My Name is Asher Lev: Symbols

Earlocks

Asher's payos, his earlocks, are an important symbol of how he feels about Judaism and art. The uncut tufts of hair growing from the side of his head above the ear are a distinctive feature of how he and most Ladover appear. They set him apart visually from the society of artists of which he wants to be a part. When he tucks them behind his ears, the first summer he spends in Provincetown, it shows confusion on his part. He wants to fit into the artistic world and is worried that the earlocks might prevent him from doing that. Yet, he does not have the conviction to simply chop them off. He still bears an attachment to them. The summer after his parents have returned from their years in Vienna, Asher is far more mature. A college student and a much more accomplished artist, he feels much more confident of himself and his decisions. He expresses his independence by cutting off his earlocks. He also expresses disregard for tradition and distance form his father. After all, Asher has noted that his father wore earlocks because his father did. For Asher, this is not sufficient reason to perpetuate the hairstyle.

The Rebbe

The Rebbe, the spiritual leader of the Ladover community, takes on an almost divine status. To the people in the Ladover community, he is an omniscient leader, to be listened to in all circumstances. He is a father to all, one whose permission needs to be asked before one deviates from the standard path. We see specific instances of this in his interactions with the Lev family. First, Rivkeh, because she is a woman, needs to ask the Rebbe's permission to go to college. Aryeh is highly respected and his travel seen as special because it is done in the service of the Rebbe. Finally, Asher's life path is severely influenced by the Rebbe. The Rebbe decides that Asher will study with Jacob Kahn, against the wishes of Asher's father. Even as Asher gets older, the Rebbe is able to tell him to study French and Russian. Still, the Rebbe knows his limits. He does not, for instance, tell Asher to stop painting. Nevertheless, the Rebbe appears as a dominating and all-knowing force in the Ladover community.

Asher's Mythic Ancestor

When Asher is little, he is told the story of his great-great-great-grandfather, a man who created immense wealth for himself and his employer and who, in middle age began to travel a lot. He traveled, his parents told him, to spread the word of God and to comfort those in need. This man appears to Asher many times in dreams as a representative of his past, his history. As history is a vital part of Jewish life, this man becomes a symbol for Asher of the ways he is supposed to act. The man haunts him when he steps out of line. When Asher is away in Europe, he rediscovers his mythic ancestor and appropriates him for his own use. He imagines that his ancestor had unbalanced the world and was traveling in order to right the wrongs he had done. Asher finds a new way of connecting with his heritage, with his past. He imagines himself aligned with this man, as he, too, feels that he has unbalanced the world. Through his need to create art, Asher has created much tumult. He, too, hopes to correct the way he has left the world out of balance.

Previous section Motifs