Jews Without Money

“Excitement, dirt, fighting, chaos!”

Jews Without Money begins with a description of the chaotic streets of the Lower East Side. The families and criminals co-exist, creating a deafening, overwhelming scene the narrator will never forget. The author expresses the overwhelming nature of the memories by reducing the description to single words, abandoning the traditional structure. The prose used to describe the memory is thus broken down into raw, impactful pieces; in the same way the memories of the Lower East Side overwhelm the narrator, the memories overwhelm the prose itself.

“Mr. Zunzer was a pillar of the synagogue.”

Mr. Zunzer owns the tenement building where many poor families live alongside the prostitutes and criminals. Even though he permits crimes and vice on his property, he is still seen as a pillar of the community and a moral, pious man. The respect given to Mr. Zunzer illustrates the way in which the practical reality of poverty triumphs over morality. Everyone understands the need to live and to make money. Mr. Zunzer is complicit in the crimes and the sins that take place inside the building he owns, but everyone accepts that he is simply being practical. Money is more important than morals, especially when the characters have so little of either.