Goodbye, Columbus’’ is narrated from the point of view of Neil Klugman, a twenty-three-year-old Jewish man who lives with his aunt and uncle in a lower-middle-class neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, and works at a public library. It concerns his relationship over the course of one summer with Brenda Patimkin, an upper-middle-class Jewish college student staying with her family in the suburbs. Their relationship is characterized by the stark contrast of their socioeconomic differences, despite the fact that they are both Jewish. The summer ends with Brenda's brother Ron's wedding, after which Brenda returns to Radcliffe College in Massachusetts. When the two arrange to meet at a hotel over the Jewish holidays, she tells him that her parents have discovered her diaphragm and have both written her letters expressing their dismay and their disdain for Neil as a result. As Brenda feels she can no longer continue the relationship, Neil leaves the hotel, ultimately achieving a new sense of self-knowledge, which is expressed by the dawning of the Jewish New Year as he arrives back in Newark.
Defender of the Faith
In Defender of the Faith, Nathan Marx, a sergeant at Camp Crowder, meets private Sheldon Grossbart, who, along with two of his friends, Halpern and Fishbein, attempt to avoid their scheduled duties (such as G.I. parties), citing religious obligations. After Grossbart discovers that Marx is also a Jew, he repeatedly tries to induce guilt in him by appealing to their common ethnic identity in order to gain his sympathy and be granted passes. At some point, Marx becomes weary of his manipulation, and sends him over to the Pacific (which Grossbart had initially managed to avoid by pulling some strings).