1 The Reconciliation of Home and Homelessness in Kreisels The Homecoming Henry Kreisels short story, The Homecoming , gives

readers a glimpse into the dismal post-World War II landscape of Europe . Through the central figure of Mordecai Drimmer, Kreisel evokes the sentiments of hope, betrayal, fear, hatred , and helplessness that were felt by the displaced survivors of the Holocaust. Thus, Mordecais expedition back to his childhood town of Narodnowa can be read as a metaphor for the larger post-Holocaust Jewish diaspora . Through the journey of this central figure, Kreisel emphasizes the psychological , emotional, and physical struggle of the displaced Jew . The continual construction and disruption throughout the

narrative of the notion of home further highlights this displacement . In particular,

Kreisel draws attention to the near impossibility of a homecoming within the larger framework of homelessness . This is made devastatingly apparent in the narrative as the idealization of the former is quickly displaced by the harsh realities of the latter . Mordecais experience speaks to the larger post-war Jewish experience . It raises the question of how one can reconstruct a home , both ideologically and physically , when everything one envisioned home to be has been destroyed . The Homecoming is largely a story that explores the ideas of deconstruction and reconstruction in relation to home and identity, and also examines the implications that these two concepts have for each other. Looking first at the destabilization of home within the narrative , we can begin to uncover the significance of this theme within the larger context of the Jewish Holocaust . On an

2 objective level , when one typically thinks of home one imagines someplace familiar , perhaps where family is , where their most valued belongings are, and where their most precious memories are . In itself it is both the manifestation of something ideological and physical . Thus a homecoming, or a return home , is both an ideological and physical experience . However , Kreisels narrative destabilizes the apparent simplicity of such an act . It undermines the assumption that a homecoming necessitates the materialization of a physical home. Again, it poses the question of whether a true homecoming, both in the material and ideological sense, is possible in the face of homelessness . In the narrative , the traditional sense of coming home is made impossible for Mordecai in this post-Holocaust context. When he returns to his childhood town he finds that his former house is in literal ruin. The idealized fantasy that Mordecai had envisioned for his homecoming comes crashing down around him . The narrator states, for a moment everything was blotted out and he could see nothing. A cold hand gripped his heart and pressed it and pushed it upward, chocking him, and his cry remained stifled in his throatHis eyes did not want to see, and yet he could not prevent them from seeing; his brain did not want to know, and yet he could not prevent it from knowing ( Kreisel 59). Mordecais realization that there is no home left standing for him to return to both on a physical and metaphorical level is emotionally devastating. This raises the question of how the destruction of the physical manifestation of home affects the ideological associations that people attach to it. While Mordecai has returned to the place where his home once stood , the

3 idealized expectations he had for his homecoming, such as his mother welcoming him, were unfulfilled . Not only has the physical expectation of coming home been disrupted, but the emotional expectation has also been undermined, and evidently both experiences are intrinsically bound up in one another. What does greet Mordecai home, however, is an earthworm, and this encounter is especially symbolic . It evokes to the reader the sense of desolation and degeneration that surrounds Mordecai. The sentence, shake hands with the worm , it bids you welcome , symbolizes Mordeca is confrontation with the reality of his home/homelessness (62). He is greeting this new reality; acknowledging it in the same way that every Holocaust survivor had to do after the war . Like Mordecai , the Jewish survivors of the Holocaust found that their notion of home h ad been entirely destructed both literally and metaphorically . They were, in fact, doubly displaced . Firstly displaced after their forced removal from their homes into concentration camps, and if not into concentration camps then into hiding. The only reminders of their former homes were in their memories. The second displacement was only possible for survivors of the Holocaust who , after the horrors and trauma of the war , might have hoped to return to home. It is not unlikely that they idealized this return in the same way that Mordecai did. And, like Mordecai, they came to the devastating realization that this home no longer existed. Again this raises the question of the possibility of a homecoming in the face of homelessness . In a sense it is a paradox it is self-contradictory. How is a return home possible if there is no home to return to?

4 One might argue that a homecoming has as much to do with the actual journey as it does with the final stage of being home. Homecoming is a verb, it is an action , and there is a lot to be said of the act in itself . In the narrative Mordecais journey back to Narodnowa can be read as a sort of pilgrimage . In this sense it is also somewhat of an identity quest , perhaps not explicitly, but in the sense that by the end of the narrative Mordecai is faced with the task of recontextualizing his sense of self in relation to his newly disrupted notion of home . Prior to this however , Mordecai seems to progress through the narrative with a displaced sense of self - a sense of self that it seems he hopes to find in returning home . This loss of self is highlighted in the fact that Mordecai is referred to as the stranger for the first three quarters of the narrative. It is not until after he is confronted with the devastation of his home and the harsh realities of the post-war landscape that we learn his name . He is forced to recontextualize his existence within the framework of a deteriorated post-Holocaust world. The reappropriation of his former identity and the life he envisioned returning to is impossible . Thus, Mordecai has no choice but to ultimately construct a new sense of self out of this traumatic and desolate reality. Before returning to where his home once stood, Mordecai is unsure as to what he will face once he gets there. He both hopes for the best but anticipates the worst, and this internal conflict is further emphasized by his transitions in and out of reality. He is unsure as to how to situate himself in relation to the events of the war, as he is still unaware of the impact that the Holocaust has had on his prior life. Ultimately he

5 is still a stranger to the conditions of his former home. Once Mordecai bears witness to the devastation of his home, however, he can no longer be considered a stranger . The destruction and dilapidation of his home become a part of his selfhood, which is now a selfhood of displacement and homelessness . Now that his identity has been firmly, albeit somewhat paradoxically, situated in a context of dislocation, we are given the privilege of knowing his name, thus further solidifying his placement in this post-war context. This deconstruction and reconstruction of identity mirrors the experience of the Holocaust and post-Holocaust Jew. Constantly having to reposition their concept of self in relation to the myriad of labels imposed upon them, the Jewish diaspora can be said to be as much a struggle for home as it is a struggle for a self-made identity; for an identity that is not considered inferior or abnormal . It is this sense of resolve that Mordecai has at the end of the narrative . He thinks to himself, perhap s I can pick up the pieces of my lifePerhaps I can find some reason to want to live again. The thought took him by surprise. It astonished him. It was miraculous how powerfully the will to live asserted itself (77). Mordecai is tired of having other people determine his selfhood and his fate; he is tired of waiting. This idea of waiting is prominent throughout the narrative . After discovering the ruin of his old home Mordecai states I must lie here , waiting. Yes, waiting. But for what? Surely my mother will come to me now , for she must know that I am here , waiting (62). When speaking to Rachel , Mordecai asks if she plans to remain in Narodnowa, to which she replies , I dont know . I am waiting. Mordecai asks her ,

6 waiting for what? (67) . In another instance Mordecai s uncle, David Mantel , says to Mordecai, We must wait and we must have patience . We must have trust in the Almighty. Mordecai replies , We have had too much trust . We have had too much patience. We have waited too long (72) . For Mordecai this idea of waiting is synonymous with helplessness and immobility. By waiting you are giving others permission to act upon you instead of acting yourself . It is the hopefulness associated with waiting that traps us there , the anticipation that something will happen despite our inaction . This assumption , however, is seen as false. One relinquishes control of ones life when one waits, especially when one is waiting for something that may never come . The only thing that is certain to come is death, and Mordecai refuses to wait even for that. He will not allow himself to be defeated, choosing instead to make a new home for himself and a new identity. It is clear that these two concepts home and identity are intrinsically connected, especially in the context of Jewish displacement after the Holocaust. Ones sense of self is largely determined by ones sense of place. Take away the latter and the former soon follows. Again, this was evidenced in Mordecais attempted homecoming, which, on an ideological level, both deconstructed and reconstructed his notions of identity and home. Regardless of whether they are seen as literal or figurative, these two concepts are tightly bound together in the post-World War II context of the narrative. At the end of the story, Mordecai is determined to make a new home for himself, one within a framework less directly implicated in the postHolocaust landscape. He states, I have to leave Europe. Europe is finished for me.

7 Ill find some place. So long as its far away. Where on e can breathe. Where there isnt the stench of death everywhere (76) . Mordecai no longer wants to be surrounded by the memories of destruction, destitution, and desperation that colour the post-war backdrop. He wants to leave and create a new home and a new identity for himself elsewhere. Although the narrative ends in this hopeful and optimistic way, the story is far from being over. At the end of the narrative Mordecai is still, in a sense, homeless, and therefore one might argue that his homecoming is not yet complete. However, even if he has been forced to construct anew the home that he will someday come home to, it is not any less meaningful. This passage from the narrative, although situated in the middle of the work, speaks to this sentiment: Now I am going homeI, too am going home! The thought brought forth a feeling of great elation and optimism, and made him walk faster, hurrying to rush home, out of the darkness into the light, out of the cold into the warmth, to end al l sorrow and to have rest (58 ). These are the feelings associated with a true homecoming, especially one born out of the perceived impossibility of home in the face of homelessness. The post-Holocaust Jew, like Mordecai, instead sees the possibility of home despite homelessness.

8 Works Cited Kreisel, Henry. "The Homecoming." Trans. Array The Almost Meeting and Other Stories. Edmonton: NeWest Publishers Ltd, 1981. 39-77. Print.