A SUMMERS READING BY BERNARD MALAMUD The Title

“A SUMMER’S READING” BY BERNARD MALAMUD

The Title The story is called “A Summer’s Reading” ironically (because George did not read any books during the summer, but went to the library to start his reading in the Fall). Malamud didn’t finish the short story, telling us what would become of George in the future. Malamud left this “fact” open to our imagination.

THE PLOT • George lived in a poor neighborhood and had a life he didn’t like. However, he was passive and did nothing to change or improve his life. Respect was very important to him, but he did nothing to earn it. He escaped reality by going to the park, which was his refuge. He dreamed there about a better life. When he lied (which was also a way of escaping reality) To Mr. Cattanzara, he did it because he wanted him to respect him. His neighbors heard that he was reading books and he became respected by everyone. People who had ignored him al his life suddenly respected him! His sister even gave him some pocket money. Suddenly, his mood changed and he became more active at home and didn’t need to go to his refuge. But he lived a lie and didn’t really start reading good books. • His happiness didn’t last too long because he felt guilty and was afraid to meet Mr. Cattanzara and be questioned. One day George met him when he was drunk. George felt terrible when he understood that Mr. Cattanzar knew the truth about his lie. When Mr. Cattanzara told him: “Don’t do what I did!” – he meant to tell him not to waste his life as he had wasted his own. George was depressed again and after staying in his room for days, he decided to go to his refuge, the park (as usual when he was unhappy). He was sure Mr. Cattanzara had told everyone the truth about him, but not only had he not done it, he had told people that he had finished reading the books. That’s when he really ran to the library and started reading. • Luckily for George, Mr. Cattanzara cared about him. He felt a need to help George and he did this by spreading the lie that George was reading a hundred books, and continued lying for George and telling the neighbors that he had finished his reading. No one had ever done such a favor for George before, and the gesture motivated him to actually start reading. Thus, the story ends optimistically.

The Characters

George (The Protagonist) George Stoyonovich is a nineteen-year-old highschool dropout living aimlessly in the workingclass neighborhood in Brooklyn. He "considered registering in a night high school" but "he did not like the idea of the teachers always telling him what to do. He felt they had not respected him. "

Mr. Cattanzara- The Change Maker (The Antagonist) Mr. Cattanzara is a poor immigrant of probably Italian origin. He is one of George’s neighbors. The writer described him as a “stocky, baldheaded” man who worked in a change booth on an IRT station. Mr. Cattanzara is uneducated. He leads a simple and boring life Thenarratordescribeshimasa“quietdrunk. ”Mr. Cattanzara stands for the frustration of the people of the neighborhood. All the residents in the suburb live in an ugly “hot and stony” place.

Mr. Cattanzara is a self- educated (autodidact) person. He reads the New-York Times, a high leveled paper aimed at the educated public from the first page to the last, which is a rather unusual way of reading a newspaper. He is probably the only person in the whole neighborhood who is interested in George’s future. It is most likely that Mr. Cattanzara used to be like George in his youth. He failed to fulfill “The American Dream” of success. His life in the present is extremely dull. Moreover, his drinking may be interpreted as an escape from frustration.

Sophie Stoyonovich is George's elder sister, a "tall bony girl of twenty-three" who works at a cafeteria in the Bronx. She has to take care of the house because their mother was dead. She sometimes reads "good books. "

THEMES

Education In immigrant families the value of getting an education is very high and it is considered the way out of a life of poverty and of being outsiders and dependent. The story emphasizes the importance of formal education and starts with George’s failure to stay in the school system. Mr. Cattanzara although a wise man and a well read and self taught man had not had a formal education and is thus stuck in the miserable life that he has.

The American Dream George’s dreams of having a house and a good job which he has when he escapes to the park and away from the dreary neighborhood are similar to those of many Americans who want to improve their lives. They believe that by material prosperity they will achieve happiness as well.

Respect Malamud shows in the story how respect for people can change and motivate them. People’s dignity is crucial to their development. When George does not feel respected he escapes but when he is respected he does not need to live in a world of dreams. When people know they do not deserve the respect they get it can be destructive just as not being respected.

The book George reads: