In both The Jazz Singer and Hester Street the protagonists clearly deal with similar crises of identity. Both Jakie and Jake face inner tension as they deal with trying to figure out who they “really” are. Both men are Jewish immigrants that settle into a place that is seemingly entirely different in cultural values and customs, and both face whether to “completely” assimilate or to return to their mother culture. I emphasized “completely” because I’d like to raise the question on whether it is really possible to fully assimilate into a culture that is known to be an eclectic fusion of immigrant cultures?
In The Jazz Singer, Jakie struggles with his identity as a young boy. Being raised by Orthodox parents, Jakie is not allowed to indulge in his passion for jazz music, which he does without the permission of his parents. As an adult, he breaks away from his mother culture by becoming a famous jazz performer, but seems to have the nagging urge to please his Orthodox father and cantor the Kol Nidre. In the end, he acknowledges his Jewish culture, but continues to do what he loves. In Jakie’s case, he accepts that the two sides of him can coexist if he really wants to.
On the other hand, in Hester Street, the protagonist, Jake, completely rejects his immigrant background. As a “Yankee” he adapts to the American-ness and avoids having to identify himself as a Jewish immigrant. When his wife, Gitl, arrives with his son, Yossele (whom Jake renames Joey), from Russia, he is taken aback by her orthodoxies and tries to force her into becoming something she is new to and someone she is not. Personally, I found his character to be annoying, even though he was essentially giving her more “freedom.” Jake acted violently and wanted to completely forget he was a Jew and also find faults in his wife because he didn’t love her. The story concludes with Jake and Gitl divorcing and marrying people they actually love and that are suited for the lives they want to live. In this case, Jake completely forgets his old life and starts anew as an American. However, I would argue that, like Jakie, he would eventually re-embrace his culture in one way or another.
