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| Plot Summary of Marjorie Morningstar |
""Marjorie Morningstar" is Herman Wouk's memorable coming-of-age story about the American daughter of Immigrant Jewish parents struggling to fit into the world of her peers. From the opening of the novel, where Marjorie's distinction between old-foreign (her parents, their accents) and new-foreign (Apartment buildings with fancy names overlooking Central Park), the reader understands that she wishes to be an All-American girl.
Marjorie begins the novel as a student at Hunter College, pursuing a sensible degree in education, for a career that her parents approve -- science teacher. But, what she really wants is to be an actress. She stars in the college musical that term, befriending Marsha, the costume designer (Jewish, but not practicing, socialist, experienced in far more areas than innocent Marjorie). Marjorie follows Marsha to South Wind, a commune-style theater "camp", where sex is prevalent. As the novel progresses, Marjorie travels from job to job, looking for artistic fulfillment and love, until eventually she marries the kind of practical man that her parents approve of.
The main Jewish influence in the novel is Uncle Samson Aaron. This uncle imparts wisdom to Marjorie and protects her from herself on several occasions. This novel is humorous and upbeat, yet, at the same time sad and thoughtful. "
Samantha S., Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Marjorie Morningstar |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- upbeat
Time/era of story
- 1930's-1950's
Inside culture (main char)
- Jew
Other aspects:
- immigrant story
Culture clash?
- family young v. old guard
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Outside culture (society)
- American American
Ethnic/regional/gender life
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- student
Age:
- 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Jewish
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Main Adversary
Identity:
- none
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 6 ()
United States
Yes
City?
Yes
City:
- New York
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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