Cultural Messages in Solomon Gursky Was Here Essay -- Solomon Gursky W

Cultural Messages in Solomon Gursky Was Here Solomon Gursky Was Here   is an epic novel spanning nearly a century and a half, from the mid 1800's to 1980's.   It is the story of the obsession of   Moses Berger, a Rhodes scholar turned alcoholic, with Solomon Gursky, the charismatic son of a poor immigrant.   Solomon, with his brother Bernard and Morrie, built the massive liquor empire of McTavish industries.   Moses is attempting to write a biography of Solomon, which becomes his life's work.   Through his investigations the complex story of five generations of Gurskys is revealed.   The eldest is Ephraim, Solomon's criminal, perpetually scheming grandfather.   Ephraim, is constantly associated with the raven, he escaped imprisonment in England in the mid 1800's by forging documents, also allowing him to join a crew searching for the Northwest passage, called the Franklin Expedition. The expedition turned into a total disaster, Ephraim, the sole survivor.  Ã‚   The youngest Gursky appearing in this story is Is aac, Solomon's grandson.   This complex tale unravels, as Moses recalls, all of the events in his life which pertain to it.   Ever present in this Canadian cultural satire is the theme of filial relationships and the exploration of Solomon and his re-incarnation as Sir Hyman Kaplansky, in conjunction with his family and their exploits.   Every character in this novel is in some way corrupt or failure.   Moses is an alcoholic who did not live up to his potential; Bernard is a greedy self-centered bastard;    Solomon is a cheat, when it comes to gambling, women and anything else you can think of.  Ã‚   Richler, through this exaggeration of corruption a... ...ursky family and their diverse interests, life-styles and undertakings allows Richlers readers to grasp many parts of Canada in many different time frames.   This in turn allows him to satirize the stereotypes of Canada, its people and their culture.   Adding to idea of corruption, which enhances this satire, are the filial relationships occurring in this novel. The fact that all these relationships are unsuccessful and non-cordial, enhances the idea that all Canadians roots are in some way corrupt or failures.   Richler, shows how these traits are passed through generation after generation.  Ã‚   There can be no doubt that Solomon, one of the most corrupt characters in the book, becomes Sir Hyman after his staged death.   Richler has tied his complex story of Solomon Gursky, his family and their exploits together with his cultural messages