The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz--The Tragic Fall of

Duddy

A man must pursue his dreams. This is certainly true for

everyone of the humankind, for if there were no dreams,

there would be no reason to live. Duddy Kravitz understands

this perfectly, that is why he is one of the most ambitious

young men of his time. From the moment he hears his

grandfather says, "A man without land is nobody," he is

prepared to seek the land of his dream -- no matter what

the cost would be. This ambition of his is very

respectable, but unfortunately his methods are damnable.

Duddy is a relentless pursuer; a formidable competitor and

also a ruthless manipulator. It is true that he has

obtained all the land that he desires at the end, but he

succeeds through immoral, despicable and contemptible

means. It is clear then, that Duddy has failed in his

apprenticeship and has become the "scheming little bastard"

that Uncle Benjy has warned him against.

There is no doubt that Duddy is very shrewd and clever, but

his lack of moral principles attributes to his final

failure. In fact, his immorality can be traced back to a

very young age. During his study in the parochial school,

he already earns money through methods that hardly comply

to virtues of any kind. Taking advantage of the fact that

minors cannot be sued in Canada, Duddy defrauds stamp

companies and sells stolen hockey sticks. Perhaps he cannot

distinguish right from wrong; perhaps he does not care, but

nonetheless it is not proper for him to engage himself into

these kinds of activities.

Duddy emerges himself deeper into the sea of corruption

when he establishes Dudley Kane Enterprises. With his

limited knowledge of movie making and his mistaken trust in

John Friar, his firm produces bar-mitzvah films of

extremely poor quality. The bar-mitzvah film for Mr. Cohen,

for example, is obviously a failing product. "Duddy didn't

say a word all through the screening but afterwards he was

sick to his stomach." After the screening, Duddy says to

Mr. Friar, "I could sell Mr. Cohen a dead horse easier than

this pile of --." However, realizing the obvious faultiness

of the film, Duddy does not talk candidly to his client.

Instead, he untruthfully says that the film is a phenomenal

piece of art and that he is entering it into the Cannes

Festival. By doing so, he deceives the Cohen family into

buying the defective bar-mitzvah film of Bernie.

As a matter of fact, Kravitz is not only skillful in

handling situations, but he is also very apt in

manipulating people. This can be clearly seen in his

relationships with Virgil and Yvette.

Duddy is never loved in his family, so originally Duddy is

quite content to know that there is someone who cares about

him -- Yvette. He finds great comradeship in her and has

also enjoyed great sex with her. But as time passes by,

Yvette becomes only a tool to him. He uses her as a medium

through which he can buy the land that he lusts for;

because he is a minor and he cannot legally own land. "The

farmers would be wary of a young Jew, they might jack up

prices or even refuse to sell, but another French-Canadian

would not be suspect." Duddy also treats her as a sexual

toy. He makes love with Yvette whenever he wants it, but he

does not take Yvette's feelings into consideration: "Yvette

wanted to wait, but Duddy insisted, and they made love on

the carpet." He never pays any respect to Yvette and he

does "...not know how to treat a woman."

With Virgil, Duddy takes advantage of his physical

disabilities. After selling the pinball machines that

Virgil brought him to ease his financial troubles, Duddy

does not want to repay Virgil. Using the fact that Virgil

is an epileptic and that it is very difficult for him to be

hired, Duddy employs him as a driver. But Duddy tells him

that a truck would be necessary for the task, and that he

can provide Virgil with the perfect vehicle for one

thousand dollars -- the exact amount that he owes Virgil.

Virgil is innocent