STUDY GUIDE FOR THE FIXER BY BERNARD MALAMUD

SYMBOLISM / MOTIFS / IMAGERY / SYMBOLS

The Title of the Book

As the story comes to an end and as we review the history of that period, we see that Yakov is playing a part in fixing the political situation. Not only is he a fixer, or repairman, in the sense that he repairs broken items, he is, in a larger sense, by staying the course and not bending, helping to repair what is wrong in Russia.

Green

Bernard Malamud never tells us directly what the color green means to him, but, from its use in this tale; one gets the feeling that it has an unpleasant connotation.

The Jew as Everyman

The author, while telling the story of a Jew, relates it as it could happen to any one.

KEY FACTS

Title
The Fixer

Author
Bernard Malamud

Date Published
1966

Meaning of the Title
“The Fixer” refers to Yakov Bok’s occupation. It also refers to what he does in playing his part in the larger political happenings of his time.

Setting
Russia in the early Twentieth Century, in and near Kiev.

Genre
Historical fiction

Protagonist
Yakov Bok

Antagonist
The Deputy Warden

Mood
Somber

Point of View
Third person limited

Tense
Mostly past tense. Chapter VIII, 2, written in the present tense, is an exception

Rising Action
The rising action occurs between the arrest of Yakov Bok and his refusal to sign a confession.

Exposition
Chronologically, the exposition comes before the rising action. It is separated from the rising action by the inciting moment. In the exposition, we see Yakov in the shtetl, on his journey to Kiev, and trying to get settled in Kiev. The exposition ends when Yakov is arrested, the inciting moment.

In The Fixer, the author first presents the inciting moment, and then he takes us back in time to when Yakov was living in the shtetl. The story proceeds chronologically from there. At the end of Chapter II, we are again at the time of Yakov’s arrest. The tale continues chronologically from there.

Climax
The climax occurs when Yakov writes a statement that what is in the confession is a lie in the place where he is expected to sign the confession.

Outcome
The outcome occurs as Yakov is taken via carriage to his trial.

Major Themes
Freedom; Responsibility

Minor Themes
Man’s Inhumanity to Man

The Fixer by Bernard Malamud-Free BookNotes Summary

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