In His Own Story....

Melissa McMahon

January 27 2009

Journal on Cahan

"Flora was going to protest and to threaten to leave without him, but she could neither speak nor stir from her seat. A nightmare of desolation and jealousy choked her- jealousy of the Scotchman's book, of the Little Russian shirt, of the empty tea glasses with the slices of lemon on their bottoms, of the whole excited crowd, and of Shaya's entire future, from which she seemed excluded." (806)

The end of Cahan's story, 'The Imported Bridegroom," leaves us with the image of Flora realizing that all that she thought she wanted for herself- a modern, respected way of life that had her surrounded with educated people- was not a way of life she expected it to be. After urging her new husband Shaya to abandon his Jewish identity in favor of her modern ideas- she is left with what Shaya has become- educated, yearning for the company of educated men, and burning with a desire to learn all he can about his new world. The contrast Cahan paints between the two lovebirds in this moment is striking- Shaya's over flowing passion and pride for his new life- and Flora's dejected disappointment over what it has turned out to be. It makes the reader rejoice somewhat that at least Shaya is happy- his character is one that can be easily sympathized with as he deals with leaving his birth home for a country that urges his religion out of him. Cahan's sensitivity to this issue leaves us over-whelmingly on Shaya's side.

The character of Shaya seems to be a portrait of Cahan himself. Shaya's later passion for socialist literature seems to be a reflection of what Cahan agreed with during his time. "Cahan transferred his commitment to socialism to his new country, and he devoted all the time he could spare from work and study radical ideas among the Jewish working men of New York." -Wikipedia. The most successful thing about Cahan's writing was the very raw and human emotions he used as the back drops to his story- his story telling ability is so effective because he seems to place himself in the stories which lends them a much more powerful voice- in this case- the voice of Shaya.

Cahan, like Booker T. Washington, Winnemucca, and Du Bois, gave a voice to the Jewish immigrants- one that had long been ignored. Cahan remains one of the most powerful and inspirational writers of all time- and one of the only to capture immigrant life and the immense story behind it.