He saw that haskell, a water bearer, was still carrying water late at night, so he took out twenty coins and gave them to him. Afraid that haskell would feel uncomfortable accepting charity, he said, "I won't give charity. This is to buy butter cookies for children. " In front of a beggar, Yasha seldom doesn't give money; He has always hated liars, debtors and charlatans. However, Yasha also has a hypocritical side. His wife, Esther, knew that he was philandering outside and was "merciful" everywhere. When he came back, she deliberately asked him, "What happened to those girls? Is there any change? " Yasha replied, "What girl? Not at all. " He also argued, "How can people who fool around with those women walk on the rope?" They have difficulty climbing on the ground. "Before Yasha was desperate to steal, she made an excuse for herself, saying that she would only do this once and pay twice as much later. But when stealing from the old rich man's house, his evil side was exposed: "strangle that old bastard if you dare!" "There is an elf-some inside him, some outside him-encouraging him. Although he didn't have the final say in this part, he always gave him bad advice when he needed all his abilities most ... "Yasha broke her foot because of theft and later went to Amelia's house. At first, he lied that he accidentally fell down and got hurt while rehearsing the program. Later, he got up the courage to confess the truth, but Amelia thought he was joking, because such a person who impressed the thief would hurt his foot for nothing. Yasha can only admit that she is not cut out for such a thing.

At the end of the novel, the author explains in Amelia's letter to Yasha: "I take all the responsibilities ... I know you have a wife. I forced you to get involved in this matter, so I should bear the moral responsibility. " The letter also said: "In fact, you have not committed a crime. You always show kindness and gentleness. " It is not difficult to see the author Singh's intention to protect Yasha from here, but to be fair, Yasha, who grew up on the garbage dump, can minimize his crimes and make amends by self-punishment under the temptation of the unbearable devil, which is quite rare.

4. In terms of identity and occupation, Yasha is a tramp, marginal person and exploited person.

Due to the particularity of his career, Yasha basically leads a wandering life, which brings him some opportunities, such as turning him from a little juggler into a famous magician; But at the same time, it also brought him an identity crisis and the impact of different cultures.

Although Yasha was born in lublin like his father and grandfather, he is still a stranger. This is because he abandoned the Jewish way of life. Other Jews have taken root here and established a family-and he has been wandering around; Everyone else has children and grandchildren, and he has nothing; Everyone has his own god, saint and leader, and he only has doubts. Like all other magicians, Yasha is looked down upon. He wanders around, unable to get the sense of belonging that Jews in the community have, and he is also experiencing a kind of spiritual wandering while wandering physically. Whether among Jews or pagans, he has always been a marginal person, or, "He is half Jewish and the other half pagan-neither Jewish nor pagan."

But every time Yasha walks into the synagogue, his sense of identity arises spontaneously: he is Jewish; He and they belong to the same source; His body is the same as theirs. When praying, he couldn't help thinking that his father called him to his side before he died, held his hand and said, "Promise me that you will always be a Jew." "I must be Jewish!" He said to himself, "Jews like other Jews!" " "In Christian society, because of Yasha's Jewish identity, he was deprived of the opportunity to perform in the Grand Theatre. He belongs to the group with the least money. Amelia was right. As long as he stays in Poland, they regard him as a third-rate juggler. He wandered around the provinces for several months, staying in humble small hotels, performing in cold fire stations and running on dangerous roads. He was tortured by fear when planning new tricks. He is afraid that if he ignores those old programs, he will die if he misses them. How long will he wander like this? How many risks and disasters does he have to bear? " After so much suffering, what did he get? Even the smallest cultivator is calmer than he is, so don't worry so much. Esther often mumbles: He just works for the devil. "It's all because of his Jewish identity." Everyone exploited him, deceived him and fooled him. "In this way, in the pagan world, Yasha, an excellent magician, will always be exploited and used, and it is difficult to enjoy equal status with other Christians.

It is impossible to get rid of one's racial identity, and it is so difficult to pursue the return of racial identity. The double weakening of cultural ties and regional ties makes Yaxia a double "alien" of the heterogeneous cultural world and the local cultural world-a "wanderer" from other countries and a "stranger" from the local area, which inevitably leads to his lack of sense of belonging and spiritual struggle.

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Yasha's contradictions and conflicts in his beliefs, feelings, personality, identity, occupation and many other aspects not only caused him to fall into a painful survival dilemma, but also led to his extremely serious mental crisis, or "spiritual weightlessness", which is embodied as: "Although he has a lofty and enthusiastic pursuit of life, he still feels sad and everything is empty, and he feels an irreparable and unforgettable regret ... "Doubt" here refers to Yasha's doubts about the meaning of life and his confusion about his identity and beliefs. Where is the root of this "doubt"-it lies in people's spiritual emptiness. Because "Yasha knows very well that his biggest enemy is boredom. "He did a lot of stupid things to amuse himself. Boredom whipped him like a whip. To this end, he put all kinds of burdens on himself. " Yasha, who was addicted to worldly desires, finally found herself caught in the tightening net of Zhang Yue.

It can be seen that in Yasha, the burden of life and the "weightlessness" of spirit are mutually causal, forming a vicious circle. Only when Yasha put down the burden on his shoulders and returned to lublin's home did his heart begin to recover. This may be the most desirable and helpless choice for all drifters. As a contradictory mixture of multiple roles and personalities, Yasha's pain, search, confusion and loss actually reflect the common feelings of modern people. On the one hand, modern society forces people to redefine their beliefs and roles, on the other hand, it also makes people re-examine the essential meaning of life. Human's "social alienation" has become a common problem of human existence. Yasha is such a prophet of modern life crisis. Just as the Swedish Academy Literature Award commented on Singer's winning the Nobel Prize, Singer's works are "rooted in the cultural tradition of Polish Jews and vividly reflect the human situation". The contradictions and difficulties faced by Yasha also reflect the same situation of human beings. Spatial fables of images and symbols

Through a set of interconnected and extensive image networks, a sense of space can be obtained, which can strengthen the connotation space of the text and expand the artistic effect of narration. At the same time, readers can also open their own minds and rely on their own imagination and perception to piece together relevant scenes and fragmentary fragments to build their own story framework. This kind of "scene juxtaposition" writing refers to juxtaposing all kinds of images, hints, symbols and connections in the text, so that they can get continuous reference and before and after reference in the text, thus forming a whole. The juxtaposition is aimed at the "change" of the traditional time art. In The Magician of lublin, the synagogue is mentioned three times. The first time was near Pentecost. Yasha stopped in front of a synagogue on her way back to lublin. He saw the believers in the synagogue praying calmly and devoutly. Yasha envies this unshakable belief, because in his heart, there are always various forces stirring, and he doubts everything. He knew that he was a stranger, whether among Jews or pagans.

The second time, on the way to Warsaw with Magda, they met an unexpected storm. They hid in the auditorium. Yasha hasn't been to the temple for a long time, and she is strange and kind to prayers and ceremonies. This time, he deeply felt that he was a Jew, and he was in the same strain as them. The Jewish blood in Yasha's bones began to recover.

The third time, after failing to steal, Yasha rushed into the yard of the synagogue to avoid being chased. Among the Jews, he felt the love of those people and remembered his father's last words. He will always be a Jew. He began to reflect on his mistakes and crimes and deeply blamed himself for his willfulness and depravity. He began to believe that God created the world, punishing evil and rewarding good. Yasha said to herself, "I must be a Jew, a Jew like other Jews!" " "Here, his spirit has been baptized and sublimated again.

At the end of the novel, the once cynical Yasha has a new name "Yasha the Confessor". He shut himself in a small room with only a small window and no door to confess. In this quiet room, Yasha thoroughly reflected on his crimes, how he indulged in worldly desires, how he became a thief, and how he violated every law in the Jewish classics. Even in the hut, Yasha will question God and the law, but his faith will gradually recover. He has clearly realized that if he deviates from God, he will fall into the deepest abyss. It can be said that the hut is Yasha's own synagogue, marking Yasha's complete return to Judaism, not only becoming a recognized devout saint, but also helping his compatriots get rid of their troubles and pains.

The choice and link of the images of the hall and the hut have profound implications, which show the complex thoughts hidden in the characters' hearts to the fullest, including the confrontation between good and evil in Yasha's heart, the abandonment and return of faith, and the complex change process of the whole mental state. This is the main line of soul separated from four spaces. Singer sublimated Yasha's image through the images of synagogues and huts, truly reappeared the development history of the Jewish nation and the change history of Jewish individual identity, and warned Jews of the importance of guarding their beliefs and inheriting Jewish culture.

"As a literary form, novels have inherent regional attributes. The world of the novel consists of position and background, place and boundary, field of vision and horizon. The characters, narrators and listeners in the novel occupy different geography and space. " The objective geographical space described in the novel is only the representation of the text. To truly understand the text, the author and the reader must participate together and feel the spatial situation of the characters in the work with spatial thinking. Singer interweaves Yasha and his own subjective feelings in the text, forming a three-dimensional picture beyond time and space, and shaping the sense of space in the novel, rather than in sequence. By cutting the images of halls and huts, and combining the physical space with the metaphorical space closely, readers can start with exploring the spiritual space of characters and deeply interpret the text, paying more attention to the depth and breadth of the novel's connotation rather than the length of time. In this way, the characters, narrators and readers in the novel can blend with each other and jointly build a harmonious literary space.

With the help of spatial narration, Singer strongly expressed his understanding of the overall demands of mankind such as tradition, belief and morality. Singh is deeply attached to the splendid culture of the Jewish nation in the past and pays more attention to its modern destiny. He also pays attention to how Jews keep their traditions, strengthen their beliefs and protect their spiritual homeland in modern society, and links it with the living conditions of contemporary human beings, thus raising the fate of the Jewish nation to the fate of all mankind.