Class Notes 9/22/08
In this essay “My father Always Said”, there’s a double thing going on.
Shwartz has a realization of one kind and her father is having a realization of another kind.
Her father begins with her being in this American teenage life and not knowing anything about her father’s country.
Her father was in complete opposition of the American way and he was stuck in Rindheim. As the story progress, they both switch their ideas. The father begins to accept the American ways.
Mimi lives in her father’s world. The father is sort of resting in sort of a new life and letting ogo of the past. He is kind of accepting and letting go . She is reclaiming her past and heritage. She discovers her heritage. The father lets go of his romanticized understanding of what the place was.
What is the experience that changes them? The trip to Rindhiem.
The action of this takes place on the trip to Rindhiem.
The first section is in her home in Queens. In the last section she is back in Queens.
Section 2 they are in the father’s house but they don’t go in. The old man recognizes the father but they are friendly but cool. Mimi doesn’t really understand this. She doesn’t understand the language and she doesn’t know why her parents are not friendly with the man. She also introduces that she makes a later trip to Germany in her adult years. Something is changing in the fire but we are not exactly sure or how. This is explained in section three. Because there the father reveals the story about the fire. So the man at the house didn’t help put out the fire.
Section 3 Here they are at the synagogue. She learns the story about how there is no reason to go in the synagogue. He learns about the cousin Fritz. They learn about the fire and how the people didn’t help them put out the fire. There was a separation between the two cultures. They can’t really blame e the nonjews for not helping them but they are angry because the synagogue was burned down.
Section 4 School
What does this section add? This school section adds the history, memories, and his adolescence. History of separation.
Section 5
In the graveyard.
There are no stones on the graves. This means that nobody remembers or honors the graves and family members that have passed away. He whispers to the grave that if he was there, there would have been more stones. She realized that her whole history was there. She never realized that her entire past and history that came before her was in the graveyard. She sees traditions here that she was never aware of in the past.
She’s realizing that the holocaust was once abstract is now personal for her in this section.
Section 6
Back in Queens, she realized that eighty seven Jews from her father’s village were deported and sent to the concentration camps. Here she realizes the loss and connects to the past.
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