The Zulu and the Zeide

Dan Jacobson’s “The Zulu and the Zeide,” is a story of interpersonal relationships. There are two main relationships and one additional subsequent relationship that move the action of the story. The first relationship is already established at the beginning of the work, while the second two are formed as the piece develops. All of the relationships within the story give insight into the character’s lives and feelings towards each other, which consequently moves the story forward. However, in the end these relationships bring the story to a tragic conclusion.

The first relationship is between Harry and the old man, Harry’s father. This relationship sets up an introduction to the story by revealing Harry’s thoughts of his father’s past and ongoing actions. Throughout Harry’s life, his relationship with his father was one of “duty.” He was always watching over his father, making sure his father was safe and wasn’t getting into any trouble. Harry had to constantly watch over his father because his father was always running away. Harry would say, to the people who asked about his father, “all he knew was to run away.” Consequently, “dutifulness had been his [Harry’s] habit of life.” This sets up a “dutiful” relationship between Harry and his father. However, some tension in their relationship is revealed when Harry tells the story about his mother saving money in order to send his father to Africa.

The story describes how Harry’s father was supposed to go to South Africa and make a fortune, but instead his father exchanges his ticket and makes his way to South America. In the end, Harry’s father makes a new debt for the family when he fails to make any money in South America. In turn, Harry’s mother has to take out a loan to bring Harry’s father back to the old country. Harry feels that his father didn’t perform his “duty,” and instead brought more of a bearing onto the family; thus, in the end putting more “duty” on Harry. Overall, Harry’s “duty” to his father and his resentment to the “sort of father he had,” makes Harry’s relationship with his father to be more of a job than anything. Harry described their relationship as, “It’s a job. It’s something you’ve got to do.”

The second relationship that is found within the story is the relationship between Paulus and Harry’s father. This relationship begins when Harry hires Paulus to look after his father by making sure that he doesn’t get into any trouble when he is “running away.” This also begins the subsequent relationship between Harry and Paulus. When Harry’s father first met Paulus, he was frightened by him and tried to get away from the house more and more. However, he realized he could not shake Paulus’ efforts to keep watch over him. As time went on Paulus went from following the old man at a great distance to eventually walking with him side by side. At this point in their relationship he was no longer following the old man, instead they were exploring the town together. However, as in most relationships, there was a flaw in the relationship between Harry’s father and Paulus.

This downside of their newly begun relationship was that the two had no way to communicate. Paulus only new Zulu, while Harry’s father only knew Yiddish. Nonetheless, even with this language gap they still manage to talk to each other. “They both explained, commented, and complained to each other of the things they saw around them, and often they agreed with one another, smiling and nodding their heads and explaining again with their hands what each happened to be talking about.” Overtime, the relationship between Harry’s father and Paulus continued to grow through their explorations. The growth of the relationship was also a result of the old man’s constant need for Paulus to take care of him. “Paulus dressed him and bathed him and trimmed his beard.” In essence, Harry’s father depended on Paulus like he had once depended on Harry.

By Paulus filling Harry’s position, the basis for the relationship between Harry and his father was stripped.