er the return of his money or the silver crown in his hands. Neither of which Lifschitz could produce. Albert then flies into an uncontrollable frenzy and curses his father, the curse that kills him. Malamud being Jewish often uses his religion in his stories and relates the importance of having faith in God. The place, which he set this story, was an inner city like most of his other works. The effects of suffering are the central point to Malamud's fiction, his Jews symbolize all victims and that his characters cannot be easily categorized as heroes or villains. It is never clarified whether the rabbi is a charlatan or if he can perform miracles. The death of Albert’s father can be seen as a coincidence or the results of his son’s doubt in the old rabbi.Distrust is a dangerous emotion. It can cause people to say things they will regret and cause devastating events to happen. The effect of Albert’s suspicion forces him to pay the ultimate price of losing his father. I believe the lesson Malamud tries to convey is to have faith and trust in God no matter how unbelievable the outcome seems....
