... vs. Materialism In Bernard Malamud's story "The First Seven Years", there is a reoccurring theme of materialism vs. humanism. Feld the shoemaker and Max represent materialism, while the daughter Miriam and the assistant Sobel represent humanism. In the beginning of the story we learn that Feld is trying to match his daughter up with a young gentleman named Max. The father is not interested in whether the gentleman has a good ... personality, but more in how successful the man is going to be ... for a pay raise. In Malamud's short story, we see a clear distinction between humanism vs. ma...

• Word Count: 470
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School