The Rise of David Levinsky

The final chapters of The Rise of David Levinsky focus on his prioritization of business over all other aspects of his life and his reckoning with that choice. Here, Cahan weaves together the three major themes of the book, Exploitative Socioeconomic Mobility and Capitalism, Losing Jewish Identity to the American Melting Pot, and Jewish Spirituality, Tradition, and Religion. As David reaches middle age, he faces the consequences of his prioritization of financial gain over all other aspects of his life as a young man. He laments and regrets each choice, though he does not change his behavior to reflect his realization. Cahan illustrates David’s fallibility and complicated relationship with his past. He has given up his Jewish identity to assimilate and achieve the American dream. He has exploited others on his path to wealth, and he is now only a figure of secular materialism. He in no way resembles the religious Russian Jew of his youth, and he, in the end, regrets this. The “rise” and American success of David Levinsky ironically requires his fall from his youthful desires.

However, David’s acceptance into the Tevkin house shows him a life where religion is not the glue that holds their family together but rather the secular discussion of ideas. David’s life centers on his religious community in a small way now, though he has shed most of his Orthodox practices and beliefs to assimilate into American culture. David sees the Tevkin’s living as secular Jews without the religious strictures but with the cultural and artistic values. The religious faith of his youth falls away, but the novel provides a suggestion that he may continue with his Jewish traditions in a secular way rather than a religious one. It is somewhat ambiguous if he will do this sincerely, however, or if this, too, will fall away and be the last possible remnant of his Jewish identity.

The separation from religion seems natural to David, as most of the men he knows are atheists or pretend at faith to maintain community. Yet, as David discusses his happiness in the final section of the book, he states that he laments the loss of the honest young boy chanting over the Talmud. He states that, “David, the poor lad swinging over a Talmud volume at the Preacher’s Synagogue, seems to have more in common with my inner identity than David Levinsky, the well-known cloak-manufacturer” (663). He still feels most comfortable in the identity of his youth. The faith that brought his soul to life has been sacrificed on the altar of assimilation and wealth. He has lost himself and his culture. Even if he were to retain some elements of Jewish culture in a secular way, he has lost a tremendous amount of connection to his childhood self.

Similarly, David sacrifices his racial identity as a Jew to achieve business success, invoking Losing Jewish Identity to the American Melting Pot. He struggles with reading the Hebrew poetry of Tevkin due to his lack of study or use of one of his native languages. He adopts the English language, American slang and jargon, and even studies American gestures to be seen as a true American, knowing it will lead to more sales and more money. The adaption to American habits and rituals allows David to be the successful. David sacrifices his Jewish identity for acceptance as an American business man. This sacrifice creates vast wealth, but David calls it hollow. He states that “many of our immigrants have distinguished themselves in science, music, or art, and these I envy far more than I do a billionaire” (663). He believes he would have been happier had he shared his Jewish culture with America, bringing the arts of his people to the new world. David regrets choosing business and money over art and education. He has abandoned Jewish Spirituality, Tradition, and Religion for capitalist success.

In this way, he laments the wealth and luxury that he has spent his time in America amassing. In the final conflict with the union and socialist groups, he sees that his ideas about survival of the fittest were lamentably ignorant. He states that “the business world contains plenty of successful men who have no brains” (661). David believes that he would have been happier as a struggling artist or scholar than he is now as a successful businessman. He thinks that business success hinges on luck, the goodwill of others, and the willingness to take risks. David finds no joy in his success as the novel closes:

I don’t seem to be able to get accustomed to my luxurious life. I am always more or less conscious of my good clothes, of the high quality of my office furniture, of the power I wield over the men in my pay […] I still have a lurking fear of restaurant waiters (662-63).

He finds no ease or comfort in his life of luxury. He yearns for a humble home, a good wife, and mental rigors. He is not happy. He has given himself up for the American dream. He has lost his selfhood and his connection to his traditions to the melting pot of secular materialism.

Cahan uses David to illustrate the downside of dedicating one’s life to material success, losing connection to one’s culture, and forgetting the divine. David allows his monetary goals and the idea of personal and professional conquest to dictate his choices. These choices lead to an unhappy, lonely life. Cahan argues for keeping true to one’s inner self, even if it brings conflict against one’s surroundings and the expectations of others. He believes Jews should not try to assimilate too intensely, as it will make them lose themselves and their traditions.