Jacob and Job

During my readings and in my final paper I was able to contrast Jacob from The Slave and Job from the Bible. Jacob is another man that hasn't wronged God in any way. He was an honest scholar from a Jewish town until the Cossacks came and destroyed his village and took him into slavery.

"He remembered his own children, little Isaac, Breina, the baby; he imagined them thrown into a ditch of lime and buried alive. He heard their stifled screams. Even if these souls rose to the most splendid mansion and were given the finest rewards, would that cancel out the agony and horror?"

Both Jacob and Job lost most of their family and personal property within a day. Job recieved great sickness from God and Jacob had to endure slavery. In the case of Job, he never really questions the existence of God, but he finally does question why God is persecuting him.

"I will give utterance to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. I will say to God, Do not condemn me; let me know why you contend against me."

Jacob has to answer these questions to himself several times throughout the novel. Job mirrors Jacob's predicament to the point that it may overtake Jacobs relation to his namesake in the Bible. The whole story questions the sanctity of God and the deceptive ways of society. "Where was God? How could he look down on such want and keep silent? Unless, Heaven forbid, there was no God." This story will continue to help people question what is right and how they decide to accept fate.