Yekl: A Tale of the New York Ghetto by Abraham Cahan is such an expected piece of American literature of early twentieth-century immigrants, that there are few surprises here.
The Yekl of the title comes to America, leaving behind, temporarily, his wife and young son. As three years pass, he becomes Jake, abandons religious Judaism, and acts like a bachelor. He is eager to Americanize. His wife arrives, she is a greenhorn, and their relationship sours.
Jake tries to get out of his marriage and begin a marriage with another, more worldly woman, but the results of this are uncertain. The end of the novel has a The Graduate feel. Jake has acted impulsively, and wonders if what will happen next will bring him happiness.
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