It's all in the family, as they say. And in this case, it really is: religion, art, and love tend to feed the feuding-fire in the Lev household. Asher loves his parents dearly and feels he's betraying them by becoming an artist. At the same time, he can't stop becoming an artist, since it's in his blood. Family is the root of almost all conflict in this story, so you know it's a pretty important theme.
Questions About Family
- How do the members of the Lev family express their love for each other?
- What roles do Uncle Yitzchok and Uncle Yaakov play in helping us understand the dynamics of the Lev family?
- Can you think of a time in the book when Asher's family actually helps his career rather than hindering it?
- Is the concept of "family" necessarily limited to biological relations only, or can it mean something bigger in this book?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Families are an important part of the Hasidic community in Chaim Potok's book: without them, the Orthodox Judaism could not survive and thrive as depicted here.
Asher's love of his family is simultaneously helpful and detrimental to his career as an artist.