Gimpel the fool

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Gimpel the Fool”: Why Should One Not Believe? Isaac Bashevis Singer’s short story, “Gimpel the fool”, discuss and analyze the theme of belief within the Jewish faith. Gimpel is a simple man who tends to be naive at times, but lives his life on faith alone. He is persecuted throughout the town for being gullible, but lives his life on a grander scale of faith, which makes him stronger. Gimpel says, “However, I revolved that I would always believe what I was told. What’s the good of not believing? Today it’s your wife you don’t believe; tomorrow it’s God Himself you won’t take stock in” (Writers of the Twentieth Century 333). This valuable statement puts the theme in layman’s terms: why should one not believe? There are many disadvantages of not having faith in our lives such as; disbelief makes us bitter, makes us not willing to trust people and in the Judeo-Christian ideals, God can not give us wisdom if we do not believe. Gimpel, even though his faith was tested, was not a bitter man. Although, he believed whatever story he was told, he was not an ignorant man. He was a man of integrity and belief, which were the foundations of his personality. With this in mind, Gimpel was not a bitter person. He lived his life being ridiculed, teased and still maintained a pleasant attitude. There are few people, in today’s society, that are like Gimpel. Many people pass through life without a happy thought or moment and this is due to the lack of belief. Even though Gimpel’s wife, Elka, was never faithful to him, he was still a happy man. The townspeople and even the Rabbi told him of her infidelities, but he placed his faith in his wife. He did not have a reason to not believe her, so he trusted that she was faithful. Gimpel defeats the bitterness buy having a steadfast belief in human goodness and accepts his life as it is. ( Britannica) In today’s

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