A comparison of selected contemporary Jewish American prose by Allen Hoffman

Essay from the year 2009 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1, Martin Luther University (Institut fur Anglistik und Amerikanistik), course: Hauptseminar ‘Contemporary Jewish American Writers’, language: English, abstract: About twenty years ago Bonnie K. Lyons suggested that every writer, regardless of which cultural origin, writes out of a culture serving as the battlefield of conflicting visions and values. Eventually, the writer may either embrace or attack his cultural heritage. At a first glance it seems to be indefinite where to pigeonhole the abstract above regarding to Lyons'ndistinction but after opening oneself to the tales of the reviewed contemporary Jewish American writer the classification becomes definite. Taken from one of his short stories, the excerpt gives a brief glimpse into the authentic, exhilarant writing of Allen Hoffman. Truly refreshing characters who argue about things of mundane and devout significance as well as the usage of partially genuine parallels to the autho himself determine Hoffman’s prose which has sustainable effects on readers. He covers Jews, Jewish values, and idiosyncratic Jewish topics as actually urgent and particular characteristics of Jewish American prose. Although his literature comprises humorous and ironic valuations the respect and appreciation for the Jewish culture in times of clashes between tradition and renewal never gets lost.