Table of ContentsThe Role of Nursery Rhymes, Biblical References and AllusionsThe Use of Foreshadowing and Color SymbolismConclusionMany rhetorical devices and other formal features exist in Gimpel the madman to make it an engaging and effective job. Some of these tools include the use of rhyme, animal references, biblical allusions, foreshadowing, and color. The author uses these different tools to create certain effects within the work, which cause the reader to draw specific meanings and morals from the story. Through this use of formal tools, including rhetoric, author Isaac Singer explains the idea that it is much more rewarding to be innocent, although gullible throughout one's life, than to be evil, and that those who shame others are the real fools. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The Role of Nursery Rhymes, References, and Biblical Allusions One of the first rhetorical devices found in Mad Gimpel is the use of rhyme. The first sentence ends with the word “idiot,” as does the next one. The fourth sentence ends with the word "school" and the fifth sentence ends with "fool." The tenth sentence, just two lines later, also ends with the word “school”. In this paragraph, it is Gimpel, the main character, who speaks. The first effect of this use of rhyme is simply to make Gimpel seem like a fool, as the townspeople consider him. The word "fool" refers both to someone who is unintelligent and mostly gullible, and to a person, such as a court jester, who makes jokes and is made fun of to entertain others. Court jesters often use rhymes to make their jokes funnier. Gimpel's use of rhyme in this paragraph compares Gimpel to this kind of fool. This rhyme scheme also has an ironic effect. The two rhyming words, as mentioned above, are "fool" and "school". The use of rhyme here creates a direct juxtaposition between the two words: the one who is unintelligent or foolish and the one who went to school. Gimpel specifically states that he does not consider himself a fool. It is also worth noting that throughout the story, Gimpel is the only person specifically mentioned as having gone to school. Everyone in town just makes fun of Gimpel and embarrasses him. As the rabbi in the story says: “It is better to be a fool all your life than to be wicked for an hour…. He who shames his neighbor himself loses paradise” (Singer 80). Although Gimpel is gullible and considered a fool, this use of rhyme leads to the idea that Gimpel is the only person in town who is intelligent enough to treat others with kindness. The next formal feature of the story is the reference to animals. Throughout the work, various townspeople are described either by directly comparing them to animals or by making animal noises. In the first paragraph, the group that teased Gimpel "started screaming, stomping and dancing...", thus being compared to donkeys. The fifth paragraph describes the laughter of some residents as “cat music.” Later in the story, Gimpel describes his wife as a "sleeping mite" and his lover as making the sound of a "slaughtered ox." The only time Gimpel considers himself an animal is when he says, "Enough of being an ass...Gimpel won't be an idiot all his life." There is a limit even to the stupidity of a fool like Gimpel” (Singer 83). While theDonkeys are known to be rather stupid, Gimpel here explicitly says that donkeys are idiots and imbeciles, thus showing exactly what the author imagines the townspeople to be like when Gimpel compares them to donkeys earlier in the story. The effect of all these references to Animals shows how inhumane the townspeople are. In the way they treat Gimpel, they are more like donkeys, cats, arachnids, and dying oxen than humans. Through this rhetorical device, Singer suggests that anyone who cures another human wickedness and embarrasses them is no better than an animal. Thus, these references advance Singer's intended moral of the story, that it is better to be foolish than to be evil. The biblical allusions add another element of meaning to Gimpel the Fool. Approaching Elka to ask her to marry him, Gimpel says, “I went to her clay house, which was built on the sand…” (Singer 80). This is a reference to Matthew 7:24-27, the story of the wise man who built his house on rock, and the foolish man who built his house on sand. Here the author compares Elka to the foolish man, because his house is built on sand. Throughout the story, Elka treats Gimpel like he's a fool. She lies to him about his infidelity and makes him doubt everything he saw and knew to be true. In this biblical allusion, the author explains that Elka is, in fact, the fool, not Gimpel. Elka's house, which is built of clay on the sand, also refers to Job 4:19 where it is written: "How much less among those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed before the ringworm? (King James Bible, Job 4.19). Through this allusion, Singer explains that Elka's foundations, or moral position, are "crushed before the butterfly", or incredibly unstable and unreliable. Through these two biblical allusions, Singer adds more evidence to the moral of his story. He proves that even though Gimpel is gullible, Elka is the stupid one. She built her life on very shaky ground, causing others to feel shame and embarrassment. Thus, Singer continues the concept that those who treat others unkindly are the real fools, while those who are innocent, although gullible, fare much better. The Use of Foreshadowing and Color Symbolism The fourth formal feature of the text is foreshadowing. Throughout the story, Singer uses foreshadowing several times to predict the ending of the story. An example is the biblical allusion just mentioned. In both scriptural references, the house built on sand, or dust, does not end well. It is either carried away or crushed by a moth. Since the house symbolizes the moral status of the owner, it is clearly announced that Elka will die and her fate will not be happy. Her life was full of deceit and wickedness, and so, at the end of the story, she turned black, paying for her sins, as Gimpel dreamed that he saw her in the afterlife. Another foreshadowing event is clear when Gimpel and Elka were being married. Singer wrote: “The ceremony took place at the gates of the cemetery, near the small cabin where the corpses are washed” (81). Not only is this a horrible place to get married, but it foretells the death of Elka, as well as the death of marriage. As we discover later in the story, Elka dies after 20 years of marriage to Gimpel, and their marriage is plagued by infidelity and unhappiness, leading Gimpel to abandon Elka's children after her death. These two examples of foreshadowing combine to prove that this is the case. It's better to be like Gimpel – innocent and.