The Golem and the Jinni

Cultural assimilation is an inherent part of the immigration process, for any immigrant to a new country faces differences in cultural values, expectations, traditions, and norms, and all immigrants must find innovative ways to navigate the intense pressure to conform and survive. In The Golem and the Jinni, Chava and Ahmad are pressured to hide their identities as non-human beings in order to survive the chaotic New York landscape, for standing out as anything other than human will result in serious consequences. The fear of such repercussions push them into assimilating, and their experiences mirroring those of many real-life immigrants who are forced to leave their cultural traditions behind in order to fit into their new country.

Wecker uses a variety of creative examples to illustrate the day-to-day challenges of this pressure to assimilate, the most prominent of which occurs when Chava endures a harsh collective rebuke from New Yorkers who witness her steal a pastry and give it to a starving boy. She does this so blatantly that a crowd forms, eager to humiliate and punish her for her rash actions. It is only with Avram’s intervention that she is able to escape the situation and learn how to better fit in as a human, for he teaches Chava to mimic the behaviors of other women and people around her to fit in.