A Reading of Malamud's "The Magic Barrel"

Bernard Malamud's "The Magic Barrel" is a story about a person's quest for personal and spiritual redemption. Set in the month of February, the story starts by presenting the supposed dilemma of the main character. He is Leon Finkle, a rabbinical student on his sixth year at the Yeshivah University, set to be ordained 4 months hence. An acquaintance has apparently told him that he "might find it easier to win himself a congregation if he …

…to his redemption. From this, it could be said that the way to one's redemption cannot be found in some "barrel," which, as Finkle puts it, is just a "figment of [one's] imagination." This easy way to redemption is just "magic," which is nonexistent in reality. Ultimately, the quest for redemption is filled with suffering and pain, and can only be sustained through the willingness of one to love both God and other people unconditionally.