Disobedience by Naomi Alderman - Essay Example

Ronit works for a finance department in Manhattan. The novel also contains scenes from other characters. As we are being introduced to Ronit, the author also describes the life of Esti. Esti has been Ronit’s childhood friend, but as Ronit went abroad, she remained in Hendon. Th community considers her strange, but this does not deter her from conducting her day to day activities in the area. Esti is married to Dovi. After the death of Rav Krushka, it is widely presumed that Dovid was going to be the new Rabbi, but he is really not keen on the post.

From the lives and events of these characters, we are able to witness the merging of modernity and a religious life. There is also the aspect of sexuality merging with spirituality, and the juxtaposition between people’s desires and the demands expected of them as pertains their religious lifestyle. The disobedience that is being talked about refers to the deviation of characters from the expectation of religion. Alderman is explaining about Orthodox Judaism in the contemporary world, and that the community in Hendon was expected to stick to the expectations of this religion.

However, the irony is that Esti, Dovid and Ronit all have different relationships with God, and each of this has their own way of obeying God. However, they are expected to stick and act in tandem with the requirements of their religion. However, they have all been brought up in different environments, and this has affected the manner in which they relate and act as per their religion. Especially for Ronit who has been living in Manhattan which has a different culture and religion as her native home.

This is the disobedience that Alderman is talking about i.e. the characters not acting in tandem with their cultural expectations and religion. Esti and Ronit have been portrayed as two characters who defy their community’s conventional expectation. Thematic concerns Orthodox Jewish communities reside in many big cities of the world like London and New York. Normally, these communities seclude themselves and subscribe to their own cultures. The interesting concept about these communities is that they have managed to preserve their customs, traditions and beliefs despite being the minority communities.

Alderman is using the same approach to explain about “Orthodox Jewish cultures and religion”. Disobedience tells of the taboos and negative behavior by some community members against the doctrines of the religion. In this case, Ronit is being lambasted by the author as having gone against the dictates of her religion. However, the author has been quick to point out that this is normal when one has been away from the community for a long period of time. When Ronit comes, she changes the perception of the community so that at the end, all the community members are able to associate together regardless of their traits.

For example, there is the intermingling between the overly religious and the secular. There is intermingling between the conservative and the liberal; the gay and the heterosexuals. Ronit is critical of the perception of the native. This just shows that her living in Manhattan had changed her to the point of criticizing the cultures of her people. According to Ronit, one does not choose to be born with a particular trait; hence people should accept each other like they are. Ronit muses that there is really nothing that can be done to change what you are; when you