A War Against Prejudice – Analysis Of Irwin Shaw+S Short Story Act Of Faith Essay, Research Paper
A WAR AGAINST PREJUDICE
Prejudice is defeated not by force but by faith in the goodness in the hearts and minds of men. This idea is what Irwin Shaw tries to express in his short story “Act of Faith” through his character Norman Seeger, an American soldier during the second World War, who is confronted with the dilemma of how to deal with prejudice against the Jewish race. Throughout the story, Seeger’s inner strength is shown through his view of a Luger pistol, which he had won in combat from a SS major. It is via this pistol that Shaw demonstrates Seeger’s changes towards his views of coping with prejudice. Seeger’s changes occur over three different stages: the acquiring of the Luger, holding the pistol, and selling it. Shaw uses symbolism in the form of the Luger pistol to depict the many ways in which Seeger sees the pistol: revenge, protection, and faith. Seeger decides to hold on to his beliefs rather than his weapon, and by doing so places his trust in mankind instead of the Luger.
Norman Seeger first sees his German pistol as a symbol of a forceful triumph over prejudice. He feels proud of killing the German SS major and keeps his gun to remind him of his victory. “When he stood over the huge dead SS major with the face blown in by his bullets . . . he had tasted a strange little extra flavor of triumph.” (p.378) Seeger worships the pistol, for it represents his revenge against the Germans. “How many Jews, he’d thought, has this man killed, how fitting it is that I’ve killed him. ” (p.378) He cares for this Luger as if it was actually a part of him which always has to be in perfect condition. “Seeger had kept the Luger, . . . , very carefully since then, lugging it with him, hiding it at the bottom of his bedroll, . . ., avoiding all opportunities of selling it . . . ” (p.372) Norman even has future plans of what he will do with his precious weapon when he goes back to his land. “He was going to make sure to take this gun back with him to America, and plug it and keep it on his desk at home, as a kind of vague . . . sign to himself that justice had once been done and he had been its instrument.” (p.379) Seeger keeps the Luger as a personal sign of the triumph he feels.
Norman Seeger’s image of his pistol becomes that of protection as he reads his father’s letter. He perceives that prejudice is real, and turns angry at his father for making him aware of a reality he does not want to face. His father says, “You will have to face (prejudice) one time when you get home, if you haven’t faced it already . . . ” (p.373) Seeger recalls a time when he heard a prejudiced remark that was to warn him of the state of mind in which the people from his own country were in. “He’d heard a scrawny . . . soldier from Boston talking, ‘The boys at the office,’the scratchy voice was saying, . . . ‘told me one thing. ‘Charlie,’ they said, ‘hold onto your bayonet. We’re going to be able to use it when you get back. On the Yids.’” (p.379) Seeger realizes that America is not safer than any other place and thinks that he should take his gun as to defend himself. “Maybe, he thought, maybe I’d better take (the gun) back with me, but not as a momento. Not plugged, but loaded.” (p.379) The reality of his family’s situation in America hits him hard, and he has an obligation to the ones he loves. His only thought is to keep the Luger as protection.
Seeger’s final decision is to let go of the gun, and cling to his good faith. He thinks about the time when his friends risked their own lives only to save his. “Seeger thought of the time Olson had covered him . . . , when Seeger had been caught going down the side of a street by four Germans . . . and Olson had had to stand in the middle of the street with no cover . . . so that Seeger could get away alive.” (p.381) Seeger realizes that when he goes back to America he will have to depend on people like Olson rather than on his gun. “He would have to rely upon them, later on, out of uniform, on their native streets, more than he had ever relied on them . . .” (p.381) Although previously having believed the Luger to be the only thing capable of defending him, he now believes in his will to fight prejudice with the faith he has on himself. Seeger decides to sell the gun for a better cause. “. . . What could I use (the gun) for in America?” (p.382) Norman Seeger proves to be strong enough to believe in himself and trust the American people by rendering his weapon.
Many times do people find themselves in situations where all they can count on is faith, and it is not always that people are strong enough to choose to believe in the kindness of others. Irwin Shaw’s “Act of Faith” shows through Seeger’s inner conflict that strong people are those who are willing to fight with confidence in themselves, as their most powerful weapon.