Duddy Kravitz Essay, Research Paper

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz

Duddy’s obsession with land lies within his grandfather, Simcha. When Duddy was small,

he spoke those unforgettable words to him, “A man without land is nobody.”

When it seemed as if nobody cared or respected him, Simcha did. Duddy did not receive

the same kind of love from his father or uncle as Lennie did. When Duddy comes back

from work at, he asks, “Why [Max] didn’t answer any of [his] letters?” He replies he

wasn’t “one for letters.”

“But Duddy remembered that when Lennie had worked as a camp counsellor one summer

his father had written every week. He had driven out to visit him twice.”(pp. 104 & 105)

Duddy did not have the same kind of affection and devotion Lennie and Max shared. The

same situation came from his uncle, Benjy. At first sight, Benjy described him as having

a “thin crafty face, the quick black eyes and the restlessness…the grain so shrewd and

knowing, all made a bad impression on Uncle Benjy.” (p. 61) Benjy supported Lennie,

giving him money for his education. With the exception of Simcha, he had no other

parental support which is the reason why Simcha words had such a great effect on him.

Duddy gains what he had wanted in its acquisition, respect. Everyone except Simcha, Mr.

MacPherson, and Uncle Benjy thought he was going to be a nobody. He wanted so much

to prove them wrong and he has. We may say he has gained self assurance, restating the

fact he was a somebody important. Since his days at Fletcher’s Field High School, he ran

a gang based on respect, not friendship. Things do not change when he becomes an adult.

Virgil is just one of the people Duddy uses to get money for his land. He feels no grief for

hurting his so called friends because he has never experienced true friendship. His

purchasing of land would push him into higher step in society. What he gains is nothing

compared to what he loses.

Duddy has lost his innocence. No longer is he the pure and na ve boy as before, but now

a corrupt, immoral man. Duddy has chosen a life without conscience or goodness,

beginning a life with no morals and corrupt “friends.” He does not think twice to people

he has hurt which displays the deterioration of his character. He has traded morality for

destructive materialistic values. Simcha believed in him but now looks at him in shame

for he knows the respect he will gain is shallow. The strangers who respect him look at

his money, not at his heart. To Simcha, money is not everything. He has lived a life based

on respect but for character, not riches. Simcha’s words have impacted Duddy’s life but

not in the way he wanted, never like this in his darkest nightmares. There is no more

respect towards Duddy in Simcha’s eyes but in this twisted world, respect from the

overall public. Duddy knows of Simcha disapproves of his actions but at the end, he does

not care, he thinks everything will be all right. This is the kind of person he has turned

out to be. Someone who does not understand what is wrong from right. His conscience

feels nothing, not even for the person who truly supported him from the start. If this is

how his mind works for someone he loves, it frightening to think how his treats someone

he hates. He loses the meaning of respect and decency and gains a numbness to

corruption. Simcha’s ironic words gained Duddy land but made him a heartless criminal.