All of the stories in Zlateh the Goat are geographically and culturally circumscribed, almost insulated. They are set in predominantly Jewish villages in Poland, and little if any mention is made of Gentile neighbors. Although antiSemitism historically was a virulent force in the area, Singer does not let it intrude in these stories, for his purposes are far from political. He is interested in men and women and children who happen to be Jewish.

Singer is a humanist, interested in people as people, in their problems, predicaments, ambitions, attitudes, and aspirations. He has no axes to grind, no social programs to advocate. If he has a social message, it is that most people are decent and loving, however silly they may sometimes appear, and they can get along well if they genuinely try to understand one another or at least tolerate one another as human beings...