Tiphanie
June 22, 2007
Essay Draft Three
How Was Shadrach Cohen Americanized?
Bruno Lessing, author of “The Americanization of Shadrach Cohen” presents the main character, Shadrach Cohen's process of being Americanized. Cohen, upon the request of his two sons, comes to the Untied States to invest further capital in their business; however, he suffers a cultural shock when realizing his two sons’ big change of appearance and habits, abandoning treasured religion customs. To win his two sons’ respect, he gets down to fostering the growth of his sons’ business. Accompanied by the revival and prosperity of the business, Cohen’s persistence in old life is gradually replaced by flexibility in tenets and a faculty of adaptability because of his frequent contact with the outer world and shrewd businessmen. In the end, Cohen is recognized by the American society and resumes his son’s respect but still he insists upon a strict observance of every tenet of their religion.
Americanization is a neuter word, and its values depend on an individual’s behaviors. Cohen’s Americanization is supposed to be recognized and approbated. It is a involuntary process but with a strong consciousness of retaining the integrity of his character and the nobility of his heart. How was Cohen Americanized?
In brief, it consists of a fresh feeling in the beginning, followed by a cultural shock; a turning point comes and then a long term of adaptation and integration into the new environment, taking in good values, while retaining precious original cultural characteristics. Noteworthy of Cohen’s Americanization is the last stage. He assimilates good sides of the American culture and keeps precious traditions as well, contrast to his two son’s deviation from the religion.
So what indicates Cohen’s Americanization is an involuntary process? And in the process, what are the clues of his consciousness of retaining his integrity and nobility?
First of all, we can see clearly from the beginning of the story that the reason why Cohen sets foot on the United States is just to support his two sons in their business. So, what matters to Cohen at the beginning is only the happiness of the reunion with his two sons. He has never foreseen the forthcoming Americanization. From the motivation of his trip to the United States, we can reason that his process of Americanization has an involuntary beginning.
After Cohen’s two sons, Gottlieb and Abel welcomes him to the new land with open arms, the warm but short atmosphere of reunion and fresh feeling of this new land are encountered with a cultural shock. It takes Cohen some time to realize who these two “dapper-looking” men are while “Abel and Gottlieb looked at each other in dismay” (46) because their father’s typical appearance of the immigrant.
It is unexpected to Cohen that his two sons had undergone such a big change and it had never occurred to him that he would change to win his son’s respect back because of such difference between them. It develops involuntarily and we can always see Cohen sticks to the religious tenets.
For example, when the sons persuade Cohen to trim the beard to look more like an American, he responds, “I will keep my beard as it is” (46). Cohen holds that he should maintain his conservativeness, traditionalism, and integrity as a Jewish even though his sons are proud of themselves being Americanized. He can tolerate their change, but not conform to it.
After the strong shock in the beginning, Cohen and his sons reach a stalemate of the cultural shock. A cultural shock inevitably leads to many cultural conflicts.
In the cultural conflicts, Cohen does his utmost to be patient and his two sons try to put up with Cohen’s traditional habits which they had done away with. Cohen is “distressed and puzzled” about his sons’ pride of their Americanization but still tolerant of all their deviation from the religion while his two sons want to infect their father with the passion of being Americanized but do not dare to risk their father’s displeasure. There is a “wall” between them. Cohen can do nothing but tolerate for they are his sons and he adores them. It is a father’s nature. So, the tolerance in the stage of cultural shock is also involuntary, which will be exhausted and thus leads a big explosion of rage and impatience as a turning point in the process of Cohen’s Americanization.
We can cite an example in the story to show Cohen’s patience out of a father’s nature. Cohen’s reciting the grace after meals and donning the praying cap causes his son’s consternation. The two sons put it this way, “It’s not quite American.” Cohen doesn’t get angry but states in a gentle and educative manner, “Religion is the worship of Jehovah…Jehovah rules supreme over America even as He does over the country that you came from.” (47) And then his two sons change the topic and distract his attention.
Cohen always keeps carrying out those religious customs and habits and points out his son’s fault in abandoning these treasures. And gradually, the two sons begin to realize that their father cling to the habits and customs of his old life with a tenacity that fills them with despair. “The more they urged him (Cohen) to abandon his ways the more eager he seemed to become to cling to them.”(47)
As remarked before, there is no rule for the turning of the worm. Some worms, however, turn with a crash.
“Shadrach never lost his temper; never upbraided them”, he suffers the conflict, but keeps silent, but then explodes with a crash of turn. What is the turning point?
At the news that Gottlieb had contemplated getting married, Cohen is on top of the world. However, Cohen’s suppressed rage breaks out seconds later because Gottlieb does not allow Cohen to see his girl-friend out of the worry that his girlfriend will not accept Cohen’s old life style.
The turning point can be understood on account of Cohen’s motivation for setting foot on this new land. He adores his sons and looks forward to a warm reunion and a happy life. However, in reality, he suffers a culture shock, the estrangement between his sons and him, and uncertainty of the future. Under such circumstances, his determination to change and to be Americanized can be figured out. It is to resume the authority as a venerable figure and it is part of the involuntary process of Americanization.
From then on, he demands from his sons’ implicit obedience and profound respect. Many details in the story witness his dramatic changes of treatment to his sons, along with his managerial styles, including the intonation, his attitudes, and behaviors.
“Remember, this is my house” (48) says Cohen, to his sons to show his authority in home. He says, “Honor your father and your mother” (49) when dressing down a clerk; he requires, “Throw the cigar away” (49) when managing the lazy and inefficient staff.
What’s more, Cohen embarks on the task of familiarizing himself with the details of the business. Meanwhile, “He was slowly undergoing a change. A new life was unfolding itself before his eyes, he became broader-minded, more tolerant, and above all, more flexible in his tenets.” (50)The contact with the outer world quickly impresses him with the vast differences between his present surroundings and his old life in Russia. It is a involuntary process of knowing the new environment better though he had just planned to manage the business and had not expected that he would discover the tremendous difference between his old traditions and this new world.
When his sons see “vistas of prosperity beyond their wildest dreams”, they begin to look upon their father with increasing respect. It is what Cohen looks forward to attaining. However, what he attains is more than that.
Cohen is attracted by the charm of American life, of liberty, of democracy. He comes more and more into contact with American business men, from whom he learns many thins—principally the faculty of adaptability. He accepts a number of good values of the Americans. But he always “insists upon a strict observance of every tenet of their religion” (50). In other words, he clings to his traditions.
Their business booms, Cohen changes, his sons marvel. Cohen had expected that the business would prosper, had anticipated that his sons would respect him again, but he had never foreseen that he would undergo such a change, the so-called Americanization.
On one hand, the contact with the American society exerts a subtle influence on Cohen’s life style. When observing religious tenets, he becomes more flexible in tenets. On the other hand, the integration into the American culture is required by doing business. Cohen should realize that if he wants enhances the business, it is essential to know the American culture and integrate into it. Therefore, the last stage of Americanization, the adaptation, is also involuntary.
Cohen once comments on his sons’ behavior, “If becoming Americanized means becoming stupid, I must congratulate you upon the thoroughness of your work.” (49)Compared to the sons, Cohen knows his own strengths, “the true money-maker spirit, and the swiftness with which he grasps the most intricate phases of trade”(50) , the characteristics of the Jewish. He retains his strong points and combines these with the Americans’ positive values, which is reason why he succeeds in establishing himself as a venerable figure in American society.
Though the story doesn’t describe the process of Americanization of Cohen’s two sons, they should have experienced the same stages as Cohen does. In fact, the only difference between Cohen and his two sons is that Cohen embraces integrity of character and nobility of heart. Cohen knows what the traditions and the religion mean to him, what he should always insist on, and what his strengths are. Instead, his two sons only keep imitating the Americans without thinking carefully over their own identities, cultures and strong points.
Becoming Americanized doesn’t mean fast food, wearing jeans, dancing hip-hop, neither means sacrificing original traditions to integrating into the mainstream. Americanization should the result of adaptation rather than an objective.
Who can win respect when being Americanized, who can really establish himself in the mainstream in the trend of Americanization? It is those who shelve cultural diversity rather than conform to a new culture and are clear about what is right to do and do the right!