The Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz Analysis

Set in Montreal, Quebec, Mordecai Richler’s novel The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz broke off from the existing Canadian satirical tradition by eschewing the typical rural settings of previous Canadian satirists. Still, Duddy's obsession with land is a modern-day invader-settler narrative. In this regard, the novel follows the guidelines of the classic Canadian story. Owning land, for Duddy, a minority, represents a ticket to obtaining mainstream visibility and power, seeing as ownership carries with it a certain prestige. The theme of acquiring land is introduced by Simcha, Duddy’s grandfather, repeatedly throughout the bildungsroman. Simcha tells Duddy, “a man without land is nobody,” () and the boy turns the concept into an inner mantra.
Urbain Street's Jewish ghetto. On his walk through the poorer area in St. Agathe, Duddy compares the “yards littered with junk and small hopeless vegetable patches” with “St Dominique Street,” () the street on which he trudged to school. This connects Duddy’s desire to reform his life with his desire to reform the land in St. Agathe and become a hero in that regard. He considers himself a “public benefactor” (317) who is going to “create jobs” (317), and in doing so become a hero. These pursuits are what guide Duddy’s internalized quest for self-identity. Duddy may be judged in a moral context but the frame is ill-adapted to the picture. Duddy’s need for land is deep-seated in his brain and this is illustrated by the incessant repetition of his mantra “a man without land is nothing” (). In this regard, the land has an almost hypnotic effect on Duddy. Consider the fact that, in one passage, Duddy’s gaze remains fixed on the land he would later come to own, rather than on Yvette, the girl he is making love with. An outside perspective may consider his ignorance of Yvette during this encounter as being morally reprehensible, but this is how Duddy’s compulsive desire manifests itself. Duddy regards the land in a divine lens seeing as the collection of it is his admission into “manhood.” Forcing his dream
What is rather worth considering is why this is the case, by coming to an understanding of who Duddy is, and who he thinks he is. Like Rose in Alice Munro’s Who Do You Think You Are, Duddy is defined by where he comes from (St. Urbain Street is to Hanratty, as Duddy’s family is to Flo). Duddy’s obsession with the land in St. Agathe can be attributed to his reliance on his socio-economic surroundings. His environment, in this regard, becomes a stand-in for the lack of positive influence that has permeated his life. This to say, both his experiences with the Jewish ghetto and his understanding of “the Canadian dream” are what are responsible for Duddy’s immorality. The final line of the novel, spoken by Duddy, is “you see” (319). What is left to be noted is not that Duddy has “achieved” the status of becoming a “somebody,” but rather that Duddy has not truly been “seen” by anyone in the novel. Perhaps these final lines words are not so much an attempt to prove himself successful, as they are a plea for