The short story ‘The Conversion of the Jews’ by Philip Roth and was published in 1958 is about a thirteen-year-old freethinking Ozzie Freedman and his struggles. The story shows how the boy deals with the crisis in his faith at the Hebrew school. Ozzie is a young man who is starting to have doubts about organized religion and Jewish doctrine. The most prominent thought in the short story is courage and conviction. Ozzie follows his heart and sees the end of an idea because he feels it is important to him (Burch & Burch, 2020). Ozzie is a perfect example of how people should stand up for themselves at some point in life.
The young man is tender, querulous, courageous, and intelligent, and he makes sure to use all these qualities in exploring religion. Unlike many young people, Ozzie refuses to feed into information without critically analyzing it and knowing the depth of the matter. The idea of accepting things the way they are does not suffice for the young freethinking and imaginative Ozzie. Ozzie is a boy that defies the odds and makes the Hebrew students, his mother, and Rabbi Binder bow before him. They accept that God is all-knowing and powerful to do anything that needs to be done.
It is fundamental to note that this inquisitive nature makes the world a better place to live. For instance, when the plane crashed, all the lives lost were meaningful but divides like religion show how the lives of some were more critical than others. It is refreshing to read this book in a world full of chaos and look at the universe through the eyes of a thirteen-year-old who wants everyone to be treated equally.
Reference
Burch, C. B., & Burch, P. W. (2020). The “World’s least thunderous person”: Another look at Philip Roth’s” Conversion of the Jews”. Philip Roth Studies, 16(2), 84-92.