Narrative Point-of-View

This story is told from the first person limited perspective, meaning that the reader is given only information which the narrator, also the protagonist of the story, also has. This is effective in that, while the story centers on the suicide and religious crisis of Isaac Kornfeld, the "pagan rabbi," it is portrayed as a reflection upon the religious and identity crisis of the narrator himself. The reader is presented with the events and characters only from the perspective of the narrator. Thus, each element of the story further develops the character of the narrator.

Story Framing

As in many of Ozick's stories, this one is built upon multiple types of story framing. The first person narrator begins by narrating the events of the "present" time in the story, which begin when he learns of the suicide of rabbi Kornfeld. The narrator, however, explains the significance of...