1a. What kind of services does Pinye Salzman sell? What is the nature of Leo Finkle's business with Pinye Salzman?
2a. Who are the women Salzman initially suggests as potential brides? What characteristics do they have? Which one does Finkle actually meet?
3a. What does Finkle find in the photographs Salzman leaves behind? What impact does one of the photographs have on him?
4a. Identify the thoughts that lead to Leo's emotional crisis and inability to study for a week.
5a. Do you think Salzman's ultimate intent is to keep Stella from Leo or to bring them together intentionally? Support your answer with examples from the story.
1b. Why does Leo Finkle think he needs a bride?
2b. How does Finkle feel about Salzman after talking to Lily Hirschorn?
3b. The photograph Finkle finds touches important emotions inside him. What are these feelings? What elements in the photograph contribute to the effect?
4b. Does Stella appear to be the woman in whom Leo can find his own redemption?
5b. Research the matchmaking traditions of another culture, such as the "picture brides" of Japan in the early twentieth century. Then write a paragraph comparing and contrasting that culture's tradition with the Jewish matchmaking tradition described in "The Magic Barrel." Which tradition seems the more humane and workable to you? What do you think is the most effective way to meet a proper mate?
Motivation. How do Leo Finkle's motivations change as the story progresses?
Antihero. Review the cluster chart you made in Literary Tools. What characteristics of an antihero does Finkle possess? Which is his worst flaw? Why?
1. Imagine that you are twenty-seven, the same age as Leo Finkle, and you have not yet found a mate. Write a personals ad describing yourself, the qualities you have to offer, and what you are looking for in a prospective mate.
2. Imagine that you are Pinye Salzman. Write a letter to your daughter, Stella, telling her what you think of her and describing the man you would like her to meet.
3. Write a paragraph or two describing what Leo Finkle's life is like two years after the story ends.
Dialect. Rewrite the following sentences spoken by Salzman into standard English, correcting grammar and syntax.
1. "You wouldn't believe me how much cards I got in my office."
2. "Let me call the father tonight and you will see what means pretty."
3. "Of course, she is a little lame on her right foot from an auto accident that it happened to her when she was twelve years, but nobody notices on account she is so brilliant and also beautiful."
4. "Rabbi, I got for you tonight good news."
5. "A glass tea you got, rabbi?"
Jewish Traditions. Research a Jewish tradition other than matchmaking.
Research a Jewish Tradition:
Sources Used:
Writing Theses Statements. Using the Internet, find some reviews or criticism of Bernard Malamud's work and read them. Then write thesis statements for four compositions you could develop about Malamud's fiction.
Thesis #1:
Thesis #2:
Thesis #3:
Thesis #4:
