In The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, written by Mordecai Richler, Duddy Kravitz starts off in a poor, Montreal Jewish ghetto. While following the sayings of his grandfather, you must have land to be someone; Duddy embarks on a quest to attain land. Throughout his pursuit, Duddy gains financial sense and business knowledge, yet loses the ability to maintain a respectful relationship with his girlfriend and family.

Slowly, Duddy acquires the money he needs to buy his land through hard work and determination. After his return from the Laurentiens, Duddy sets out to achieve his land by selling liquid soap and toiletries in the day, while driving a taxi at night “while Max slept”(Richler 113). He later meets Mr. Friar, an ex movie mogul, and they decide to go into business together. Once Duddy persuades Mr. Cohen into allowing him to film his son’s bar mitzvah, Mr. Friar offers to assist. After much anticipation, Happy Bar mitzvah Bernie, turns out successful when the Cohen family has positive praise. Once Duddy and Friar's “true work of art”(114) had been recognized, Duddy's reputation in the movie business soars. Later on, Duddy becomes acquainted with Virgil and he buys pinball machines from him for “a hundred dollars each”(205), yet sells them for much more, making an immense profit, adding to his gradually growing fortune. In the end, Duddy accomplishes his goal after attaining enough money to purchase the land he wants.

After discovering the trials and tribulations of running a prosperous business, Duddy acquires business knowledge. After his appointment with Mr. Cohen, Duddy realized that: "You've got to see them at home with the wife and boy there"(125). Soon after, Duddy learned the basics to being a convincing businessman and his industry flourished. With everyone wanting to have Duddy film their special occasion, Duddy had been "offered enough wedding and bar mitzvah contracts to carry them through into January"(162). With an estimated profit of "eight maybe ten thousand dollars"(162) Duddy is safe on his way to acquiring the land he desires. Afterward, with land out of his mind, Duddy convinces Mr. Cadler to allow Lennie to remain in McGill after his "bungled abortion"(195) incident. By using the truth and his persuasive manor, Duddy manages to convince Mr. Calder into hearing him out during their meeting. By promising to "never forget it"(198) Duddy also makes a friend, since Mr. Cadler asks him to "Phone me” so they could “have dinner together."(198). Though he starts off roughly, Duddy soon matures into a suave businessman; cajoling and flattering until he has what he wants.

Sadly, while running his business, Duddy loses the ability to maintain a courteous relationship with his girlfriend and family. As his work steadily grows and the pressure increases, Duddy's relationship with Yvette slowly becomes only physical. Even though Yvette is willing to stick by his side, he continues to ignore her feelings, haphazardly brushing them off as nothing. In response to her "Do you like me?" Duddy replies: "Sure, sure thing"(99). His relationship with Yvette slowly deteriorates and he later starts referring to her as "that bitch"(218). As for his family, Duddy loses faith in them, almost to the point he doesn't rely on them. "He won't lend me any money"(296) is what he told himself before he even asks his father for money. At one point, Max even exclaims: "Don't turn your back on me like that"(296). With Duddy's regression from his family, he loses his sense of morals, such as cheating a paraplegic out of his money. Even after Virgil has a fit that could have killed him, all Duddy did is: "he ran, he ran"(309). Owing to this change, Duddy's friends and family abandon him, all because of his polar attitude toward them.

Though Duddy Kravitz might appear to have become a prosperous entrepreneur and brilliant investor, he ends up losing a valuable part of himself: his loved ones. By holding back nothing in trying to attain his heart's desire, Duddy ends up crushing the love of those supported him through everything. After reading, some people can describe Duddy as being truly content, since he has the land he fought so hard to obtain, yet without anyone around him to share in the joy he strived to achieve, is he really?

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