Previous
Allusions
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Joseph & Anthony:
Joseph Bloeckman and Anthony Patch are foils for each other because they have entirely opposite characteristics. Joseph is hardworking, diligent, and mature. Anthony is lazy and careless. He focuses on his own pleasure (particularly material pleasure) and expects financial support from his family. In Chapter 1, the narrator describes his refusal to work:
Anthony was glad he wasn’t going to work on his book. The notion of sitting down and conjuring up, not only words in which to clothe thoughts but thoughts worthy of being clothed—the whole thing was absurdly beyond his desires. Emerging from his bath he polished himself with the meticulous attention of a bootblack. Then he wandered into the bedroom, and whistling the while a weird, uncertain melody, strolled here and there buttoning, adjusting, and enjoying the warmth of the thick carpet on his feet.
Here, Anthony is glad not to be working. After attending Harvard and traveling the world, he returned to New York to live on his family's money. He prefers to clothe himself than to metaphorically "clothe" his thoughts in words. Worldly distractions, especially physical pleasures like the feeling of the carpet, prevent him from achieving anything truly meaningful. He finds similar distractions in alcohol, party scenes, jazz music, and female beauty, and he is drawn to anything that pleases his senses without much effort.
Joseph, on the other hand, is a mature man who has been entirely self-sufficient for many years. The following passage from Chapter 3 gives insight into how he differs from Anthony:
Joseph Bloeckman never danced, but spent the music time watching the others with the bored tolerance of an elder among children. He was a dignified man and a proud one. Born in Munich he had begun his American career as a peanut vender with a travelling circus [...] Just when the moving picture had passed out of the stage of a curiosity and become a promising industry he was an ambitious young man of twenty-six with some money to invest, nagging financial ambitions and a good working knowledge of the popular show business.
Unlike Anthony, who always dances at parties, Joseph refuses to dance and remains "dignified" and "proud." In every word and gesture, he embodies diligence and maturity. Joseph's myriad achievements briefly excite Gloria, who believes he might get her a job in the film industry, but she ends up falling for Anthony. Joseph, with comparative tenacity, worked his way up from being a peanut vendor. He willingly did menial jobs in pursuit of a larger goal and demonstrated that men of Anthony's generation are capable of making their own money. His character, much like that of Richard Caramel (a successful author and Harvard graduate), makes Anthony seem even more greedy, dramatic, and ridiculous.
Related Themes:
Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Joseph & Anthony:
Joseph Bloeckman and Anthony Patch are foils for each other because they have entirely opposite characteristics. Joseph is hardworking, diligent, and mature. Anthony is lazy and careless. He focuses on his own pleasure (particularly material pleasure) and expects financial support from his family. In Chapter 1, the narrator describes his refusal to work:
Anthony was glad he wasn’t going to work on his book. The notion of sitting down and conjuring up, not only words in which to clothe thoughts but thoughts worthy of being clothed—the whole thing was absurdly beyond his desires. Emerging from his bath he polished himself with the meticulous attention of a bootblack. Then he wandered into the bedroom, and whistling the while a weird, uncertain melody, strolled here and there buttoning, adjusting, and enjoying the warmth of the thick carpet on his feet.
Here, Anthony is glad not to be working. After attending Harvard and traveling the world, he returned to New York to live on his family's money. He prefers to clothe himself than to metaphorically "clothe" his thoughts in words. Worldly distractions, especially physical pleasures like the feeling of the carpet, prevent him from achieving anything truly meaningful. He finds similar distractions in alcohol, party scenes, jazz music, and female beauty, and he is drawn to anything that pleases his senses without much effort.
Joseph, on the other hand, is a mature man who has been entirely self-sufficient for many years. The following passage from Chapter 3 gives insight into how he differs from Anthony:
Joseph Bloeckman never danced, but spent the music time watching the others with the bored tolerance of an elder among children. He was a dignified man and a proud one. Born in Munich he had begun his American career as a peanut vender with a travelling circus [...] Just when the moving picture had passed out of the stage of a curiosity and become a promising industry he was an ambitious young man of twenty-six with some money to invest, nagging financial ambitions and a good working knowledge of the popular show business.
Unlike Anthony, who always dances at parties, Joseph refuses to dance and remains "dignified" and "proud." In every word and gesture, he embodies diligence and maturity. Joseph's myriad achievements briefly excite Gloria, who believes he might get her a job in the film industry, but she ends up falling for Anthony. Joseph, with comparative tenacity, worked his way up from being a peanut vendor. He willingly did menial jobs in pursuit of a larger goal and demonstrated that men of Anthony's generation are capable of making their own money. His character, much like that of Richard Caramel (a successful author and Harvard graduate), makes Anthony seem even more greedy, dramatic, and ridiculous.
Related Themes:
