My Name is Asher Lev
My Name is Asher Lev Some may say that Asher Lev’s responsibility was to his religion, not to his art. However, there is evidence available in Chaim Potok’s My Name is Asher Lev that can prove otherwise. ... Asher’s goals concern the quality of his artwork and his self-gratification. Through his art, Asher wants nothing more than to create paintings that are true to him, as well as to the world. ... Asher not only paints the world like this to express himself but also to convey a sense of truth to his audience. ... Asher says this to his mother Rivkeh, after she insists he paints birds and other pretty things. This could suggest that Rivkeh is struggling to accept the world as it is and as Asher so willingly presents to her. To accomplish these objectives, Asher Lev goes to great lengths. ... Throughout the text, Aryeh and Asher’s bond clearly weakens every time Aryeh views one of Asher’s paintings. Asher, for the sake of his passion and dreams, sacrifices the father-son bond he and Aryeh, at one stage, actually obtained. When Rivkeh cries “You shouldn’t hurt your father this way” (Potok, page 95) and Asher replies, “I don’t care…I don’t want to lose it again, mama. I don’t care about anyone” (Potok, page 95), it is apparent that Asher would do anything to get one step closer to his goal, even if it’s inevitable that he would hurt his own father. Asher’s painting of the crucifixion is the climax of the text, as well as in Asher’s life, as they are his objectives making a culmination. Asher’s first creation of the crucifixion wasn’t satisfactory and did not feel complete to Asher, but the second painting of the crucifixion was gratifying and both were chosen for his exhibition. This demonstrates Asher’s need to have every artwork of his revised until perfection. Asher had no say in which of his paintings were to be presented at his exhibition, but still allowed his parents to come and view his work.