The theme of The Fixer by Bernard Malamud can be decisively agreed upon to be the horrific (and ever prevalent) treatment of minorities. This novel deals with a wrongly accused and convicted Jewish man living in Russia. Yakov Bok is a simple handyman, and excluding living and working in Kiev without passports he has done little wrong in his life. Despite this, the entirety of the novel takes place in jail, with Yakov Bok being the prisoner. He is convicted with the charge of mutilating and murdering a young boy. Although he did not do it, Yakov sits in jail for two years refusing to confess and awaiting a trial. When Yakov finally talks to the prosecuting attorney, the conversation goes as to be expected - terribly. Even though he tries to defend himself, Yakov struggles due to
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We also have reason to believe that your masters are dickering with the British to help you overthrow the legitimate Russian government and make yourselves rulers of our land and people. We are not exactly naïve. We know your purposes. We have read the ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion,’ and the ‘Communist Manifesto,’ and fully understand your revolutionary intentions!’” (204-205). If the person on trial had been of russian origins, they would not have been handed a deck of ‘crimes’ they have done. They would not have sat in jail for two years waiting for a trial that felt like it would never come. Most certainly, they would have not been convicted without sufficient evidence. The russians quite simply put, plucked Yakov out of a group of Jews. They needed someone to blame and Yakov fit the requirements - being near the crime and being hated due to his religion. At the beginning of The Fixer Yakov is a man with only a vague religion and no political
We also have reason to believe that your masters are dickering with the British to help you overthrow the legitimate Russian government and make yourselves rulers of our land and people. We are not exactly naïve. We know your purposes. We have read the ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion,’ and the ‘Communist Manifesto,’ and fully understand your revolutionary intentions!’” (204-205). If the person on trial had been of russian origins, they would not have been handed a deck of ‘crimes’ they have done. They would not have sat in jail for two years waiting for a trial that felt like it would never come. Most certainly, they would have not been convicted without sufficient evidence. The russians quite simply put, plucked Yakov out of a group of Jews. They needed someone to blame and Yakov fit the requirements - being near the crime and being hated due to his religion. At the beginning of The Fixer Yakov is a man with only a vague religion and no political