The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz

Back at home, Duddy tries hard to make his dreams a reality. He takes up driving his father’s taxi while Max is sleeping and earns enough money to buy a car of his own. He also gets a job selling soaps to hotels and restaurants. In the evenings, he tries to network with more professional, white collar people. He joins a cinema club and asks the organizer, a filmmaker named Peter Friar, if he can buy him a drink and tell him about some future plans he holds dear.

Duddy and Mr. Friar go to a nearby bar where Friar becomes very intoxicated and wanders outside, conveniently leaving Duddy with the hefty bill. Still, Duddy believes Friar is worth pursuing as a contact, so he makes plans to see him again the next day. When Duddy arrives at Friar’s apartment, Friar is stark naked and drinking again. He rambles about being a free spirit and a communist, saying he had to leave the US for that very reason. Duddy convinces Friar to listen again, with a more open mind, to his idea, which is that they should go into business together making films. Duddy wants to film weddings and bar mitzvahs and make enough money to buy the lake and the surrounding land. Friar agrees, saying that he will invest in the plan, too, as long as he holds all artistic control over the project. Duddy shakes to this.

Duddy quickly acquires an office and, with Yvette’s help, manages to put an offer in on the lake and farm around it. Duddy is pleased and terrified when his offer is accepted because he doesn’t have the money needed or any real hope of quickly acquiring it. He must sign some film deals, so he talks first to Mr. Cohen, a successful member of the local Jewish community, to ask if he wants to have a film of his son’s upcoming bar mitzvah. Cohen declines at first but soon sees Duddy’s desperation. Taking pity on him, he agrees to sign the deal and to let Duddy tell others that he signed onto one of his films. Duddy uses this namedropping to sign a second film deal with another prosperous community member, Mr. Siegal. But payment has yet to arrive and is needed right away. Also, Duddy is disappointed by his father’s lack of pride in him, since Max’s only comment is that Duddy is wasting his money on an office.

Duddy has trouble sleeping, awakened by a dream that Irwin managed to buy the lake out from under him. Duddy envisions Irwin holding the property deed with a big smirk on his face. His screams of anger awaken his father and Lennie. All three sit up together for a while in the night and talk and eat the omelets that Duddy prepares for them. Max is in an unusually nostalgic mood and talks about Minnie, Duddy’s mother, who died when he was just six. Max reminisces about her cooking and the way she kept house. Their home and their city were different places back then, Max alleges. Duddy wants to hear more, but Max tells him to get some sleep. Max has made him an appointment with a local huckster, Jerry Dingleman, early the next morning. It’s an appointment that Duddy has been asking for, as he thinks Dingleman, better known as the Boy Wonder, will be able to set him on the path to greatness.

The so-called Boy Wonder, Jerry Dingleman, had a humble start like Duddy but ends up becoming a real estate mogul and successful entrepreneur. In his youth, the Boy Wonder was known for his charisma and good looks, but his physical appearance was permanently altered when he contracted polio at age 28. The woman who was engaged to him called off the wedding, and his walking became laborious, requiring the aid of a cane or a wheelchair. Despite this, he found success in lucrative gambling establishments and other projects. Once a week, the Boy Wonder gives back by listening to the same stories of the lower classes and offering jobs and assistance if possible, or so the story goes.

Duddy believes his father knows the Boy Wonder personally and has made a case for him, but after waiting for hours to see Dingleman, he realizes he was wrong. Dingleman knows his father only as a taxi driver, and all he offers Duddy is a job as a busboy. Duddy is sent away but manages to slip by the man guarding Dingleman’s door and pleads his case. It is no good, it seems to Duddy, because the Boy Wonder isn’t interested and his father has been leading him on all this time.

Duddy rushes to confront his father about his lie of being an intimate friend of Jerry Dingleman. Max is mad at Duddy for yelling at him in front of the other cabbies, saying Duddy has embarrassed him. Duddy also professes to feel incredibly embarrassed by what happened at Dingleman’s office.

Out of nowhere, Dingleman appears and tells Duddy that he’s sorry about what happened before. He was too hasty. Yes, of course he does know Max, and he wants to help Duddy. He tells Duddy to meet him at the train station the next morning. They are going down to New York City together. Dingleman has work that has to be completed there, and he wants Duddy’s help. In the meantime, they can discuss Duddy’s prospective film business, which Dingleman now says he finds fascinating.

When they get to the train, however, Dingleman disappears for a long time. When he reappears, he gives Duddy a hundred dollars and tells him to do some sightseeing in New York, that he won’t need his assistance right away. They will meet later on to have dinner and go see a show.

Duddy goes to a party in Dingleman’s company, and there Dingleman introduces Duddy to some artist friends who sneer at him much like Linda and her college friends did back in Duddy’s waitering days. A woman arrives on the scene, begging for something from Dingleman. He is angry and sends her away. Later, the same woman calls Dingleman on the phone. Dingleman and Duddy walk around the city together, and when they reach their hotel, Dingleman sends Duddy in first to see if the distraught woman is inside. She is not, Duddy tells Dingleman. Dingleman then announces abruptly that plans have changed and they will head home tomorrow. He gives Duddy a suitcase that he wants Duddy to take through customs for him and a piece of paper, and says if Duddy is asked, he should say that the items on the paper are what are really inside the suitcase. Duddy is given $550 for his trouble, so he doesn’t ask any questions, though he is anxious until he gets through security.

Mr. Cohen’s son’s bar mitzvah arrives and, with it, Duddy and Friar’s first real job as filmmakers. Duddy is nervous and feels uncomfortable in the synagogue, which is Reform and not at all like the kind he experienced growing up attending service with his grandfather, Simcha. The temple is upsetting to Mr. Cohen’s father, too, who is old and senile and keeps repeating, “‘It’s a church!’” Duddy escorts the old man outside at one point to gently settle him back down (163). Friar takes the event very seriously, filming copiously through every stage.

Afterward, the Cohens are eager to see the footage they bought at a pretty penny, but Duddy has to hold them off for a while as Friar develops the film and fusses over it. Duddy sees it himself before he shows it to the Cohens and is sick to his stomach. Friar has overlaid dramatic drumming and quotes about tribalism and ancient rites, and has sporadic close-ups throughout. Duddy feels sure that the Cohens will be displeased by Friar’s erratic, artsy product and tells them so. To his surprise, they are insulted by him and his suggestion that they wouldn’t appreciate something artistic. They, in fact, are pleased with the film, as offbeat as it is, so Duddy’s first venture is a success.

Right on the heels of Duddy’s success, his older brother Lennie suddenly disappears. Max and Duddy’s uncle Benjy are both beside themselves. Lennie leaves a note behind that they all scrutinize. It only announces that he’s gone and he isn’t returning to medical school. The men contact Lennie’s girlfriend, but she is home in bed sick. Duddy intends to go out looking for his brother, but first he invites Yvette and Friar out to celebrate their recent film success. While Duddy is in the bathroom, Friar makes a pass at Yvette, telling her that Duddy will never marry her but that he will and he has far more class. Yvette is frustrated with Duddy because she saw him dancing with Linda at the Cohen bar mitzvah and suspects he still has feelings for her. Duddy ends the night feeling that it is his job to find Lennie, that even if their relationship is tense, they had a strong bond once, long ago. 

Duddy’s search for his brother takes him over to McGill University where he tries to connect with Lennie’s friends. The first person he encounters is a girl, Riva, who has nothing good to say about Lennie. Duddy asks others to explain her angry comments, and they fill Duddy in on Lennie’s behavior at recent parties, where he has been treating Riva like his property and yelling at men for dancing with her. Ousted by the Jewish community, Lennie then took up with the Gentile rich kids, pretending to be able to keep up with their extravagant taste.

Duddy attempts to go see Lennie’s current girlfriend, but when he arrives at her opulent family home, the butler turns him away. He goes home despondent, wondering if his brother could’ve killed himself. Uncle Benjy, drunk and half-asleep on the couch, seems to be worried about the same thing.

Duddy goes back to see Sandra, Lennie’s wealthy girlfriend. The doctor is gone and so is her father, who is on the board of trustees of McGill University. Duddy is stopped again by the butler, but this time Sandra hears him at the door and orders Edgar, the butler, to admit him.

At first Duddy participates in a conversation he really doesn’t understand. Sandra wants Duddy to tell Lennie that everything will be all right. She promises that her father will take care of it, that no one will ever know. Duddy pretends that he understands at the start but eventually owns up to the truth, that Lennie has disappeared.

The two fight over information about Lennie. Duddy demands that Sandra tell him where his brother is. Sandra refuses to and begins to cry. Duddy yells at her, insisting that he will not go away. At last, Sandra gives in and writes an address down on a piece of paper. Duddy comes home to find a note on the table from his father, reminding Duddy to call if he learns anything.

Duddy travels to Toronto to find his brother and quickly locates him. Lennie is hiding out in an apartment at the address Sandra provided. The landlady refuses to let Duddy in, but when Duddy makes a fuss, Lennie appears. The two go out to a restaurant to eat, and gradually Lennie tells the whole story to Duddy.

Lennie describes being recruited by Andy, Sandra, and other popular, rich Gentile members of the McGill med school crowd. The only other Jewish kid in their social group was Irwin, who taunted Duddy when they worked together. Lennie was charmed by the entire group and felt honored to be invited to their parties. It wasn’t long before Irwin informed him that there was a problem afflicting Andy and his girlfriend, Sandra. Sandra was pregnant and needed an abortion. She couldn’t get one on her own, but maybe, as a show of friendship, Lennie could perform the abortion for her. Feeling that it was the right thing to do and that, as a gentleman, he had to help a woman out, Lennie started the procedure, but in the middle, Sandra started to bleed copiously and screamed that she was being killed. Irwin called the family doctor but did not tell the doctor who had started the abortion. Lennie was sure, however, that the information would eventually come out and then he’d be kicked out of medical school.

Listening to his brother’s story, Duddy is mostly appalled at how plainly Lennie let himself be used by Irwin and the rich Gentile kids. Lennie pushes back on this notion, saying that they are his friends and that Duddy was always greedy and deserved Irwin’s abuse at the hotel. Duddy convinces Lennie that he has to go back home, that he owes his father and uncle that much. Duddy suggests that they say that Lennie just went on a mental health break from the pressures of medical school, but Lennie intends to confess to his participation in the illegal abortion.

When they get back home, Duddy is greeted by Yvette, who gives him good news—another lakeside property owner is interested in selling to him. Duddy tells her to negotiate a good price for him. They have sex on the floor of his office, though Yvette isn’t particularly interested. Afterward, Duddy muses aloud about how strange marriage and the idea of committing yourself to one sexual partner for life is.

Duddy takes it upon himself to solve his brother’s problem. He goes to see Sandra’s father, Hugh Calder. The meeting commences poorly. Mr. Calder isn’t particularly interested in hearing the story of his daughter’s abortion. He doesn’t even seem concerned about the health danger that she faced. He mostly wants Duddy to exit his home.

In his typical style, Duddy refuses to depart and instead asks Calder to get him a drink. Calder is startled but amused. Rich and bored, he comes to see Duddy as interesting company. He asks Duddy about himself, and Duddy tells him that he is in the film industry and saving to buy some land. Calder is surprised and impressed that Duddy has accomplished so much in his life so far. He tells Duddy that Lennie is lucky to have him for a brother. Calder promises Duddy that he will tell the doctor not to reveal Lennie’s illegally performed abortion, more out of respect to Duddy than concern for Lennie’s further studies or professional life. To Duddy’s great astonishment, the meeting concludes with Calder giving Duddy his contact information and telling him that he’d like to see him again soon.

The film business gets more complicated when Friar becomes increasingly unreliable. Five-hundred dollars that Duddy had earmarked for land payment suddenly disappears, and Friar is also nowhere to be found. With Yvette in tow, Duddy chases Friar around the city, finally catching up with him at a bar. Friar has only a hundred dollars left in his pocket and whines and complains that his true artistic vision is being wasted on Duddy’s money-making schemes, but Duddy refuses to let him out of their deal. He pledges to follow Friar around constantly if needed. Friar complains about a lack of film and technical complications, but Duddy tells him not to worry, that they will sort all that out.

On a whim, Duddy calls up Hugh Calder. He isn’t sure if Calder will take his call or pretend not to remember him, but Duddy decides it is worth the gamble. Calder is glad to hear from Duddy, in fact, and invites him out for an expensive meal. While they dine, they discuss business, and Calder reveals a need for scrap towing. Seeing an in, Duddy goes home and calls Mr. Cohen, telling him that for a small fee, he will connect him with his new influential friend, Mr. Calder.

Desperate for some immediate cash to put toward his land payment, Duddy sells some pinball machines that he obtained illegally from the US. The best spot for them, he surmises, is at the type of hotels he used to work at with Irwin and his crew. Duddy asks Lennie to get him some pills to keep him awake so he and Yvette can make the long 150-mile journey overnight to sell the machines and get their needed money.

Duddy and Yvette sell all the illegal pinball machines with the help of Virgil, an assistant who appears out of nowhere. Virgil crossed paths with Duddy in New York while Duddy was still seeking out the help of the Boy Wonder. Now Virgil is hoping that Duddy might be able to help him instead. Virgil is willing to work hard and serve Duddy loyally, especially since he is unable to secure work on his own. Virgil is epileptic and feels that he has been discriminated against, rejected, or dismissed from employment for having this condition. Virgil pleads with Duddy to see that the discrimination he faces is not so different from discrimination against the Jews.

Duddy gives Virgil a job, mostly because Virgil is persistent and won’t go away. Also, Virgil and Yvette bond intensely. Virgil writes Yvette poetry and takes her to the movies. When hiring him on, Duddy offers Virgil embarrassingly low wages, but Virgil accepts anyway, just pleased to have a job. Yvette is furious with Duddy for his mistreatment of Virgil and disappears for over a week. Finally, Duddy does the right thing and increases Virgil’s wages. When he does, Yvette reappears. Duddy colors a map of all the lakefront property he now owns for her, asking, “‘What’s your opinion of Duddy Kravitz now?’” (195).