Winter Poem

"Winter has caused damage everywhere:

meadow and forest are all grey,

where before you heard many sounds. 

If I could see the girls play ball on the street,

then bird song would come back.

If only I could sleep through the winter!

When I am awake I feel only hatred

that his power is so far and wide.

God knows, he even fights with May;

I picked flowers where there is now snow."

- Walter von der Vogelweide  

Short Story

Unfortunately, (or perhaps fortunately) I cannot recall any short stories I read. This probably can be attributed to a lack of interest on my part. If a story was good enough for me to think about and to remember, I would be able to write about it. I suppose nothing got my attention. This is not a surprise, though, because I do not remember much from my childhood. When I obtained the ability to remember in middle school, I had moved on from short stories.

Do you think young people today value their education as much as Sara Smolinsky does? Why or why not?

No, I don't think young people today value their education as much as Sara does. Today education is more of an assumption than a choice. It is a prerequisite for nearly all occupations, unlike during the early twentieth century. Sara saw it as an open door for a multitude of possibilities. She dreamed of owning a nice house  and buying nice clothes, etc. With an education, it is possible to obtain an occupation to allow her to be financially liberated. Also, she enjoyed learning about topics she was interested in, mainly psychology. Today students learn simply to get a degree which will then help them get a better, higher paying, job than their rivals. Mainly, the situations in America have changed.

Some Profound Writing Advice...

"There's nothing hard about writing. All you have to do is sit down and open up a vein."

Walter "Red" Smith gives this advice to struggling writers who don't know how to get started. He encourages these people to simply write their emotions; anything that comes to them. Emotions are the basis for quality, passionate writing. I, however, disagree with this man's belief. Some people are not born with creativity instilled in their intellects. There is no way (not yet, at least) to make someone creative. Thus, emotions are not necessary to the writing process, even though they very well may make the writing much better. 

Reflection #1

This book has intrigued me so far. Like most early twentieth century  novels, the author focuses on an immigrant family. However, unlike these other books, Yezierska highlights a Jewish family. I was very surprised by the father of the family. I was previously unaware of the superiority of Jewish men in traditional Jewish households. Reb Smolinsky dominates his wife and daughters. The way in which he does this took me by surprise. He does nothing but read the Torah all day while the rest of his family is foraging the city for food. Also, he takes Bessie's little wages and gives some to charity. Moreover, he gets the best meals every day, yet he does nothing for his family. His role in the family surprised me greatly.