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A Beacon in the Night

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A Beacon in the Night
A Beacon in the Night

In the story, “A Beacon in the Night” by Morris Lurie, the author describes the problem of idealizing somebody. The story takes the place in a Jewish community and is narrated by a fifteen-year old boy, whose father is delighted by Yossel Shepps. Yossel is twenty-two, and it’s his last semester to become a doctor. Also he’s helping his parents to run their restaurant. There are described two sides in the story, the first how father likes the way Yossel lives and the other one, how the narrator doesn’t. When somebody doesn’t like a person or he idealize him, it’s very hard to keep rational thinking about him and that is what the narrator and his father are doing, but in different ways.
The narrator describes Yossel Shepps sarcastically:”Yossel is a beacon. Yossel is a signpost in this murky world. Yossel is a light so straight and true your heart takes one look and wants to fly up and sing.” He thinks that Yossel doesn’t have a perfect look, and not even the look of a doctor. But in only one semester he will become one, and he is still that young. Also, he speeds straight from the lectures to help his parents at Café Zion, where the narrator and his family go every Sunday. According to the narrator’s father, “Yossel is a golden wonder, a blessing, a saint,” but the narrator doesn’t agree, maybe because he’s little bit jealous.
The father of the narrator is fruiterer. He has a very tough life and works hard. He dreams like every father that his sons have better and easier lives, and he sees the perfect example of how to do that in Yossel Shepps. The narrator’s father admires Yossel and he is always interested about his life. Every time the family visits the café, the father asks Yossel’s parents about Yossel’s study, achievements and plans. The father just idealized Yossel and doesn’t even want to hear from his son, when he’s mentioning things that Yossel isn’t perfect.
The narrator of the story is a young boy, who’s dreaming to become a

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