What I found most interesting about the novel was the juxtaposition of the title and the actual events in the novel. Upon reaching the end of the book, one can not help but realize that the title is quite ironic. While the reader follows David Levinsky from his humble beginnings as a poor talmud student to his career as an incredibly wealthy cloak manufacturer. However, at the end of the book, despite his amazing “rise” Levinsky is not happy.
Throughout Levinsky’s entire life, his sole fixation is upon amassing more money and becoming more American. To him, his russian talmudic heritage seems to be one of utter shame, in one section he goes on at length about how he wishes to hide his gesticulations when he talks. Whenever someone speaks, the first thing he thinks about is how “american” it sounds and the like. Levinsky lets all of the things that matter to him, (love, education, family) fall to the wayside and focuses all of his energy on being more and more american.
At the end of the book, Levinsky is the spitting image of a wealthy American businessman, one who speaks crisp english and wears fine clothing, however he is not happy. He is lonely. He has abandoned all of his values and for what? To be all alone at the top? Not much comfort in that idea.
I think the main theme that occurs is that one should not try to shed his/herself of who they are to fit in, rather they should incorporate their new lifestyle in with the old. The reader can tell that levinsky is homesick and regrets some of his decisions from the sheer antomir-heavy air that hangs in his workshop. He wishes to pay respects to his hometown, he misses it dearly, yet he has abandoned almost everything he ever learned there.
In other words, Levinsky’s rise was simultaneously his fall. Everything he ever wanted turned out to be not what he wanted at all.
