"Rich Boy," Sharon Pomerantz

           Sharon Pomerantz’ “Rich Boy” has a striking commentary on temptation and the consequences that ensue. Robert Vishniak successfully achieves his goals of getting out and getting rich, leaving behind the coupon-counting and scrounging of his Philadelphia home to join the glamorous circle of well-dressed lawyers at Alexander, Lenox, and Wardell in New York City. While Robert answers the voice that demands him to “get out of here, save yourself, make money, make money, make money” (222), he soon finds that monetary success comes at a cost. Through the novel, tracing his social rise, Robert plunges into isolation from his family, superficial love, and, ultimately, a loss of belonging.

            The first incident of Robert falling away from his family is his decision to attend Tufts. As he lies in bed during the college application process, Robert prays, “please, please, let me get the hell out of my parents’ house” (44). As he finally leaves for college and watches through the bus window at his family standing on the pavement, Robert “knew that he’d never live in Oxford Circle again” (46). The transition to college marks the beginning of a distinct transformation for Robert—from a poor, getting-by Vishniak into the world of the elite. Robert sets himself on the track for affluence, choosing the friendship of his wealthy roommate Tracey and his cohorts over the other college students who work in the kitchen; consciously or not, Robert chooses to associate with those whom he wants to emulate, rather than those like himself. Later, during the family’s trip to Atlantic City—a revival of a past tradition—Robert has found he has changed, alienated himself from his family. The Deauville hotel had once served “as a signpost of luxury” (313) to Robert as his family stayed in a “three-story kosher rooming house” (312) with “narrow hallways and shared toilet facilities” (312); now, though, Robert demands to stay there, as his family settles into “a motor inn closer to Brigantine, a little too far out for convenience, but good enough, clean enough” (316). As Robert stays in his own room with the rest of his family at a different hotel, he wonders, “Could [they] even understand his life anymore?” (317). As Robert drew closer to extreme wealth, his ties to his family disintegrated until, in essence, they lived in two different worlds.

            Through this social rise, Robert suffers from moral decay. In his college years, Robert experiences genuine love with Gwendolyn, but after Gwen’s death, he is encompassed by his desire for richness and the need to compensate, somehow, materially for what he has lost emotionally. When Crea, the daughter of an executive at his law firm, falls in his path, Robert marries her; “that he did not love her the way he had once loved Gwendolyn did not matter—he no longer had such expectations… he would be practical, for once, and take the deal that was offered” (322). Arguably, Robert did not marry Crea for love, but for money, leading to their superficial love and eventual fall-out. He equates life with Crea to an expensive watch, saying “the novelty, the heft, while still impressive, had worn off more quickly than he’d expected” (391). Therefore, unsurprisingly, Robert loses his zeal for this inauthentic relationship and tells his daughter Gwen about the woman to whom she owes her name, explaining “’I love your mother, but in a different way’” (498). And when Gwen timidly asks if her parents are getting a divorce, Robert does not deny it.

            Temptation is the cause of Robert’s ruin. At dinner with Sally the shoe-shine girl one night, he begins a conversation on temptation and wealth. Sally explains how she wishes she’d never met Robert: “’because then I wouldn’t have seen inside places like this, and gotten to ride in fancy cars, and, well, all of it…. I never imagined any of it would tempt me. But how can you be tempted by what you’ve never experienced?’” (461). When Robert responds, he touches upon an insight that defines his social rise: “’Good point,’ he said. ‘It’s after you experience it that the temptation really kicks in’” (461). Indeed, it is after Robert leaves for Tufts, after Robert has his relationship with Gwen, after Robert goes to law school, after Robert accepts the position at A, L and W, and after Robert spends vacations in Tuxedo Park with Crea that he is tempted by this lifestyle, this need for more. He transitions from the boy whose mantra is make money, make money, make money to the man who repeats to himself get more, get more, get more. It is not until his mother’s death—not until Robert finally returns to his home with his brother, Barry, and reflects on his life course and decisions—that “for a moment, a strange and wonderful moment, Robert Vishniak knew where he belonged” (514).