A Balance between Life and Death

Why does the action and setting turn so much on food and food preparation? What is the connection between food and the other concerns of the story, such as religion, incompetence, marriage, and death?

In Short Friday, in the village of Lapschitz—a small town in Poland—there lived an elderly man and woman who so dearly loved one another very much. The man went by the name Shmul-Leibele and the woman went by the name Shoshe. Shmul-Leibele was a small, clumsy, slow worker, yet an honest and honorable man; Shoshe was a beautiful, honest, diligent, and hard-working woman. They both were very fortunate to have one another, and together, they created a life, and a home devoted to the observance of Jewish rituals. They did not have any children, but that did not keep them from loving one another (Singer 67).
           One Friday, of which was considered the shortest day of the year since the town was snowed in, and no one knew what time of the day it was, the husband and wife enjoy a feast together after the husband got home from church(Singer 69). After ravenously devouring all the food, Shoshe and Shmul-Leibele fell asleep together, and never woke up again. They had suffocated from the fumes of the stove and died.

In this short story, food played an important role in it. Food was used as a metaphor, a balance between life and death. It demonstrates how death comes knocking when food is consumed without restraint. Food is a necessity for survival, but at the same time, food can play a dark role, for it is a pathway between life and death, just like it was a pathway that lead Shoshe and Shmul-Leibele to Paradise. The food had left them so full and exhausted that they were unable to wake themselves up and prevent their own death and thus were guided into Paradise by an angel of God (Singer 74).

Works Cited:

Chatman, Seymour and Brian Attebery. "Short Friday by Isaac Bashevis Singer."  Reading 

            Narrative Fiction. New York: Macmillan, 1993. 66-74. Print.