Conversion of the Jews

In the story “Conversion of the Jews”, Ozzie goes through a monumental change in his life. Ozzie Freedman, changes from an innocent child to being a confused young man, in a short span of time. For the first time in his life, his mom hits him. A few days later, his rabbi hits him, leaving him in shock, pain, and rage. During this week, he revolts against Jewish policy, questioning why Jews only care about themselves, and no one else. In this short story, Philip Roth, documents a change is Ozzie Freedman’s life, how he goes from having a mother and a rabbi, to losing control and ending his childhood early, all because they refused to listen to his ideas.

Curiosity was the beginning of the end of Ozzie’s childhood. The termination happened earlier than anyone could have anticipated. He had to adjust to adult life before he was ready. His childhood ended before his Bar Mitzvah, before he was a man. He questioned his family’s religion, and then everything ensuing spiraled out of control. He questioned why Jews only cared for other Jews. This topic came up in free discussion time, following a plane crash in LaGuardia airport. Ozzie wondered why the Jewish community was only concerned with “those dead eight Jewish names”(142), and only “because of the eight she [his grandmother] said the plane crash was ‘a tragedy’”(142). When Ozzie asked why, Rabbi Binder turned his question down, which made Ozzie furious. He shouted, “that he wished all fifty-eight were Jews” (142).

When Rabbi Binder smacked Ozzie, the young student fell into a state of shock and completely abandoned all love and respect for Judaism. He forced his classmates and his own rabbi to bow down to him, breaking one of the most coveted commandments. This happened in a large part, because Ozzie’s rabbi, was an atrocious influence upon him. He was so judgmental that “Consequently when free-discussion time rolled around none of the students felt too free”(145). Rabbi Binder also discounted his questions regarding Jesus. Ozzie presented a justifiable argument towards why Jesus could have been real or the son of god. He argued “‘if He [god] could make all that [the world] in six days, and He could pick the six days He wanted right out of nowhere, why couldn’t He let a woman have a baby without having intercourse’” (141). Rabbi Binder refused to answer his question, rather, “‘he starts screaming that I [Ozzie] was deliberately simple-minded and a wise-guy’” (142). Rabbi Binder and Ozzie got into a fight. Binder commanded him, “‘Apologize Ozzie, Apologize!’ It was a threat” (146). He then smacked Ozzie directly in the nose. It was quick, but demoralizing and represented much more than just physical pain for Ozzie. It symbolized suppression and anger. It was an attack on his own curiosity. It contained all of the rabbi’s anger, which can be a very powerful force if used wrongly. It literally broke Ozzie’s self-control, causing the young man to flee for the building’s roof.

Mrs. Freedman lost control, and punished Ozzie, leaving a lasting impact on his mood. She inflicted physical punishment on Ozzie for the first time in his life, a result of being called to Ozzie’s school a third time. After Ozzie explained why she was being called in, she went ballistic, and “for the first time in their life together she hit Ozzie across the face with her hand” (143). This scarred Ozzie, and “all through the chopped liver and chicken soup part of the dinner Ozzie cried” (143-144). Ozzie cannot get over the physical pain he has experienced at the hand of his mother.