an aged Sherlock Holmes. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union interpolates science
fiction and alternate universe fantasy, as well as a murder mystery. How does
Chabon “mix” genres within The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay? For
instance, in the chapters that relate the story portion of the first Escapist and
first Luna Moth comics, as readers begin these chapters nothing introduces
the fact that we are “overhearing” what Sammy and Joe create as they walk
through the streets of New York City. Are those chapters that tell just the
comic book stories different from the writing in the rest of the novel? In what
ways does Chabon use comic-book styles or methods in other places within
the novel? Are there cliffhangers? Does the pacing follow that of superhero
stories? What genre does the fifth section, “Radioman,” embody? The article
by Chute would be useful here, as would Scott McLoud’s Understanding Com-
ics (1994) and Will Eisner’s Comics and Sequential Art: Principles and Practices
from the Legendary Cartoonist (1985).
- History plays an important role in this novel, and points of interest that
arrive out of its strong presence can lead to a great many topics of research.
Although Samuel Klayman and Josef Kavalier are the products of Chabon’s
imagination, the artists and writers of the early comic-book age were often
young men, and several of the most notable—for example, the creators of
Superman, Joe Schuster and Jerry Siegel—were also Jewish. (Similar to
Sammy and Joe, Schuster and Siegel sold the rights to the character of
Superman for $130 and profited little from the millions generated by the
character they had drawn for decades.) They, along with many other his-
torical people involved in the comic-book industry, are mentioned or make
brief appearances. Chabon weaves many non-comic-book-industry-related
historical figures into his novel, as well, including the Surrealist painter Sal-
vador Dali, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Alfred E. Smith (politician and
president of the corporation that owned the Empire State Building), Ger-
man boxer Max Schmeling, director and actor Orson Welles, comic-book
opponent Dr. Frederick Wertham, Senator Estes Kefauver, and, of course,
escape artist Harry Houdini. History also appears in the persecution of Jews
in Joe Kavalier’s homeland of Czechoslovakia, Pearl Harbor, the Surrealist
movement, the “fairy raids” on gay groups—and places—the Empire State
Building, the 1939–1940 World’s Fair, and Louis Tannen’s Magic Shop.
Chabon also plays with history by inserting footnotes into the novel—some
provide fictitious history about his characters and the comic books they
create (for instance, sales figures), while others provide factual information
about real history. How does the weaving together of history and fiction
affect how we understand the history? How does the presence of historical
figures affect our view of the fictional characters? Does it make them more
realistic? More sympathetic? Students might choose a specific historical
figure or place or event and assess how its story enriches a particular theme
in the novel. In another vein, much of the history that these character bump
up against—the persecution of Jews during World War II, the persecution of
gays—is traumatic. What does the novel offer in terms of examples of how
people cope with traumatic history? The sources mentioned by Chabon in
Michael Chabon 1
