Research Paper on:
A Comparative Analysis of My Name is Asher Lev and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
up in a non-dominant culture. These books both deal with prejudice, but in very different ways. Central to Angelous text is how her upbringing prepared her to resist racial  stereotyping and prejudice. On the other hand, the prejudice which is the central focus of Potoks novel concerns the cultural friction that arises from Ashers gift for art, which is  not a culturally condoned activity within the Hasidic Jewish community. A note to the student researching this topic. Ethnic/racial prejudice and bigotry are not even a sub-theme in Potoks  novel. There may -- conceivably -- be a brief mention of some instance where anti-Semitism was an issue, but, if so, it was so brief that this writer could not  find it. As the student acknowledges, these books are more about self discovery and personal strength. However, there simply is not enough about prejudice/bigotry in Asher Lev to explore  this topic properly. Asher Lev states the direction of the novels narrative quite clearly from the beginning when he introduces himself. He states, "My name is Asher Lev, the  Asher Lev, about whom you have read in newspapers and magazines... the notorious and legendary Lev of the Brooklyn Crucifixion" (Potok 3). Lev goes on to explain that he is  an "observant Jew," which means that he is at odds with his own culture because "observant Jews do not paint at all" (Potok 3). His painting, which is very  controversial causes him to be considered "a traitor, an apostate, a self-hater, an inflicter of shame upon my family, my friends, my people" (Potok 3). In the next several  pages, Potok emphasizes that Levs Hasidic heritage is meant by his community to predetermine the course his life should take as much as if he were born to royalty. Potok