SOURCE: Abramson, Edward A. “The Tenants.” In Bernard Malamud Revisited, pp. 90-100. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993.

In the following essay, Abramson addresses Malamud's treatment of the tension between Jews and African Americans in The Tenants.

Blacks and Whites

When Malamud was asked why he wrote The Tenants, he answered, “Jews and blacks, the period of the troubles in New York City, the teachers strike, the rise of black activism, the mix-up of cause and effect. I thought I'd say a word” (Stern, 61). As A New Life discussed aspects of McCarthyism and The Fixer focused on a particular period in the history of Tsarist Russia, so The Tenants treats issue of black anti-Jewish sentiment in the 1960s, despite the long and vigorous Jewish support given to black groups and causes.

Before the novel's appearance, Malamud had published two short stories treating relationships between blacks and Jews: “Angel Levine” (1955) and...