The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz Essay

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler is the tale of a young greedy boy who feels that money is his path to happiness and pride. Duddy simply stomps all over his friends and his family as well (to a certain extent). Richler feels unreserved sympathy towards Duddy because, in essence, Duddy is Richler written down and diversified. Duddy is a character based on Mordecai's own personality.

Duddy Kravitz is a crook, a blackmailer and a cheat. However, Duddy Kravitz is Richler' s crook and Duddy will never be abandoned. In The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, everyone but the Richler himself shuns Duddy. The entire concept of the novel was for Duddy to learn an important lesson, what makes someone significannot

. The following is an instance where Richler does force pity on the reader through his writing:

"We betrayed you I suppose."

"Yes you did."

He had spoken with such quiet and certainty that she began to doubt herself.

"You'll come crawling," he said.

" I want you to know something. I'd sue you. I'd even get Irwin Shubert to take the case. But Virgil won't let me. He doesn't even want to hear about it any more."

"You hate me," Duddy dais. "Is that possible?"

"I think you're rotten. I wish you were dead."

"You don't understand, Yvette. Why can't I make you understand? Listen, Yvette, I--"

But she turned away from him.

The paragraph above does show how the readers' emotions are in turmoil because of the sort of double standard created when the story is told so subjectively. Here even the other characters in the novel are shown not knowing whether to understand or condemn Duddy.

Duddy' s character is not often sympathized. However, Richler somehow finds a way to incorporate compassion. Although the reader does not feel that he should be feeling for Duddy, the way Richler writes makes the reader feel heartless. Even when the reader does not want to be happy for Duddy, the written

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