A New Beginning

The Magic Barrel is a moving story of emotional birth for the character Leo Finkle. The author, Bernard Malamud, explains the first inkling of Leo’s revival by using the seasons to explain the changes in Leo. “Although it was still February winter was on its last legs, signs of which he had for the first time in years begun to notice” (Malamud 945). Leo Fickle, a rabbinical student in the Yeshivah University, finds his life to this point although satisfying, completely devoid of any emotional development, which the author shows us by Leo’s use of a marriage broker. “He remarked in passing that the function of the marriage broker was ancient and honorable, highly approved in the Jewish community, because it made practical the necessary” (944). Leo was clearly approaching marriage like a business transaction. Although his parents were dedicated to each other, Leo grew up in a home devoid of love. The author explains Leo’s parent’s relationship clearly as “their everlast...