First off, prior to commenting on chapter four, I figured out an interesting connection between the Rebbe in Asher’s eyes and the Star Wars prequel. In Asher’s eyes, the Rebbe is a distant, dark figure who only brings about trouble for little Asher. Asher sees what the Rebbe does but he never actually sees the Rebbe. This relates to characters in the new Star Wars flick. In the prequel, titled The Phantom Menace, the major villain is Darth Sidious, an unseen mastermind, who brings about trouble for all of the characters, especially a young Anakin Skywalker who is trying to find himself. Darth Sidious is just like the Rebbe, unseen but the source of trouble and conflict for the maturing young one (Asher). But unlike Sidious, the Rebbe is not evil in his intent (although with the power he commands, he could be), just merely evil in the eyes of Asher.
Chapter four illustrates how much of a basket case Asher has become, and leads to the assumption from myself that his psychological problems of his childhood will be reflected in his art when he is older. It is my knowledge that several great artists were crazy (Van Gogh) or merely had had difficulties as a youth. Asher is not necessarily crazy as he parents might preceive him, but he is reaching a point of nervous breakdown (apparently common among artists). It annoys the reader that Asher’s parents cannot feel his pain (which is sometimes how I feel and have felt), and adds to the impression of Asher’s anguish because the reader can almost feel it. When Asher’s parents are calling his art “foolishness”, the reader also sees (reads) how little Asher views everything in the world in the terms of art. The reader is able to feel his frustration along with him.
On another aspect of Asher’s art, though it appears that Asher may unconsciously draw and paint, despite the respite from his parents, it also appears to me that Asher (aside from expressing himself and trying to reach out to his parents) might be testing the society that he lives in. By drawing and taking in so much criticism and controversy, Asher is testing the morals and the strictness of the Hasidic society. From all of the controversy, Asher is learning about the ways and the limits of his world. Just as a young child tries to get away with things, Asher tries to get away with drawing different things and in different ways as a way to learn how his society and family will react. The criticism is also enabling him to learn about the reactions and attitudes of his parents (he is learning how to read his parents).