Another identity that is offered, so to speak, to Neil, is that of an employee in
Mr. Patimkin's firm, where Ron already works. Mr. Patimkin suggests to Neil that
he, too, would be able to learn the business, but Neil recognizes that he is unsuited
for such a life. He is not robust enough for the work, but, on the other hand, he
is attracted to the neighborhood where the company is located, the black section
of Newark that once was peopled by immigrant Jews of his grandparents' generation.
There is an authenticity and vitality in life as it was and is lived in these
neighborhoods, and their pungent smells suggest it. The ways of the Jews of old
as well as the blacks of the present are chaotic and povertyridden, yet more suited
to real human needs than the middle-class way of life that is replacing it. The old
blacks, for example, are not segregated from the community, but are placed in
"screenless windows" (p. 64) where they can watch the throbbing life in the streets.
Here, in spite of many problems, there is a freedom and zest for life that Neil
appreciates and will not entirely give up struggling for in his own existence either.
In a sense, the impossible Tahiti of his dreams is closer to him here than anywhere
else, and at the end of the story he returns to the scenes of his childhood.
Carlota
Carlotta is the Patimkin's maid. That the Patimkins have a maid is an indication of their wealth.
Harriet Ehrlich
Harriet Ehrlich is the fiancée of Brenda's brother Ron. Harriet arrives at the Patimkin household several days before the wedding. Neil describes her as "a young lady singularly unconscious of a motive in others or herself. All was all surfaces, and she seemed a perfect match for Ron, and too for the Patimkins."
Aunt Gladys
Gladys is Neil's aunt, and Neil lives at her house. She is indirectly critical of his relationship with Brenda, based on her awareness of the vast socioeconomic class differences between the families.
Doris Klugman
Doris Klugman is Neil's cousin, who first invited him to the country club swimming pool where he met Brenda.
Neil Klugman
Neil Klugman is the protagonist and narrator of the story. Neil's first-person narration tells the story of his relationship with Brenda from his own perspective....