Part 4: Rushing Into Life

Part 4: Rushing Into Life

Summary

  At the start of the forth section, David left for Israel, where he stayed for a few months, studying at Hebrew University. David thought that all of his years studying were just prep for possibly becoming  a rabbi, but the night before he took off, he persuaded himself that he is a simply a writer, and "the Old Testament is the foundation of Western Literature." From Israel, he ventured into Paris, and later absorbed a little more of European culture before returning home to New York. In the big city, David was switching jobs at a rapid pace. The only thing that his jobs had in common was that they all consisted of him doing busy-work. He considered himself, an "errand boy".  As troubling as that might sound, the only person who wasn't bothered by the constant job switching was David. His friends moved on and began working their ways up to the top of their businesses, starting families, etc., while David wasn't really going anywhere. After David's death, Ken met up with Billy, David's old friend. What started out as a nice, casual catch-up, ending up being more like an interrogation. Billy concluded that Ken is similar to David in the fact that they both didn't mind not having a stable career. He thinks the Dornstein brothers enjoy slacking off and taking the easy way out of things. This negative outburst ended their meeting...
In other news, David gets back together with K and out of nowhere he proposes to her and the wedding was scheduled a month later. Already the marriage is off to a rocky start, which isn't much of a surprise. 


Review: 

I enjoyed this section, just like the previous ones, but for some reason not as much. I feel that this section is the "conflict" section in the book. Ken came to the realization that, just like David was, he isn't really moving forward in his life. Plus, on a whim he married K, and it's just causing him more stress. In all honesty, it appears to me that Ken isn't thinking much before his actions. I find it rather frustrating. However, just the last three sections, this one didn't fail to showcase Ken's writing ability. The description he uses is simply put, spectacular. I feel like I know the characters personally, which is probably why I'm feeling slightly irritated with Ken's actions.

David Dornstein

Focus: How different do you think Ken's life would be if David had never died? 

Clearly losing someone who you're close to is a tragic affair. Most people go through an extreme amount of depression when something that horrible happens to them. However Ken was different. Obviously he was saddened by the tragedy, however right off the bat, he chose to take the positive route. That being said, this shows the strength that Ken possessed even before his brother's death. This proves that he would still be the strong person he is, if David was still alive. I think David's death opened up Ken mind to endless possibilities of life. Though we will never know for sure, I feel that, with David still here, Ken would've gotten a job, that he'd probably hate after a few years, and he'd feel to scared to deal with the burden of life's uncertainties to leave it for one he liked. I understand that David was lost at one point, as far as discovering what he really wants out of his life, but I also think that letting himself wander about and be free was leading him closer to what he was born to do. If David had never died, Ken wouldn't have picked up writing, because he wouldn't feel the need to follow his older brother's footsteps. No. I'm sure if David was still alive and someone asked him to write, Ken would think of it as a waste time. Without David, Ken turned to writing and found his true calling. 

Here are some sources that helped put me in the character's shoes:

Stuck In A Career Rut

Exploring Israel