"Gimpel the Fool" by Isaac Bashevis Singer
             "Gimpel the Fool" by Isaac Bashevis Singer describes the life of a Jewish orphan in an eastern European Jewish village who is labeled a fool by the community. The overly trustworthy Gimpel allows his fellow villagers to trick him into wedding Elka, the village prostitute, who is also an orphan. He lives happily with Elka and her illegitimate child until he finds her with other men and asks the rabbi for a divorce. Gimpel longingly reconciles his relationship with Elka and she bears six more children, but only on her deathbed when reveals the truth of her promiscuity and the children's bastardization that he loses his faith in God and his innocence. He regains his faith by refusing to surrender to devilish impulses that incite him to seek retribution on his community, and in so doing, frees himself to travel the world. Gimpel, who lives the youthful half of his life being called a fool, keeps peace by trusting in others and in God; however, only after he loses faith and has to rediscover God does he begin to believe in himself.
             Gimpel keeps peace in his community by giving others the benefit of the doubt while admiring others' resolve, for he lacks firm beliefs in anything but God and those he admires. Instead of causing trouble, Gimpel allows others to have the satisfaction of deceiving him. He reflects, "I was no weakling. If I slapped someone he'd see all the way to Cracow. But I'm really not a slugger by nature. I think to myself, Let it pass. So they take advantage of me... Second, I had to believe when the whole town came down on me! If I ever dared to say, 'Ah, you're kidding!' there was trouble. People got angry" (99). He later states, "I believed them, and I hope it did them some good" (99). Moreover, he admires his peers' resolve because he lacks the courage of his own convictions...