Gimpel The Fool

Take a Second Glance In the story of Gimpel The Fool, Isaac Bashevis Singer develops his characters in such a way that Gimpel is portrayed as a symbol of a stereotype. Throughout the story Gimpel gives nothing but honesty and trust to everyone. Gimpel is in turn stereotyped and weighed down by society as a senseless fool. If he indeed were a real fool, then he would lack the insight of realizing the motives behind …

…as if they were his own. Gimpel cannot bear the hardships of reality, so he accepts whatever information is put before him and believes it to be the truth. The reason behind Gimpel's lifelong continuation of evading the painful truth is his belief in the afterlife. He believes very strongly in the concepts of heaven and hell, and tells himself that everything will be much better when he is able to reach that final destination.