22 pages • 44 minutes read
Bernard MalamudThe First Seven Years
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1950A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Last
A last is a hard form upon which a shoemaker repairs or constructs shoes. In “The First Seven Years,” the last is an important symbol of skilled, working-class labor and emotion. Both Feld and Sobel are shoemakers who earn their livings with this important tool. They are men who work with their hands, placing them between unskilled laborers like Max’s father and the white collar, professional worker Max will become once he is an accountant.
The person the reader most sees working at the last is Sobel, and to all appearances, he is a man who will always be a member of the skilled working class. The way Sobel interacts with the last is also an indication of his emotions. Sobel works away noisily at the last when he becomes angry at Feld for choosing Max as a suitor for Miriam, breaks the last when his anger overcomes him, and he returns to the last to indicate his commitment to winning the chance to be a suitor to Miriam.
Sobel’s Books
Sobel’s books appear in the story as gifts to Miriam and as one of the few possessions he has in his room. In the first instance, the books are symbols of efforts to connect with Miriam. Considering Miriam is only 14 when 30-year-old Feld first encounters her, his approach is an effort to abide by some sense of propriety by not approaching an underage girl romantically.
Through his books and margin notes, Sobel communicates something of his values, and Miriam is young enough when she begins reading the books that these books serve to shape her sensibilities to be similar to those Sobel holds. Sobel’s books are also a symbol of his rejection of materialistic values in general. He is a man who reads books for the sake of the knowledge in them rather than for any improvement in his status.
Max’s Shoes
Max’s shoes and the transactions surrounding them reflect the values of both Feld and Max. Feld uses the price discount on the shoes to establish a connection with Max and as the opening move in his efforts to match Max with Miriam. The shoes and the way Feld thinks about them reflect Feld’s sense of himself as a practical businessman who takes the straightforward approach to solving problems, like Miriam’s singlehood. Feld struggles with his awareness of what truly motivates him, however, a point underscored when he second-guesses his decision to give the discount instead of agreeing to repair the shoes for free. Even after Miriam forecloses the possibility of being with Max, Feld’s pride in his work leads him to repair the shoes so well that they are good as new.
Max’s interactions with regards to the shoes also communicate his values. He accepts the offer of the discount, but unlike Feld, continues to see the subsequent conversation over dating Miriam as a transaction. The language he uses in evaluating Miriam’s looks and his discussion of Miriam’s qualities are part of that approach. Even after Miriam rejects him, Max returns to the shop, intent on his discount. When he sees the shoes, Max is so excited about the beauty of the shoes that “his eyes had little lights in them” (Paragraph 55). Max is so focused on material things that Feld’s obvious sadness and the emotional context are not enough to distract him from the shoes. Malamud’s choice to have this be the last sight the reader sees of Max reflects that Max’s materialism is his defining trait.
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By Bernard Malamud
