Edmund Wilson Character Analysis

New York Jew is a novel written by Alfred Kazin and published in 1978. The main character of this passage is Edmund Wilson, a literary critic who existed in real life and who inspired the author. This text is a descriptive one : we are told about Wilson’s life in Provincetown, the way he spends his days and there is also a description of his physical appearance and of his attitude. Then, we can wonder in what way Edmund Wilson can be considered as « a character ». First, I am going to show you how the description of his physical appearance reveals that he is someone singular and like no other. Then, let’s see how people consider him and what kind of reactions he provokes ; mainly respect and astonishment. Finally, I am going to broach the …show more content…
Indeed, at the beginning of the second paragraph it is written « Wilson’s arrival on the Wellfleet beach regularly caused a stir » (l9), which shows that he did not go unnoticed. However, it is hard to say if it is a good impression or not because opinions are divided. We are told about « a distinct mental avidity and nervous unrest » (l10), this agitation is probably caused by the fact that he is really outstanding, and everybody wants to see this « phenomenon ». Besides, the narrator expressed that he has an « immense authority for everyone » (l18) which shows that everybody respects him, whether he likes him or not. To go deeper, it is especially the literary professors who think a lot of him and who even talk about him to their classes, as if he was a sort of example. Furthermore, he is at once a source of amusement, astonishment and intimidation ; the paronomasia « it amused and amazed » (l26) reinforces the fact that he did not go unnoticed. Thus, Edmund Wilson is a center of interest and I will even say that in some way he is a « circus freak », and the end of the passage under study is relevant to show it. Indeed in the last paragraph we are told that he is « at the center of everyone’s attention, sometimes forced against his will into the usual gossip and polemic ». It is the bad side of his « fame », even when he wants to be alone walking and looking at nature he cannot. The last element I will talk about in the second part is the opinion of the narrator about Edmund Wilson : it is obvious that he is not neutral. He shows his opinion using « I », as at line 14 : « brought out in me… » and he depicts him as someone disdainful with a lonely proud face ; he uses some demonstrative pronouns like « that »to make the reader know his own opinion about Wilson. To sum up, I think that the opinion people have about Wilson helps the reader