The Magic Barrel Themes

Malamud doesn't go overboard in his religious descriptions, but hey: Leo's studying to be a rabbi—religion and God are on this story like white on rice. In fact, what at first appears to be a que...

This is one of the big ones: at the end of the day, all of us just want to be loved. Leo doesn't think he needs love early on—he's just looking for a bigger congregation—but as the story progre...

"The Magic Barrel" toys with the idea of white lies, and how harmful (or awesome?) they might be. Salzman lies about the girls he shows to the rabbi, while Leo lies to himself about what he wants a...

These characters ain't happy. Leo is so twisted up in knots about who he is and where he's going that he can barely see straight. Salzman is nursing a wound so deep and abiding that he may take it...

Hey, it's not super-surprising that a character being matched up to a potential date through photographs and biographical info alone is a tad superficial. We all have—or at least have heard—app...