Mimi Schwartz Reading

"My Father Always Said" is an essay that has a lot to do with history, especially World War II. The narrator obviously did not know a lot about what went on, so her father filled her in on everything that happened to him and the Jews during this tragic era. The reader can relate to the essay and think back when he or she was learning about World War II and how many questions he or she had about it. Or perhaps he or she had a family member who died during the war. I think the focus of the essay is as one person learns about the generation from her father, her father lets it go. In the essay, the narrator did not know several things that happened during the war, and when she and her family visited the cemetery, she did not know anyone who died. Her father remembers. The gaps between each section are like changing into a new chapter and moving on to the next one. The first "chapter" or section is giving the reader background information about the narrator's father. The second is the beginning of Rindheim, sort of like a tour. The narrator's father went through all these places where he spent his time when he was younger. Also, her father gave a lot of information about his heritage and the Jews. The next section goes on to tell about "Kristallnacht" and starts to clarify historical events for the narrator. After the narrator's father told her about his schooling, they went to the cemetery. Here, he explained the deaths of the people he knew and explained the personalities they had to the narrator. The last section is the conclusion and says how her father does not speak of Rindheim anymore. I think he wanted his daughter to see the life her father lived when he was younger and the tragedies he had to go through and once he showed her all of this, he did not have to speak of it again, or he simply let it go and moved on while the narrator took everything in.