- Focus (novel)
"Focus" is a 1945 novel by
Arthur Miller dealing with issues of racism, particularlyanti-Semitism . In 2002, a film version, starringWilliam H. Macy , was released.Plot summary
The novel is set in New York towards the end of the Second World War. Its protagonist is Newman, a personnel manager for a large company, who lives with his mother. Newman, though too timid to do much about them, shares the prejudices of his neighbour Fred, who is determined to deal with the "new element" in their neighbourhood, particularly a Jewish candy store owner called Finkelstein.
However, a new pair of glasses have an unfortunate effect on Newman, altering his appearance in such a way that he begins to be mistaken for a Jew.
As anti-Semitism mounts throughout the city and the Christian Front organizes to turn general ill will into action, Newman marries a girl called Gertrude. She has seen anti-Semitism mobilised at close quarters before, when she lived with the ringleader of an organization that abused Jews in California, and recognises how risky a position Newman is in when his garbage can, as well as Finkelstein's, is turned over in the night.
Newman's principles and character mean that he would prefer to stand aside while the persecution of Finkelstein continues – his own anti-Semitism tacitly endorses it, while his reticence makes it hard for him to participate. But, accidentally caught up as a victim, non-participation is not an option.
An attempt by Newman to convince Fred and his collaborators of his allegiance to their cause by attending an anti-Semitic rally results only in his being again taken for a Jew, attacked and ejected. Approached afterwards by Finkelstein, Newman asks the Jewish store owner to leave his store and move away, but is given reason to question his prejudices.
Finally, Newman and Finkelstein are together attacked in the street by a gang of men, who they fight off. Unwilling now to make peace with Fred and the Christian Front, as Gertrude would have him, Newman goes to the police. Asked by an officer "How many of you people live there?" he declines to correct the mistake, realising that by accepting it he sets himself against those who have abused him, those who he hates.
External Links
[http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/11/12/specials/miller-focus.html 1945 "New York Times" review of "Focus"]
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