The Conversion of the Jews

“The Conversion of the Jews” both seeks truth and challenges things previously accepted as true. Ozzie is a genuine, if naïve, truth seeker. Literature often uses the voice of the child—or social outcasts—to question cultural norms. Roth’s protagonist reveals holes in Rabbi Binder’s knowledge of the Jewish faith.

Ozzie’s quest for truth is met with disciplinary action including verbal, psychological, and physical abuse. Ozzie’s questions during “free-discussion time” lead Rabbi Binder to shout at him and call in his mother for further discussion of his behavior. Psychologically, Ozzie is tormented by Rabbi Binder’s oppressive, authoritarian classroom, which the narrator describes as “soul-battering” (316). This psychological suppression ultimately leads the rabbi to physically shut Ozzie up, resulting in a bloody nose for the boy. In an earlier flashback, Ozzie’s mother becomes physically violent upon learning he defended the virgin birth.

Ozzie is constantly let down by the authority figures who are supposed to impart knowledge. Roth employs his protagonist as a catalyst to question previously held truths centered around religion, authority, and structures of power. Roth employs humor to undermine institutions often deemed infallible. The questioning of truth reaches its climax at the end of the short story as Ozzie forces the crowd of Jewish people to say that they believe in Jesus Christ.