Examples Of Irony In The Fixer

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The Fixer: Irony

Irony is an overpowering force in Bernard Malamud's The Fixer. The sequence of events which Yakov Bok goes through makes the entire novel ironic. The chief irony of the novel lies in the fact that what Bok is attempting to escape, he cannot escape. To understand the irony in the novel, it is necessary to examine two major events in the circular life of Yakov Bok. Bok is attempting the escape his life in the shetl. He is wrongly persecuted for a ritual murder and attempts to escape his physical and mental torture. In each case, Bok is attempting to escape his Jewishness. The novel has an overall ironic tone.

Bok leaves the shetl in which he has lived the majority of his life to go to Kiev. In Kiev Bok hopes …show more content…

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Here the irony partly lies in the fact that Bok is treated so badly because of something which he was in the first place trying to escape. The other irony is that Bok decides to defend his Jewish heritage to his captors. He is offered his freedom if he will denounce the Jews. He refuses, stating that "he is against those who are against them...he will protect them to the extent that he can...this is a covenant he has made with himself" (189). When he is brought the confession by Raisl, he signs the line where his name belongs with the statement, "Every word is a lie" ( 262).

Bok's ordeal in prison occurs because of the religion which he was attempting to turn his back on when he left the shetl. However, while in prison Bok seems to discover something of value in the old Jewish religion (Tanner 336). Bok's existence is once again shown to be very circular and full of irony.

Irony is definitely a constant in Bernard Malamud's novel The Fixer. Two elements best illustrate the irony in the life of Malamud's protagonist, Yakov Bok: first, his attempt to escape his life in the shetl; and second, Bok's attempt to escape his religion. Each event contributes to the ironic atmosphere in The Fixer.

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