Destroying Passion
Passion is any strong emotion or great enthusiasm. Everyone has passion
for something in life. Some people have passion for sport, some for gardening and
some for money. Depending on person s personality and strength of a passion, it can
be harmful or helpful to a person s destiny. In novel The Apprenticeship of Duddy
Kravitz by M. Richler, the author shows how main character s passion becomes an
obsession, and harms him and people around him.
Duddy Kravitz, a Jewish boy who grew up in a poor neighborhood of
Montreal, became obsessed with his grandfather s words that man without land
is nobody. Duddy heard this phrase many times but only at moment he saw the
land around a beautiful lake something was triggered in his mind. From now on,
an idea of buying a land became the center of universe for Duddy. Nothing could
stop him on the way to his goal. He uses Yvette, a girlfriend of his, to buy a land
on her name, since he, himself, is under age. Duddy does not care much of her
feelings and he remembers about her only when he needs help. He understands
that owner of the land may not want to sell to a Jew, so he needs Yvette to buy a
land for him.
Second person Duddy harms on his way is a Virgil, an epileptic person
who becomes a handicapped because of Duddy s greed. Duddy, knowing about
Virgil s sickness, sends him to drive a truck with movie equipment. Virgil had an
accident that sends him to wheelchair for the rest of his life. But Duddy is not done
with Virgil yet. When it comes to buying the last piece of land, Duddy does not
have money. He knows Virgil has money but Yvette was protecting Virgil s money
and Duddy could not do anything about it. So, he forged Virgil s checque and got
money from the bank. After Virgil learned about it, his epilepsy attacks became more
severe. Yvette left Duddy and she told Duddy s grandfather, Simcha, how Duddy got
money. And one more person was hurt over Duddy s obsession. Simcha, who never
took anything from anybody, saw that his favorite grandson becomes a monster.
Passion is a good motivation and it can help people to reach their goals. But
sometimes it can take an extreme form and destroy a person. This happened to a main
character of The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by M. Richler. In less than a year,
Duddy became dreadful person without any consideration for anybody. M. Richler
shows how passion slowly step by step becomes an obsession and changes Duddy.