Friedrich

Polycarp first appears in Chapter 1, then very briefly in Chapter 8, and then not again until the last chapter. The name is derived from Greek (πολύκαρπος) and means “he that brings much fruit.” This name coincides well since Polycarp is a multifunctioning symbol, paralleling both Herr Resch and Friedrich, their characteristics and fates. Garden gnomes are used as symbols for good luck, because they watch over the earth, and thus, maintain its fertility. In this sense, the symbolism is both apropos and ironic. For the narrator’s family, their luck and prosperity does indeed increase, but the Schneiders’ luck most certainly decreases. In reference to the name’s meaning, Polycarp does bring about much “fruit” in the sense that the building, in front of which he stands, represents a microcosm of the larger events surrounding Jewish persecution at the hands of the Nazis.

Polycarp symbolizes Herr Resch in several ways. Like every character in the novel, Herr Resch’s physical description is never fully given, other than that he is fat and out-of-shape. Polycarp is given more description than any other character in the novel, and because of his affiliation as Herr Resch’s garden gnome, one imagines Herr Resch’s appearance as something gnomelike. Furthermore, the characteristics of a garden gnome and Herr Resch are quite similar. Herr Resch acts as the sentinel of his apartment building, never leaving, and observing the yard and street from his window, except for those few occasions when he joins Polycarp out in the yard. The idea of idly standing around and observing symbolizes and condemns those Germans who stood around, did and said nothing, and watched as the Jews were steadily persecuted, arrested, deported, and murdered. Herr Resch’s feelings and actions toward others are devoid of humanity. One could describe them as hardened and intransigent, much like the material from which Polycarp is made. However, many of Polycarp’s characteristics that show the negative aspects of Herr Resch are also used to show Friedrich’s strength and magnanimity.

Rain or shine, tall grass or snow, Polycarp stoically remains in the yard with a smile on his face and his pipe in his hand. Despite the terrible situation surrounding Friedrich and his parents, Friedrich never becomes negative or cynical. He fears, but he faces his persecutors and persecution much as Polycarp faces adverse weather. He allows it to wash over him without it altering his character. At the end of the novel, Polycarp is used to foreshadow what happens to Friedrich. During the bombing, a piece of shrapnel cuts off the tip of Polycarp’s Phrygian cap. Friedrich is mortally wounded in the side of the head with only what one can imagine as another piece of shrapnel. It is in this scene that Polycarp illustrates Herr Resch’s inhumanity in that Herr Resch cares for the garden gnome more than he cares for a dead boy, simply because that boy was a Jew.