Ambiguously Jewish: Difference between revisions

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* ''[[Death of a Salesman]]'' has been seriously analyzed for decades [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/19/us/on-religion-since-the-opening-curtain-a-debate-is-willy-loman-jewish.html?pagewanted=all (NY Times article)] on the subject of whether the Lomans were Jewish. [[Arthur Miller]] was brought up Jewish and based the character of Willy Loman on his uncle who was a salesman in the Depression. Miller stated in a 1969 interview that Willy Loman's religious or cultural background seemed irrelevant, but acknowledged in the 50th anniversary edition of the play that the Lomans could have been assimilated Jews. Loman lacks any identifying features of a Jewish (or any other) background, but this can be interpreted both ways; either Willy Loman was written without religious or cultural background to act as [[The Everyman]] and represent the broader American experience, or else his conspicuous ''lack'' of these features is a sign of how he abandoned an immigrant past in his drive for the [[American Dream]].
* ''[[Death of a Salesman]]'' has been seriously analyzed for decades [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/19/us/on-religion-since-the-opening-curtain-a-debate-is-willy-loman-jewish.html?pagewanted=all (NY Times article)] on the subject of whether the Lomans were Jewish. [[Arthur Miller]] was brought up Jewish and based the character of Willy Loman on his uncle who was a salesman in the Depression. Miller stated in a 1969 interview that Willy Loman's religious or cultural background seemed irrelevant, but acknowledged in the 50th anniversary edition of the play that the Lomans could have been assimilated Jews. Loman lacks any identifying features of a Jewish (or any other) background, but this can be interpreted both ways; either Willy Loman was written without religious or cultural background to act as [[The Everyman]] and represent the broader American experience, or else his conspicuous ''lack'' of these features is a sign of how he abandoned an immigrant past in his drive for the [[American Dream]].
* The Hollanders from ''[[Don't Drink the Water]]''. Woody Allen wrote this one and actually played Walter Hollander in the second movie version.
* The Hollanders from ''[[Don't Drink the Water]]''. Woody Allen wrote this one and actually played Walter Hollander in the second movie version.
* Dolly Levi of Thorton Wilder's ''The Matchmaker'' and ''[[Hello, Dolly!]]'' is an interesting case, as she is played by [[Barbra Streisand]] in the film, and the character in the play is presumably Irish-American (her maiden name is Gallagher) and intermarried, but in both cases speaks with a [[Yiddish as a Second Language|"Yiddish" rhythm]] and is a good fit for the stereotypical matchmaker of Jewish humor (compare her with Yente of ''[[Fiddler On the Roof]]'').
* Dolly Levi of Thorton Wilder's ''The Matchmaker'' and ''[[Hello, Dolly!]]'' is an interesting case, as she is played by [[Barbra Streisand]] in the film, and the character in the play is presumably Irish-American (her maiden name is Gallagher) and intermarried, but in both cases speaks with a [[Yiddish as a Second Language|"Yiddish" rhythm]] and is a good fit for the stereotypical matchmaker of Jewish humor (compare her with Yente of ''[[Fiddler on the Roof]]'').
** "Dolly" is usually "Dolores" (cf. ''Lolita''s Dolores "Dolly"/"Lolita" Haze). "Dolores" is an indirect way of naming a girl after the Virgin Mary -- "Dolors" are "Sorrows," and Mary is "Our Lady of Sorrows," or the Mater Dolorosa.
** "Dolly" is usually "Dolores" (cf. ''Lolita''s Dolores "Dolly"/"Lolita" Haze). "Dolores" is an indirect way of naming a girl after the Virgin Mary -- "Dolors" are "Sorrows," and Mary is "Our Lady of Sorrows," or the Mater Dolorosa.
** "Levi"/"Levy" and "Cohan"/"Cohane"/"Caan" are also Irish (cf. George M. Cohan, whose second wife was, by the by, named "Ethel Levey"). A lot of [[Irishman and a Jew|crackpots on both sides of the Celto-Semitic ethnicity line]] desperately want this to be proof that the Irish, especially the Black Irish, are one or more of the Lost Tribes of Israel. Further "proof" is that until the latest extended trend of exogamy, Celts (including the non-Irish ones) and Jews were the only ethnic groups to have, in their gene pools, the genetic trait that causes redheadedness.
** "Levi"/"Levy" and "Cohan"/"Cohane"/"Caan" are also Irish (cf. George M. Cohan, whose second wife was, by the by, named "Ethel Levey"). A lot of [[Irishman and a Jew|crackpots on both sides of the Celto-Semitic ethnicity line]] desperately want this to be proof that the Irish, especially the Black Irish, are one or more of the Lost Tribes of Israel. Further "proof" is that until the latest extended trend of exogamy, Celts (including the non-Irish ones) and Jews were the only ethnic groups to have, in their gene pools, the genetic trait that causes redheadedness.
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== Video Games ==
== Video Games ==


* Bridgette Tenenbaum from ''[[Bioshock]]'' is presumably Jewish, as she has a Jewish name and was a prisoner at a Nazi prison camp.
* Bridgette Tenenbaum from ''[[BioShock (series)]]'' is presumably Jewish, as she has a Jewish name and was a prisoner at a Nazi prison camp.
** Ditto Sander Cohen.
** Ditto Sander Cohen.
*** Dr. Steinman has a rather Jewish sounding name. Andrew Ryan is [[No Celebrities Were Harmed|clearly based on]] Ayn Rand, who was Jewish (but atheist) in real life and also, like Ryan, a refugee from Communist Russia.
*** Dr. Steinman has a rather Jewish sounding name. Andrew Ryan is [[No Celebrities Were Harmed|clearly based on]] Ayn Rand, who was Jewish (but atheist) in real life and also, like Ryan, a refugee from Communist Russia.
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