gimpel the fool

In Isaac Bashevis Singer’s “Gimpel the Fool”, Gimpel is treated with no respect from his peers or the society of Frampol where he lives. Gimpel’s life has been riddled with tricks and lies from the townspeople for as long as he can remember. No one respects Gimpel or has any sympathy for him and his misfortunes. Gimpel allows himself to be the schlemiel of the town because of his unwillingness to stand up for himself and the truth (Sobeloff 1). Gimpel eventually causes himself so much misery by allowing himself to be the butt of all of the jokes in Frampol that he can no longer stand his own life. Gimpel believes whatever he hears, and that causes people to continue to belittle him. His friends and peers have deceived Gimpel since he was a boy in school (Singer 131). Gimpel’s peers would tell him things such as the Rabbi’s wife was pregnant or that his mother and father had risen from the grave and were looking for him (Singer 131-132). Gimpel believed all of the lies because he did not know what else to do (Singer 131). Elka also told her share of lies to Gimpel, which he also reluctantly believed. Elka convinced him that the child that she had only four months after there wedding was his son. She also told

The truth is finally revealed to Gimpel whenever Elka is on her deathbed and almost all of his suspicions are confirmed to be true, yet he still comforts and praises Elka proving that he is still a coward and cannot change. Gimpel almost seems like he needs to believe what people tell him in order to survive (Fraustino 1). Gimpel had become so tired of the way things had been going for him that he decided to run and to search for a better life that he knew must exist somewhere. Gimpel still sees Elka in his dreams but instead of being angry with her still, he feels a sense of comfort and a longing to be with her. Gimpel may have believed all of the lies and deceptions because he thought it would be easier to go along with them than to try to stand up against the whole town and all of their cunningness (Sobeloff 2). Gimpel"tms friends picked on him in school and continue by convincing him to marry Elka. He has a feeling that the child is not his, but he lets the Rabbi and Elka convince him otherwise with foolish reasoning (Singer 134). She also tells him that she is faithful to him when in fact, she is cheating on him behind his back. Gimpel does not even realize what truth is and how you can tell it apart from everything else (Fraustino 1). Gimpel was driven from Frampol by his own cowardly behavior and the misery that he brought upon himself. Gimpel goes home that night and informs the children that he is leaving Frampol and going out "Into the world. It is written that a good man lives by his faith", and Gimpel believed every word of it just as he did with everything else the rabbi told him (Singer 139). They tell him things to make a fool of him such as he must kiss the wall of the rabbinical court after every visit, or that the messiah has come (Singer 132). Elka tells Gimpel, "It was ugly how I deceived you all these years .