Resumo de The Jewbird From Bernard Malamud: The Complete Stories

Bernard Malamud?s The Jewbird is a witty, sassy yet tragic short story that enunciates, in an unconventional way, the disastrous consequences of anti-Semitism. The tale is written with much style and humor yet it contains a very disturbing side to it.
A strange, bedraggled black bird flies into the kitchen of a lower East side apartment that belongs to a frozen-food salesman by the name of Harry Cohen. Harry, his wife Edie and their son Maurice or Maury live there. They quickly discover that the bird can talk and that his name is Schwartz. What is even more remarkable is that Schwartz is a Jewbird. He can even doven and pray, without the Book or a tallith as he demonstrates to them. Schwartz declares that he is running and flying away, away from the Anti-Semites or Anti-Semeets as Schwarts calls them. Schwartz is loaded with personality but his appearance is a bit homely. His wings are ragged, his beak is long and his eyes cross. When Edie suggests that Schwartz could be an old Jew that someone turned into a bird, Schwartz? reply is: who knows, does God tell us everything?
Schwartz endears himself to Edie and Maurie with his sense of humor but Harry is a hard nut to crack. Although, he is amused by Schwartz at first, he soon tires of him. Edie and Maurie want Schwartz to stay but Harry has given Schwartz a deadline. He wants Schwartz to migrate soon. Meanwhile, in order to make himself useful, Schwartz helps Maurice, who is a poor student, with his homework and violin lessons. Maurie?s grades soon improves. Schwartz even reads comic books to Maurie when he is sick, although Schwartz really doesn?t like the genre much.
Harry distrusts Schwartz, although Schwartz does not give him any reason to, and Harry?s attitude toward him becomes antagonistic. When Schwartz asks Harry why he hates him so, Harry?s answer is because he considers Schwartz to be a troublemaker and a freeloader. The weather becomes cooler and Harry forces Schwartz to live outside in a birdhouse instead of the warm apartment. The cold weather causes the old bird to become stiff in his joints.
One day, when Edie is out and Maurie is taking a shower, Harry starts an argument with Schwartz. When Schwartz responds to Harry?s verbal abuse, Harry tries to throttle Schwartz. Luckily, Maurie comes out of the bathroom and interrupts the struggle. However, Harry?s manner towards Schwartz becomes more and more aggressive and he begins a crusade against the bird to force him to leave. He mixes cat food with Schwartz?s food to cause him to become sick. He blows up and pops large paper bags outside the birdhouse to frighten Schwartz at night. He even buys Maurie a cat to terrorize the bird. Schwartz is afraid but he has no place to go. He is old and frail and cannot fly very far.
Weeks go by and one day Harry?s mother, who is sick and elderly dies. Maurie?s report card is a bad one. Harry is fed up and he takes out his frustrations on Schwartz. Enraged, he goes to the birdhouse, grabs Schwartz by his scrawny legs and flings him to the ground. Then he throws the birdhouse and feeder to the ground and it crashes. Harry waits for Schwartz to return but he does not.
Time goes on. Maurie forgets about Schwartz because of his pet cat. Edie does think about him from time to time. Harry is just plain happy that he is gone.
One spring day, when the snow is melting, Maurie remembers Schwartz and goes looking for him in the neighborhood. He finds a dead black bird in a small clearing by the river. The bird?s wings have been broken, its neck twisted and its eyes have been plucked out. It is Schwartz. When Maurie tearfully asks his mother why would anyone do such a thing to a poor old bird, his mother replies: It?s the Anti-Semeets.
Malamud creates Harry as the embodiment of hate, Anti-Semitism and murderous mischief and what is worse, he is a Jew, a Cohen. Simultaneously, Schwartz becomes Malamud?s representation of a traditional Jewish person, maybe even a rabbi of sorts. He is funny, intelligent and religious. Schwartz? fate is a powerful and disturbing ending to the story with the chilling affects of hate so clearly illustrated. Malamud?s The Jewbird is a story that cannot be forgotten easily, it is one that will last in the mind of the reader.

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