Duddy and his dream are introduced in the first part of the novel. When Duddy is young, he is left motherless and surrounded by family members who detach themselves from caring about him. His father is a cab driver and pimp, Uncle Benjy favours his older brother Lenny, and .
Lenny is too self-absorbed to pay attention to him. Apart from his grandfather Simcha, positive role models are absent. In addition, he does not make good impressions on people. Descriptions of Duddy are consistently unflattering as revealed on p.11:.
a small, narrow-chested boy of fifteen.
with a thin face. His black eyes were ringed.
with dark circles and his pale, bony cheeks.
were criss-crossed with scratches .
Remarkably unflattering is others' descriptions of his character. His own uncle dislikes him at first sight and his classmates' mothers deter them from fraternizing with him. He meets further rejection when he goes to work in a Jewish resort in St. Agathe as rich kids take advantage of his naiveté. But more importantly, the nature of his dream is realized at seven years old. He adopts the motif that his grandfather impresses upon him "A man without land is nobody- (p. 49). Duddy takes these words literally and thus begins his exploitive journey to success. .
The last three parts of the novel take the reader through Duddy's .
quest to acquire land in order to claim his niche in society as a worthy man. From his days on the streets and tormenting his teachers to juggling four jobs, Duddy's raw ambition creates the situations he encounters. Duddy fails to endear those he encounters; in effect he widens the gap between him and meaningful relationships. In his struggle to achieve his dream he leaves behind miffed friends and abandons the moral high road in times of crisis. He begins to observe the huge respect and clout the wealthy have while combating displays of anti-Semitism. Consequently, his reactionary behaviour is to choose himself and his dream above all else thereby blindsiding those offering genuine support and friendship.
