Bontshe the Silent

E375405

"Bontshe the Silent" is a classic Yiddish short story by I. L. Peretz about a meek, long-suffering man whose extreme humility and silence in life lead to a poignant, ironic judgment in the afterlife.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Bontshe the Silent canonical 2

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Yiddish literature work ⓘ
short story ⓘ
author I. L. Peretz ⓘ
Isaac Leib Peretz ⓘ
linked to: I. L. Peretz
characterTraitOfProtagonist extreme modesty ⓘ
passivity ⓘ
self-effacement ⓘ
characterType everyman figure ⓘ
countryOfOrigin Poland ⓘ
culturalContext Ashkenazi Jewish culture ⓘ
genre Jewish literature ⓘ
allegorical fiction ⓘ
religious fiction ⓘ
short story ⓘ
hasAdaptation radio adaptations ⓘ
stage adaptations ⓘ
hasTranslation English ⓘ
Hebrew ⓘ
interpretation often interpreted as social criticism of Jewish life in Eastern Europe ⓘ
often read as a critique of excessive meekness ⓘ
sometimes viewed as a satire on conventional religious piety ⓘ
literaryMovement modern Yiddish literature ⓘ
literarySignificance considered a classic of Yiddish short fiction ⓘ
frequently anthologized in Yiddish literature collections ⓘ
mainCharacter Bontshe ⓘ
medium print ⓘ
moralQuestion relationship between earthly suffering and heavenly reward ⓘ
value of unquestioning humility ⓘ
narrativeDevice heavenly court ⓘ
narrativeTone ironic ⓘ
poignant ⓘ
originalLanguage Yiddish ⓘ
plotElement Bontshe endures a life of poverty and humiliation ⓘ
Bontshe is offered any reward he wishes in heaven ⓘ
Bontshe modestly asks only for a warm roll with butter every morning ⓘ
Bontshe remains silent and uncomplaining throughout his life ⓘ
after death Bontshe is brought before a heavenly tribunal ⓘ
angels praise Bontshe for his patience and humility ⓘ
protagonistDescription meek and long-suffering Jewish man ⓘ
religiousContext Jewish ethical thought ⓘ
setting Eastern Europe ⓘ
Jewish shtetl milieu ⓘ
theme afterlife judgment ⓘ
divine justice ⓘ
humility ⓘ
irony ⓘ
silence ⓘ
social injustice ⓘ
suffering ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Bontshe Shvayg → appearsIn → Bontshe the Silent ⓘ
Bontshe Shvayg → hasNameMeaning → Bontshe the Silent ⓘ