| Exodus | |
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| Author | Leon Uris |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Historical fiction |
| Publisher | Doubleday & Company |
| Publication date | 1958 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
Exodus is a novel written in 1958 by American novelist Leon Uris about the founding of the State of Israel, based on the name of the 1947 immigration ship Exodus. Leon Marcus Uris ( August 3 1924 - June 21 2003) was an American novelist, known for his historical fiction and the deep The United States of America —commonly referred to as the English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Historical fiction is a sub-genre of Fiction that often portrays alternate accounts or dramatization of historical figures or events Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view The Doubleday Publishing Group is the fifth largest Book Publishing company in the world A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a Book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with Cloth A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Leon Marcus Uris ( August 3 1924 - June 21 2003) was an American novelist, known for his historical fiction and the deep For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Early history The ship was built in 1928 by Pusey and Jones Corp
In 1956, Uris covered the Arab-Israeli fighting as a war correspondent. Two years later, Exodus was published by Doubleday & Company. The idea for the book evolved out of a conversation with the author and Malcolm Stuart, his agent. Exodus became an international publishing phenomenon, the biggest bestseller in the United States since Gone with the Wind. This is about the 1936 American Novel. For the film see Gone with the Wind (film Gone with the Wind is a 1936 American Uris had sold the film rights in advance.
The story unfolds with the protagonist, Ari Ben Canaan, hatching a plot to transport Jewish refugees from a British detention camp in Cyprus to Palestine. The Protagonist or main character is the central figure of a story. According to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people commonly in large groups without trial Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía The Palestine Mandate, was a set of protocols or articles that formed a multilateral legal and administrative agreement The operation is carried out under the auspices of the Mossad Le'aliyah Bet. The Mossad Le'aliyah Bet ( Hebrew: 'המוסד לעלייה ב (English The Institution for Immigration B) was a branch of the Jewish Defense Association ( Haganah The book then goes on to trace the histories of the various main characters and the ties of their personal lives to the birth of the new Jewish state. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************
A film based on the novel was directed by Otto Preminger in 1960 featuring Paul Newman as Ari Ben Canaan. Exodus is a 1960 epic War film made by Alpha and Carlyle Productions and distributed by United Artists. Otto Ludwig Preminger ( December 5[[ 906]]&ndash April 23[[ 986]] was an Austrian born Film director who moved from the theatre to Hollywood Paul Leonard Newman (January 26 1925 &ndash September 26 2008 was an Academy Award It focused mainly on the escape from Cyprus and subsequent events in Palestine/Israel.
Contents |
Main characters
The main strength of the book is its vivid description of different people and the conflicts in their lives. As in several of Uris's novels, some of the fictional characters are partially based upon one or more historical personages, or act as metaphors for the various peoples who helped to build modern Israel. Metaphor (from the Greek: μεταφορά - metaphora, meaning "transfer" is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects
Ari Ben Canaan
The character around whom the story is woven, Ari Ben Canaan was born and raised on a kibbutz, but goes on to become one of the mainstays of the Israeli freedom movement. A kibbutz ( Hebrew: קיבוץ קִבּוּץ lit "gathering clustering" plural kibbutzim) is a collective community in His father is Barak Ben Canaan (formerly Jossi Rabinsky, born in the Russian Pale of Settlement), head of the Jewish Agency for Palestine. The Pale of Settlement (Черта́ осе́длости cherta osedlosti) was the term given to a region of Imperial Russia, along its western border in which The Jewish Agency for Israel (Hebrew הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) also known as the Sochnut or JAFI His uncle is Akiva (formerly Yakov Rabinsky), leader of the Maccabees, a militant organization (based on the Irgun). Irgun (ארגון shorthand for HaIrgun HaTzva'i HaLe'umi BeEretz Yisra'el, he הארגון הצבאי הלאומי בארץ ישראל "National Military Organization The brothers came to Palestine after their father was murdered in a pogrom. A pogrom is a form of Riot directed against a particular group whether ethnic religious or other and characterized by destruction of their Homes Businesses As a young man, Ari was engaged to a young woman, Dafna, who was tortured and murdered by Arabs. Dafna later becomes the namesake of the youth village, Gan Dafna, around which a large part of the story unfolds. As part of the Mossad Aliyah Bet (organization for illegal immigration), Ari is extremely creative in devising techniques to bring Jews from all over the world to Palestine - more than allowed by the British quota. During World War II, he served as an officer in the Jewish Brigade of the British army and he uses this experience to benefit his activities. For other Jewish regiments see Jewish legion (disambiguation. This is his main occupation until Israel gains freedom, when he joins the Israeli army and is assigned to the Negev desert. The Negev (נֶגֶב Tiberian vocalization: Néḡeḇ) is the Desert region of southern Israel. He sees himself as part of a new breed of Jew who will not 'turn the other cheek'. He is probably based on Moshe Dayan, the Israeli military leader and politician. Moshe Dayan, DSO (משה דיין born 20 May 1915 died 16 October 1981 was an Israeli military leader and politician Many parallels can be drawn between Ari and Dayan; both the fictional Ari and the real-life Dayan were trained by the same British General and had similar World War 2 experience.
The novel describes Ari as six feet and three inches tall, with black hair and blue eyes, and very handsome.
Katherine "Kitty" Fremont
An American nurse newly widowed, she meets Ari Ben Canaan in Cyprus. Grieving for her lost husband and the recent death of her daughter due to polio, Kitty develops a maternal attachment toward Karen Hansen Clement, a German refugee in a Cyprus displaced persons camp. A displaced person (sometimes abbreviated DP) is a person who has been forced to leave his or her native place a phenomenon known as Forced migration. This attachment and her attraction toward Ben Canaan result in her becoming, initially with reluctance, involved in the freedom struggle. She eventually becomes irritated at Ari's lack of emotion towards violent deaths, but comes to understand and accept his dedication to Israel.
She is described in the novel as being tall, blonde, blue-eyed, and beautiful.
Bruce Sutherland
A British military officer (rank of brigadier) whose mother was Jewish. An officer is a member of an armed force who holds a position of authority This article refers to the military rank For the Doctor Who character known as the Brigadier see Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. After a lifetime of soldiering, he is posted to Cyprus, with instructions to maintain security at the detention camps. Like many British aristocrats he has a stifling, formal manner of speech. Aristocracy is a form of Government, where rule is established through an internal struggle over who has the most status and influence over society and internal relations Internally, he is torn between his sympathies with the fellow Jews he is required to guard and his duties as a British officer; the horrors he witnessed when his battalion liberated Bergen-Belsen is also a factor. He retires from the army at his own request after a mass escape engineered and led by Ari Ben Canaan. Despite this, he moves to Palestine to settle, becomes good friends with Ben Canaan and acts as a very unofficial military advisor. This facet may be based on the activities of Mickey Marcus, although Marcus himself (under his real-life alias of "Colonel Stone") makes a brief appearance in the book. David Daniel Marcus ( 22 February 1901 &ndash 10 June 1948) commonly known as Mickey Marcus, was an American United
Karen Hansen Clement
A German teenager who was brought up for a while by foster parents in Denmark. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe She was sent there by her family when Hitler rose to power in Germany. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Her family were subsequently interned in concentration camps, where most of them met their end. See also List of Nazi-German concentration camps, Extermination camp Prior to and during World War II, Nazi Germany under Hitler maintained Karen does meet her father again in Israel, but he is a broken man who is unable to communicate or recognise his daughter. The experience leaves her unnerved and shattered. Despite this, she maintains her gentle and dainty personality. Before she is transported to Israel, Karen is placed in a Cyprus refugee camp, where a romance between Karen and Dov Landau begins. Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía
Dov Landau
A quiet, introverted teenage boy who lost his entire family to the Holocaust, Dov has not merely survived the horrors of ghetto life in Warsaw and of concentration camp in Auschwitz, but has learned from them to turn circumstances to his advantage. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as Warsaw (Warszawa; also known by other names) is the Capital and Largest city of Poland. A master forger, he narrowly escapes the gas chamber by displaying to the camp doctor his talent. Forgery is the process of making adapting or imitating objects statistics or documents (see False document) with the intent to deceive. A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing consisting of a sealed chamber into which a Poisonous or Asphyxiant gas is introduced The doctor is not able to tell the difference between his own signature and the five copies that Dov makes. He does work as a forger, but is then assigned to work as a Sonderkommando, which he barely survives. Sonderkommandos were work units of Nazi Death camp prisoners forced to aid the killing process during The Holocaust. After the camp is liberated, he ends up in Cyprus and eventually Israel as part of the escape organized by Ari Ben Canaan. He joins the Maccabees (based on the Irgun), a Jewish terrorist organization that is headed by Barak's brother. Irgun (ארגון shorthand for HaIrgun HaTzva'i HaLe'umi BeEretz Yisra'el, he הארגון הצבאי הלאומי בארץ ישראל "National Military Organization He is being driven by a thirst for revenge "that only God or a bullet can stop". Karen is the only person for whom he is able to feel any emotion. He later becomes a Major in the army of Israel, and unofficially engaged to Karen, but after she is murdered, he forces himself to go on working for Israel, as she would have wished.
In the film version of the book, Dov Landau survived Auschwitz not as a master forger, but as a forced prostitute for homosexual SS officers. (When applying to the Maccabees and queried how he survived, he breaks down and explains: "They used me! . . . Like you use a woman. ")
Jordana Ben Canaan (peripheral character)
Ari's fiery younger sister and a leader of the Palmach (Haganah elite unit), she is engaged to David Ben Ami. The Palmach ( Hebrew: פלמ"ח an acronym for Plugot Maḥatz (Hebrew פלוגות מחץ Strike Companies) was the regular fighting force Haganah ( Hebrew: "The Defense" ההגנה was a Jewish Paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine Jordana is typical of the young native-born girls, and initially hostile toward Kitty, believing that American women are no good for anything other than dressing up prettily. She changes her opinion when Kitty saves Ari's life and later becomes more identified with Israel's struggle.
The book describes her as tall, and having red hair and blue eyes.
Barak Ben Canaan (peripheral character)
Born Jossi Rabinsky. Father of Ari Ben-Canaan. After moving to the Land of Israel, he insists on only speaking Hebrew rather than Russian or Yiddish and actually refuses to speak to his wife until she addresses him in Hebrew. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Yiddish (yi [[wiktייִדיש ייִדיש]] yidish or yi [[wiktאידיש אידיש]] idish, literally "Jewish" is a nonterritorial High This aspect seems to be inspired by (possibly apocryphal) anecdotes about the real-life Eliezer Ben-Yehuda. For the street named for Eliezer Ben Yehuda in Jerusalem, Israel, see Ben Yehuda Street.
Barak is 6 feet and 3 inches tall, has red hair and blue eyes.
Akiva (peripheral character)
Born Yakov Rabinsky. Brother of Barak Ben Canaan. Poet and leader of the radical underground group the 'Maccabees'. While the latter bears some resemblance to the real-life Irgun (Etze"l), Akiva seems to be inspired by Avraham Stern. Irgun (ארגון shorthand for HaIrgun HaTzva'i HaLe'umi BeEretz Yisra'el, he הארגון הצבאי הלאומי בארץ ישראל "National Military Organization
He is of medium height, with brown eyes and dark hair.
Literary significance & criticisms
Mixing of historical characters with fictional characters and composite characters and events is quite common in this fictional genre for plot development. Other successful historical fiction authors (Patrick O'Brian, C.S. Forrester, Herman Wouk, etc. Patrick O'Brian, CBE ( 12 December 1914 &ndash 2 January 2000; born as Richard Patrick Russ) was an English Cecil Scott Forester was the Pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith ( August 27 1899 – April 2, 1966) an English Herman Wouk ( "woke" born May 27, 1915) is a bestselling American Author with a number of notable Novels to his ) have also successfully used these devices.
Further reading
- Weissbrod, Rachel, "Exodus as a Zionist Melodrama" in: Israel Studies 4. 1 (1999) 129-152