Summary Of 'Zebra' By Chaim Potok

As said by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., “A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” This theme is presented many times throughout the story, “Zebra,” by Chaim Potok. The main character Adam, better known as Zebra, goes through several experiences that lead to his outlook on life changing. Overall his experiences render him to become a better person. One of the main experiences that changed Zebra was meeting John Wilson. Here’s how and why the experiences that Zebra went through changed him, and how he lived his life. One experience that impacted Zebra greatly was him being hit by the car. Being hit by the car lead to all of the following key events in his life afterward. “A huge rushing shadow appeared in his line of vision and crashed into him and plunged him into a darkness”(Potok 48). The crash affected Zebra in many different ways. Firstly, he had to see many doctors which drained him and was different from how Zebra had lived his life before. Another thing that impacted Zebra immensely, was the fact that he could no longer run which was his favorite thing to do. Having this taken away from him, he became more negative and isolated. He felt as though he could no longer do things that other children could do so he decided to be alone. His decision to be alone however eventually resulted in him meeting John Wilson. In this way Zebra’s accident served as a stem for change and new experiences that inspired change as well.