I was really disappointed to the way in which the book ended. Throughout the entire book there was a conflict between Asher and his father. Through the failing action of the novel it was starting to patch up between the two of them. Great headway was made between them when his father decided to go see Asher's show. I was upset that from that point things between them only got worse. It was as if nothing was resolved in the ending. Asher runs away from from the problem that he created leaving many realntionships unresolved. The author did not have Asher develop his relantionships through art. In a way though, he did, just not the way I wanted to see. Asher showed hos Jewish Community that the sitra actra did indeed take him over. That his father was right in the sense that the other side fueled Asher's gift. Throughout the book, I was hoping Asher would prove them all wrong. I feel that none of the men Asher was raised with ever ahd been wrong. If Asher proved the importance of his gift, his narrow-minded community may have learned and grown.
I have been able to see the growth in Asher throughout the book. He had surpassed all the members of the community in the way that he is in tune with his own feelings. Everyone in his community has thought and done only what the Rebbe has told them to do. Asher took the first in his community by becoming a painter. He wanted to separate himslef from the other men. When Asher painted the cruxifications he not only broke free of the religon he belonged to, but he ruined all the relantionships he has with his community. Jacob Kahn kept pushing Asher to show his feelings, while his father continued to tell him to hide them, so he was stuch somewhere in the middle of that. The constantr tearing on each side of Asher, eventually caused him to break. Altough the brek caused him to hurt his family he showed how he personally perceived a;; of the problems around him.
I did not like how the author ended the book. He left Asher as a broken man. I like it when the character is able to resolve his problems at the end. Nothing was resolved from the painting he made, the author had Asher run away from his problem, and not face it. That may be symbolic to their religon because they have has a tendency not to face problems head on, but to push them to the side. Asher was not able to face his problems, so he was forced to leave.