The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz: Part 2, Chapter 10

The excerpt chosen from the manuscript covers Lennie recounting the story behind Sandra's abortion and Duddy's letter reporting Irwin as a communist. On page 187, Lennie directly accuses Duddy of being callous, which is removed from the published edition, making Duddy's redemption as a character more plausible for the reader. It allows for ambiguity of Duddy's character and his potential to be the "gentleman." On page 188, Lennie states that Sandra hemorrhaged during the abortion, which is also removed in the published edition. This removes any adverse consequences of the abortion, making the scene seem less dangerous. It also alleviates Lennie's fault in the matter. On pages 189-191, the manuscript and the published edition contain a modified sequence of events. In the manuscript, Lennie's confession on performing the abortion and Duddy’s convincing Lennie to return home happen consecutively, whereas the published edition separates the two with a night's sleep and Duddy’s return from making work connections. Duddy also justifies being there for "business" in the published version, giving the impression that his actions must always benefit himself in some way.  This change makes Duddy seem less caring and more rational and self-serving, especially since Duddy justifies his presence by his own agenda. "Bitch" is changed to "fershtunke tuchos-head" meaning, "crap-head", and using "Daddy" instead of “Paw” changes the tone of the scene, further solidifying Duddy’s immaturity. The Yiddish malediction is likely to portray Duddy within some Jewish grounding. This contrasts with the change in page 191B of Duddy’s letter reporting Irwin, where the language becomes more elevated - Duddy replaces, “talking” with "propagandizing". The text has significant changes that reflect mostly on Duddy's character by deeming him immature in some parts but also selfish and business-orientated.