What's On my plate? How about some Primary Source a al mode.

Alex Greenberg
1) Working Thesis:
Shoes by Etgar Keret presents an allegorical paradigm of Holocaust observance in Israel. The young narrator reaches an ultimate equilibrium between honoring the past and adapting to the future—a state that is universal across Israeli society. Keret explores the societal components of this phenomenon, regarding relationships between social groups and factions in Israel.

2) Sub-claims:
a) In his story, Keret implicitly forwards a secularist agenda. He exhibits the “fighting-culture” of secular Israel through the old man’s militancy. The time and setting of the story also allude to the secular-religious debate that shapes Israel’s commemoration of the Holocaust.

b) In Djerby, the student who doubts the old man, Keret creates a paradigm of the sabra—the Israeli who lived in Israel before the immigration of Holocaust survivors. This character represents the tension between the Gahal (new immigrants) and the sabras.

c) As the boy grapples with the decision to wear his German-made shoes, the old man’s warnings reverberate in his conscience. Here, Keret symbolizes how the Holocaust survivor mentality has affected Israeli society. As direct descendents of survivors, many Israelis have lived with their parent or grandparent’s experience their entire life. This close proximity has affected their outlook on nationalism and religion.

3) More than my secondary sources, I want to focus partially on how the memory of the Holocaust has influenced the voracious nationalism of the Israeli army. I believe that at least subconsciously, Israeli soldiers dedicate their fighting to the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust. Since the army itself is an enormous institution of Israeli society, the pain of the Holocaust is actively present in many Israelis. I haven’t found a secondary source that primarily discusses this topic. It will not be my singular focus, but definitely an important part of my greater thesis.