-
The First Seven Years: Critical Overview
With its Jewish immigrant characters
living in dingy surroundings and
burdened by the weight of life’s cares,
‘‘The First Seven Years’’
is
a
representative
Malamud
story.
It
has
been
highly
regarded
ever
since
its
p
ublication in Malamud’s collection of
stories,
The Magic Barrel
(1958). For example, William Peden
commented in the
New York
Times
,
‘‘[Malamud] possesses
a gift for characterization that is often
breathtaking. His lonely shoemakers,
despondent graduate students and
sickness ridden shopkeepers are
brilliantly individualized.’’
The First Seven Years: Summary
Feld the shoemaker and his assistant
Sobel are working at their benches
on a
snowy February day. Feld thinks about Max, a young
man he admires
for his
de
dication to pursuing his education.
He contrasts Max’s
determination with
the lack of interest his daughter Miriam shows in
education.
At that moment
Max brings in a pair of shoes for repair. Feld
takes him
aside, out of Sobel’s
hearing, and asks whether M
ax would
like to meet
Miriam.
After
Max
sees
a
picture
of
Miriam
and
asks
a
few
questions
about
her, he agrees to get
in touch with her. Feld gives him Miriam’s
telephone...
The First Seven
Years: Introduction
Written in 1950,
‘‘The First Seven Years’’ was
published
in Bernard
Malamud’s
first
collection
of
short
stories,
The
Magic
Barrel
,
in
1958.
The story is about
Feld, a
Jewish
shoemaker who seeks
a
suitable husband
for his daughter
Miriam. But she is not interested in his choice of
Max,
a
college
student.
Feld
soon
discovers
that
his
assistant,
Sobel,
a
Polish
Jewish
refugee,
is
in
love
with
Miriam,
and
that
she
returns
his
affections.
Miriam sees
spiritual qualities in Sobel, but Feld is dismayed
because
he
wants
her
to
do
better
for
herself.
Feld
is
faced
with
a
moral
choice:
will he allow Sobel to wed Miriam? Can
he put his daughter’s feelings
above
what
he
thinks
is
appropriate
for
her?
Can
he
learn
to
see
in
Sobel
what
Miriam
sees
in
him?
In
the
climax
of
the
story,
Feld
tells
Sobel
that
if he works for two more years, making
seven in all, he can ask Miriam
for
her
hand
in
marriage.
Hence
the
title
of
the
story,
which
is
an
allusion
to the Biblical story of how Jacob
labored in the service of Laban for
seven years to win the hand of Rebecca,
whom he loved.
‘‘The
First
Seven
Years’’
is
one
of
many
stories
Malamud
wrote
about
Jewish immigrants living in Ne
< br>故事讲述费尔德，
一个犹太鞋匠谁寻求他的女儿仪合适的丈夫。
< br>
But she is not interested in
his choice of Max, a college student.
但她不感兴趣，他的最大，一名大学生的选择。
Feld
soon discovers that his
assistant, Sobel, a Polish Jewish refugee, is in
love with Miriam,
and that she returns
his affections.
费尔德很快发现，他的助手，索贝尔，波兰犹太
难民
，
与仪爱，
她返
回自己的感情。
Miriam sees
spiritual qualities in Sobel, but Feld is dismayed
because he wants her to do better for h
erself.
仪看到了索贝尔精神品质，但费尔德是失望，
因
为他希望她为自己做的更好。
Feld is faced
with a moral choice: will he allow Sobel to
wed
Miriam?
费尔德面临着
道德的抉择：他让索贝尔至三仪？
Can
he
put
his
daughter's
feelings above
what he thinks is appropriate for her?
他
能凌驾于他认为自己的女儿的感情，
是适合她吗？
Can he learn to see in Sobel what
Miriam sees in him?
他能学会看到索贝尔
什么仪在他看到？
In the climax of
the story, Feld tells Sobel that if he works for
two more
years, making seven in all, he
can ask Miriam for her hand in marriage.
在故事的高潮，费
尔德告诉索贝尔说，
如果他的作品多两年，
使得在所有
7
个，
他可以问她求婚仪。
Hence the
title
of
the
story,
which
is
an
allusion
to
the
Biblical
story
of
how
Jacob
labored
in
the
service of Laban for
seven years to win the hand of Rebecca, whom he lo
ved.
因此，标题
的故事，这是对圣经故事，典故如何雅各布
吃力
7
年来，拉班的服务赢得了丽贝卡，被他爱
的手。
费尔德的鞋匠和他的助手正在索贝尔在雪原上
2
天的长椅。
Feld thinks about Max, a young
man he admires for his dedication to
pursuing his education.
费尔德认为，关于最高，一个
年轻人，
他对他的奉献精神追求他的教育钦佩。
He contrasts Max's determination with
the
lack of interest his daughter
Miriam shows in education.
他对比与缺乏兴趣，他的女儿
仪最
大的决心，显示了教育。
At that moment Max brings in a pair of
shoes for
repair.
在那一刻带来了最大的修理鞋。
Feld takes him aside, out of Sobel's
hearing, and asks whether Max would like to meet <
/p>
Miriam.
费尔德需要他拉到一边，
出索贝尔的听证会，
并询问是否想最大满足仪。
After Max
sees a picture of
Miriam and asks a few questions about her, he
agrees to get in touch
with her.
之后最大的仪看到了图片，
并请她的几个问题，
他同意
在与她接触。
Feld gives him
Miriam's telephone
number.
费尔德给他仪的电话号码。
Feld decides to repair the shoes at
a reduced price although he does not
tell Max of his generosity.
费尔德决定在修复降价的<
/p>
鞋子，尽管他并没有告诉他的慷慨最大。
Later that day, Sobel pounds so hard on
the last
(the wooden mold of the human
foot on which shoes are built or repaired) that he
breaks it.
当天晚些时候，
索贝尔英镑这么高的最后
（人类脚的鞋上建造或修补木模）
，
他
打破了。
He
then
grabs his coat and rushes outside, quitting his jo
b.
然后，他取了外套，往外冲，放弃
了工作。