Wisdom and foolishness in Singer's Gimpel the Fool

Gimpel the Fool

Gimpel's nonchalant attitude and his ability to endure all kinds of abuse from his friends, his family, and the townspeople make the title character of Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story seem very much like a fool. In fact, Gimpel begins his narration: "I am Gimpel the Fool. I don't think myself a fool. On the contrary," (p. 3). Gimpel's awareness of his own foolishness, his perceptiveness about others' intentions, and his easygoing approach to life make him emerge more as a wise man than a fool.

Because he was gullible, "easy to take in," Gimpel earned his nickname early in his life (p. 3). However, Gimpel claims he was strong and that if he wanted to fight back he easily could have won: "If I slapped someone he'd see all the way to Cracow. But I'm really not a slugger by nature," (p. 4). Therefore, Gimpel made a conscious decision to let things pass and to not let other people bother him or get him down. His passive attitude may have earned him a reputation of being a fool but Gimpel did not get riled up about anything, even about his sham wedding.

Rather than grow upset or angry or feel sorry for himself, Gimpel cultivated a persona that ironically had everyone else in the town looking like fools. While Gimpel knew what the others were up to, they did not realize how wise Gimpel actually was. Gimpel was aware throughout his life that people were playing jokes on him and therefore he never really was taken in; he only played the fool because he realized that was what the others wanted, in their petty and puerile approach to life.