Silas Marner: A Critical Book Review of the Historical and Cultural Context

As the Panama City controversy became more intense, the rhetoric thickened: The parents cast themselves as victims of the ``secular humanist conspiracy,'' and as witnesses for God, but did not say what the impact of the book might be on the children. The teachers cast themselves as martyrs in the cause of ``critical thinking skills'' and witnesses for free speech and the First Amendment. Taking refuge in educationist and legal arguments, they ignored the parent's basic value questions.

A generation ago, before Israeli English departments committedthemselves to becoming, in Zionist lingo, like the nations by emulating thecritical fashions (currently studies in gender, class, and race) of Americanand European universities, they were distinguished by a group of remarkablescholar-critics who were also committed Zionists. Among them were the lateDorothea Krook at Tel-Aviv, Murray Roston at Bar-Ilan, and H. M. Daleski atHebrew University. But none has had a longer or more fully-achieved anddistinguished career than Harold Fisch, a transplanted Englishman (product ofSheffield and Oxford Universities) and for many years Head of the EnglishDepartment at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat-Gan. For over half a century Fischhas been publishing books and articles (in Hebrew and English) covering thewhole range of English and American literature (with special emphasis on theRenaissance), Jewish subjects ancient and modem, and the relations (literary,political, spiritual) between Jerusalem and Albi on.

critical book review on silas marner

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