The Education of H*y*m*a*n K*a*p*l*a*n

by Leo Rosten

Book Overview

The humorous adventures of Hyman Kaplan, the irrepressible student at the American Night Preparatory School for Adults, and his personal war with the English language. A classic work of american humor.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0156278111
• ISBN13: 9780156278119
• Release Date: March 1968
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 156 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Written Seventy Years Ago Hyman Kaplan Still Delights

Having just begun teaching English As A Second Language to a group of Asian adults, a relative thought I might enjoy "The Education of Hyman Kaplan". The novel takes place entirely at the American Night Preparatory School for Adults. There under the tutelage of Mr. Parkhill, Hyman Kaplan, Miss Mitnick, Miss Caravello, Mrs. Moskowitz and an assortment of Jewish and Italian immigrants struggle with the complexities of the English language, anxious to master the language and learn about the history and culture of their newly adopted home. The irrepressible Mr. Kaplan takes center stage in the classroom with his singular logic in using the English language. Abraham Lincoln becomes Abram Lincohen, King George III of England is an autocrap, and Valley Forge becomes Velly Fudges. Kaplan conjugates the tense to die as "die, dead, funeral", and when talking of the contents of a newpaper he can't understand why he must say "it said", instead of "he said", since the paper is decidedly of the masculine gender. It's the Harold Tribune after all. This is a hilarious yet touching book. We are never laughing at Hyman Kaplan's linguistic foibles but with him, as we appreciate the struggles of all immigrants, those seventy years ago, or those today to come to terms with becoming Americans and learning the language that binds us together.

Anyone obsessed with Political Correctness should read this

Fentastik! My! such vonderful void? How is Kaplan tinking of such a void? This book is absolutely great. Taking place entirely within the confines of an English class for prospective American citizens, it captures the essence of a remarkable generation of immigrants. Of course, this is not a sociology book. It is good-natured humor, and a good look at human nature. Anyone with a sense of humor will enjoy this book, and if you are any kind of linguist it is even better. The poor souls in the beginners class are characters for the ages, including, of course, the inimitable and irrepressible H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N. This book is warm and humorous with no ridicule or mean-spiritedness at all. If written today it might be characterized as belittling to immigrants, but anyone who reads it in its true spirit will find it enjoyable and uplifting.

The Genius of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N

Hyman Kaplan is a leader of men, an inspiring, eloquent orator with a true sense of drama. He forges his own paths, makes his own rules. Unfortunately, those rules only rarely coincide with those of grammar, spelling and pronunciation. And so he eternally flunks the beginners' grade in English despite awing both friend and foe.What moves me to write a review is what the other reviewers seem to miss: H*Y*M*A*N, for all his mistakes, is a winner of a character, not a loser. This book is true testimony to the talents of immigrants as well as their tribulations.

Atwentieth century classic

With Hyman Kaplan and Mr'Pockhill'and classmates Leo Rosten shows that he is the Grand Master of phonetically rendered dialogue.This,and its suceesor,The Return of Hyman Kaplan,are hysterically funny books which are also as important to the meaning and experience of migration and immigration as dozens of scholarly and worthy tomes on the subject.Bravo,Leo Rosten!

A Closer Look

The Education of Hyman Kaplan is an almost lost creation of Leo Rosten, a book I discovered a few years ago. On the face this book is a comedy of language set among the immigrant students of an adult language school in New York. There is no doubt the Rosten has a flair for bringing out the hilarious subtleties of the English language, and the book moves so quickly it seems unfairly short. Mr. Parkhill's beginners grade classroom is the scene of countless battle and wars, where the students struggle against syntax, diction, and each other. Some of the botched quotes from Shakespeare are masterpieces in themselves. I had no idea a book of this kind could be such a riot, and never knew our language was so close to lunacy. The hapless hero, Kaplan, provides a wonderful vehicle for Rosten to maneuver through the pitfalls and traps of the many idiomed English Language. However, behind the books' mangled metaphors, garbled grammar, and reinvented history, lies the world of the immigrant in New York City. The light-hearted episodes are interspersed with an occasional look into the difficult life of a brand new American. These chapters show the optimism and the will to succeed that Kaplan's fellow students brought with them to America. Kaplan himself is an emblem of endurance; forever doomed to stay in the beginners grade, yet never despairing of the always elusive verb tenses. This book has only one "weakness": it does not cater to cynicism. It looks ahead, from the eyes of each of the characters, to a better time, a better place, with better pronunciation. This is a glimpse of the Dream of America that I had not seen, a different view that fascinated me. I think the strangest thing is that the book is never preachy. It is likely this is because Rosten wrote this book as a mature writer, with many other works under his belt. His tendency to constant revision has left this book a polished gem. Read, laugh, and enjoy.